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And with regards to [microsoft.com...]
I cant find a download or purchase for the developer version.
With this in mind now a days most hosting co comes with unlimited SQL database but on a VPS system it's rather hard to find.
For asp.net applications, visual studio is not required, but i would recommend using it.
If you only want to program in VB.Net, Visual Basic® .NET Standard 2003 is fine.
Although, career wise, learing C# is maybe a better investment.