[AccessD] One Accdr (front end) for each User's PC or Share theAccdr file on the File Server

Jim Dettman jimdettman at verizon.net
Mon Oct 20 16:42:07 CDT 2014


Yes, because:

1. Some writing does occur on the FE.

2. Temp tables become an issue to be dealt with.

3. Network performance is not as it could be.

Jim. 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Brad Marks
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2014 05:27 PM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: Re: [AccessD] One Accdr (front end) for each User's PC or Share
theAccdr file on the File Server

All,

I would like to clarify my question a bit.

Currently, the data is stored in an Access "Back End" accdb file.

Updates to this "Back End" are done at night when no one is using the
Inquiry system.

Currently the "Front End" is an ACCDR file that is stored on a file server.

The ACCDR Front-End is a simple "Inquiry" system that will never update the
data stored in Back-End.

Instead of creating the ACCDR Front-End file on each user's PC, I simply put
an icon on each user's desktop.  This icon points at the ACCDR Front-End
that is stored on a file server 


Will I run into problems with this approach?  In the past, I have always
provided each user with their own copy of Access front-ends.  I wonder if
this is really necessary when an Front-End is "Inquiry Only".

Thanks,
Brad  
 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of James Button
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2014 4:09 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] One Accdr (front end) for each User's PC or Share the
Accdr file on the File Server

So are you saying that with the data not on the front-end PC's, the front
end PC's will not be getting the server DBMS to read the tables of data on
the server in order to provide required  data to the data handler facility
at the screen end of the process.

As in select ___ from __ where __ IS LIKE "* Frederick*" and ...
Does not put any load on the server DBMS - memory and data storage medium -
both when all the data is on the PC on the user's desk, and when the data is
on the central server?
As in there will be no IO load on the server ?

And - if the actual 'heavy lifting' is done at the front end systems - then
does that not imply that for a cound where like  will require all the data
to be transferred up the comms link

That is why canned procedures should be used to access the data so that the
user PC activates a data selection (with parameters) that will cause the
server to do the work and just send the needed results. 
Basically the server would have to read the data from the drive regardless,
and that is, with current PC speeds pretty much the major time usage, unless
the system does not have adequate memory to do the data handling for
whatever concurrent loading it gets from the 10 client PC's  

JimB


-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Heenan, Lambert
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2014 9:19 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] One Accdr (front end) for each User's PC or Share the
Accdr file on the File Server

" The consequences of them accessing the data on the server will be:
Delays in getting data selection done, as the server will be doing all the
work that their local PC's were doing"  Not so. The server is just acting as
a file server, so when the 10 or so users open the same front end, all the
heavy lifting is still being done by their local machine.

Other consequences of allowing the users to share a front end - if you ever
need to make an update to the front end design you will need to kick all the
users out before you can deploy the revised version. When they each have
their own copy of the front end you have no such constraint, but then you do
have the problem of how to distribute new versions to the users.

Lambert and his two cents.

Prediction is difficult, especially of the future.
  -- Niels Bohr



-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of James Button
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2014 4:10 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] One Accdr (front end) for each User's PC or Share the
Accdr file on the File Server

Please note the following is only my opinion. 

If the front ends are never going to be allowed any update access at all by
the imbedded security, or the access method including constraints - as in
pre-coded SQL, then the main considerations for you at the server end will
be the effect of an update being performed while one, or more of those users
has the database open for access, and the effect on any scheduled (or
ad-hoc) maintenance such as a backup if a user leaves their system in a
state where it is accessing the database, and that access stops the DBMS
being set in a can-do-maintenance state.

The consequences of them accessing the data on the server will be:
Delays in getting data selection done, as the server will be doing all the
work that their local PC's were doing (adequate real memory on the server
may mitigate that). 
And transmission delays as the selected data is transmitted across the Lan
(Wan/web?)

There is also the consideration that they will have assurance that the data
they are viewing is up-to-date, and the results of any searches they do will
change as the data does, and they will not have to schedule and actually
achieve an update to their local copy.

Now all of the above is a matter for your, and the organisation's management
to
consider rather than being a technical limitation of the use of Access.   

JimB 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Brad Marks
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2014 8:31 PM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: [AccessD] One Accdr (front end) for each User's PC or Share the
Accdr file on the File Server

All,

I recently built a small inquiry system with Access 2007. 

I am using a "Split" database (data stored in a "_be.accdb" backend file).

The data is coming from an outside source and the inquiry system will never
update the data.

Currently all of the users (about 10) share the Accdr (front end) which is
stored on a file server.

A couple years ago, I built a similar inquiry system and I set things up so
that each user had their own copy of the Front-end Accdr file.

I am now wondering if this is really necessary. 

Would it be Okay for all users to share the Accdr (front end) which is
stored on the file server?  

Please Keep in mind that no updates are ever done via the font-end.

Thanks,
Brad

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