[AccessD] Access & Multiple Users

How many is multiple? Just two or more or ten or more?  We generally don't
have more than a few accessing the same DB at the same time with one
exception.  We have one DB that, during the fall, up to about thirty will
have access to it and they will connect at their leisure.  So there could be
one to a bunch connected any time.  Each is assigned a four digit userid
that they enter into a form that will bring up the records they are supposed
to process.  Have done this for a few years now and have no problems with PC
based Windows computers.  This past fall we did have some issues and traced
it back to Apple computers running Access in a Windows environment using
parallels VM.  Other than that we have been good to go.  I've done the front
end & back end thing upon occasion but for our use it hasn't been necessary.
Just happens to work for us.

We're on a Windows network and use AD for security.  We got off of Novell
about twelve years ago.

David Gibson

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of John Clark
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2013 10:01 AM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: [AccessD] Access & Multiple Users

I've got an Access 101 question...maybe 102...
 
I've been programming in Access for more than 10 yrs now, and early on I'd
learned that, if I wanted multiple users to access my DBs (i.e. most of
them), I needed to split them into Front-End programs w/forms and such,
accessing Back-Ends which house the data. This is the way I've been doing
things for all these years. BUT...I never really ever got any definitive
word on how necessary this was...or at what point. 
 
For me, I like how I do it. It isn't much more work, and I've enjoyed a
great track record, w/very few problems regarding corruption, accessibility,
etc.. But, now I am faced w/an issue, and I want to back up what I am
telling my users w/some solid information...actually I just want to know
that I'm not blowing smoke and I know what I am talking about...
 
We are in the process of migrating over, from a Novell network to a Windows
AD network. We just moved out 2nd of five servers/campuses over and this one
apparently has many Access DBs on it. More troublesome is that it has many
user-created DBs on it. All the DBs I created are fine...nice feather in my
cap there, eh?! But, there are several issues...at least a half-dozen at the
moment...w/the user-created ones. 
 
Most of these issues seem to be that they were previously being used by
multiple people at the same time, and they can no longer do this. I've told
the person that I am in contact w/over there that, they aren't really meant
to be operated this way, so there really isn't anything for me to "fix." 
 
So, this brings us to my questions...
 
1) What IS the rule w/simultaneous access? Is it correct that this shouldn't
be done...is there a size or something that it will work up to?
 
2) for my own curiosity...why did it work w/Novell, but w/it came over to
Active Directory it now longer worked? I'm guessing since it is all MS now,
it is integrated enough to be know better...???
 
I'm guessing this is a mix of Access versions. I'm sure most of mine should
be at least at the 2003 level, but nothing much older than that.