>Bud,
>
>>If I use DCOM doesn't every client have to register the server on thier local machine? Can registration be automatic? If it does require registration that sounds like a nightmare for maintenance.
>
>If you use CREATEOBJECTEX(), you can specify the server location without having to pre-register it. Look up CREATEOBJECTEX in the Docs -- it's all explained there.
Sorry, but that's not true. The client must have a copy of at least the type library registered. Without that you can't access a remote component. The client also needs to be in the ACL in order to access the component.
DCOM is not anonymous technology - it's based entirely in the NT security and administration model which requires significant configuration on the client.
If anonymous clients are the goal a Web based approach should be adopted. Anything running over HTTP can be anonymous...