[AccessD] Backing Up Access MDB

Hi Paul

> But do they guarantee completely consistent backups? Anyone can backup files
> in a running mdb -- but how can you be sure there are no update/delete
> locks, or pending/reversing transactions in place?

> Microsoft emphatically states that you can't rely on the internal
> consistency of the data when you do a live backup of an mdb file -
> regardless of whether you backup whole files, or tables individually.

> Honestly, I'd love to be able do live backups of Access data, but until I
> see proof that they handle these data consistency issues properly, I'll hold
> off. After all, a restore that scrambles the owner's data is of no use to
> anyone.

> I'll end by restating my current position: Access is not an enterprise data
> server. If you need 24/7 access, high concurrency, failover/data recovery,
> and live backups, move to SQL Server or the like.

If you are not up to the cost and hardware requirements of SQL Server,
the free Firebird/InterBase engine offers "Database Shadow" and
"Online backup": 

  http://www.ibphoenix.com/main.nfs?a=ibphoenix&page=ibp_60_factsheet

Also, this engine has a low footprint and runs on many platforms -
even MacOS X.

/gustav