>Do you mean creating each object with CreateObjectEX() ?, the reason for going for persitent objects was the slow instatiation speed of this function, I therefore create a "controller" object that calls functions and returns strings (FileToStr()).
>

Yes, I mean creating objects each time (with CreateObjectEx, or CreateObject)

If you load your VFP COM objects into a COM+ package, and configure the package "Server Process Shutdown" setting (Advanced tab) to "Leave running when idle", then instatiation is inmediate after the first one.
The default setting (Minutes until idle shutdown=3) causes the DLL to be unloaded from memory short after each request is done.

>Would this not mean each server running IIS? if so what are the process inplications of running IIS when the server is also a local data server?
>

It does mean running IIS, and there is a certain (not huge but measurable) cost of doing so. There are also security issues involved (an IIS box tends to be more vulnerable to virus attacks, even if not exposed in the Internet, as Web servers are the preferred target of "virus developers")

In any case, a COM component exposed as Web Service does also need to be instatiated each time, so the same considerations of the first alternative apply.

That's why my first / preferred option is direct COM+ instantiation, if you don't need the other benefits of a Web Service (i.e. ability to be called thru the Internet).

Regards,