Access and wireless

[82412]

It has been pointed out many times in this forum that Access doesn't do well when networked wirelessly. I was experiencing fairly good reliability with a wireless network but the reliability decreased (a) because we had some additional partition walls erected in our office and (b) too many other people were setting up other wireless networks nearby and (c) more of our staff were using the database more of the time. However, I managed to find a fairly simple solution.

I discovered that if the computer/server on which the back end is located is connected to the hub/router by cable, reliability and stability is dramatically improved even although all of the front end computers are still connected wirelessly.

Probably seems obvious when you think about it - the connection to the back-end computer obviously has to deal with the heaviest load - but I thought I would mention it since most of the threads I have read here talk about abandoning wireless altogether in favour of cable. This was a simpler and cheaper solution for a small (nine computer) network.

 

[boblarson]

You just need to be aware that Access is highly susceptible to corruption should any packet loss occur. So, having the BE connected via wire and the frontend be individual frontends on the individual computers would help mitigate this, but just be getting good backups as one dropped connection, no matter how brief, while someone is connected to the database can instantly corrupt your frontend and possibly your backend.

 

[Banana]

That's interesting. I know that it is theoretically possible to work wirelessly, but what stop me is the increased risk of corruption.

AFAICT, Access/Jet doesn't really have checks in place to handle potential bad packets and the like so after a prolonged use on a wireless client, it may progressively get corrupted. That's what I understood. Maybe that has changed with 2007, I don't know.

 

[82412]

You just need to be aware that Access is highly susceptible to corruption should any packet loss occur. So, having the BE connected via wire and the frontend be individual frontends on the individual computers would help mitigate this, but just be getting good backups as one dropped connection, no matter how brief, while someone is connected to the database can instantly corrupt your frontend and possibly your backend.

Oh yes, backing up online twice a day, and keeping 3 days worth of backup copies in case the latest backup copy(ies) were made after the corruption occurred. I don't know if this ever happens in Access, but in Outlook, for example, the corruption in its data file can occur one day but Outlook keeps working until it is shut down and the first sign of trouble is when it won't start the next morning! I'm backing up the backend only, all 9 frontends are identical so if one needs replacing it's no big deal, the chances of all 9 being corrupted at the same time are............................. actually with my luck I'd better not even say it!

 

[82412]

Over the past few months I've switched three more of our computers to cable connections - one because yet more wireless networks appeared nearby, two because their wireless adapters became increasingly unreliable. Not really surprising when you feel how warm they get when in use.


Now I'm going to switch entirely to cable, and what swung it was what I found out when one of the CABLE connected connected computers started losing its connection at irregular intervals! Everything possible was checked out and there was no apparent reason for the problem.


Apologies to those who already know this, but the answer (found in the Microsoft discussion groups) is that it's possible that a faulty network adapter (wireless or non-wireless) while apparently working OK in its own computer, can cause connection problems on one of the OTHER computers in the network.


These wireless adapters get so warm that I reckon they will all fail sooner or later, but what's worse is that they will become erratic before they do that. I'm not going to sit and wait for that to happen, so I have now become a cable convert! (and as I mentioned in a previous post I'm using Powerline network adapters - couldn't be easier, I just wish they had been on the market here a couple of years ago!)