[AccessD] Access development in the cloud

[Eric Flamm]

I have a Windows Server VM hosted in Azure - I used the Windows with SQL
Server image and provided my own SQL Server License, which lowers the per
minute cost a bit. I sized the box and associated drives to be more than I
needed to run the monthly process I was handling. I wrote a PowerShell
script to connect to Azure, start the VM, and connect via remote desktop.
Once I finished uploading the data and running the process, I shut down the
VM, which de-provisions the compute (but not the virtual drives). The cost
of running the server is about $7/hour, and I used 2-3 hours per month for
the job. I also loaded Microsoft 365 on the box, so I could do Access
development, especially for discovery projects I didn't want to load
locally.

Since it's a Windows Server VM, supporting 2 user sessions simultaneously
shouldn't be a problem. Of course, the compute cost ticks along whenever
the box is provisioned, so you would need to work out the math on whether
this solution fits your needs. Of course, you can tweak the virtual core
count and RAM spec to impact the operating cost.

Eric


> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2024 09:25:31 +1200
> From: Paul Wolstenholme <Paul.W at industrialcontrol.co.nz>
> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
>         <accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
> Cc: Jim Dettman <jimdettman at verizon.net>
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Access development in the cloud
> Message-ID:
>         <CABGHdVnfq81t9KJeR3VE_na1NrcOwEEHTiOMPUxYVNZeoL=
> 4Qg at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Regarding cost effectiveness...
> A development environment for one customer's system would be used only for
> a portion of my working week.  It seems plausible that that is the only
> time a virtual machine assigned to that task would need to be active.
> Amazon Web Services charge for virtual machines by the minute, but only
> while they are running.  If you multiply their 24/7 rate for a VM by a duty
> cycle of 10% to15% it doesn't look as bad.  I don't know about other
> providers.
>
> Perhaps I'm old-school.  I shut my computers down at the end of the day
> unless there is a good reason not to.
>
> Paul Wolstenholme
>
>
> <<snip>>



> > It is getting to the time when I must upgrade my Access with SQL Server
> > Express development environment.  The hardware platform and Access
> licence
> > are both old and in need of renewal (but SQL Server Express is free).
> > Furthemore I'm sharing that development machine with a sub-contractor who
> > is
> > learning to take over the support of my customer.  It is working fine now
> > but if I'm away then a hardware problem would be hard to deal with.  We
> > need
> > a development system that is separate from the customer's live system
> (and
> > security concerns limit how we can access the live system anyway).
> >
> > I'm wondering whether a development environment in the cloud might be an
> > effective way of implementing a succession plan as I train my successor
> and
> > eventually hand over that environment.
> > My full development environment also includes other software running on
> > Windows that interacts with the same database.  That issue is outside the
> > scope of this group but hopefully it might run in the same cloud.
> >
> > Any advice would be appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Paul Wolstenholme
> > --
> > AccessD mailing list
> > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
> > https://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
> > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com
> >
> >
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2024 11:25:34 -0400
> From: "Jim Dettman" <jimdettman at verizon.net>
> To: "'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'"
>         <accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
> Subject: [AccessD] Expert's Exchange; new program
> Message-ID: <004b01dab8ee$f19238b0$d4b6aa10$@verizon.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"
>
> All,
>
>
>
>    To anyone that's ever wondered about www.experts-exchange.com
> <http://www.experts-exchange.com> , but didn't want to sign-up, they are
> now
> offering a 90-day trail with no CC required.   So if you've been curious,
> check it out!  https://go.experts-exchange.com/
>
>
>
> Jim.
>
>
>
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> End of AccessD Digest, Vol 252, Issue 2
> ***************************************
>


-- 
Eric Flamm
eric at flammconsulting.com
(678) 524-4256