Access Database Online

[mdbBound]

Urgent! I need advise please!

I will create an Access database that will be accesible on the web. It will be used by 3 departments which are located in 3 different offices in downtown LA. Now, can Access do this? I'm worried about performance. The users should be able to view different tables and print preformatted reports, input and also need permission and security for specific user and department level.

I'm just thinking of maybe I should just create it using Coldfusion. The problem is that my boss thinks that this is all easy to do in Access alone and is not so big in Coldfusion.

Please respond at once. Thanks

 

[Kodo]

Maybe it's just me, but when I hear web, the first that doesn't come to mind is Data Access Pages especially for internet use.

I'm not too keen on ColdFusion myself but if that's all you know, then use it to build your web app instead. I have solid experience that tells me that you can get away with 15 to 20 users before you start to hit a wall and much of it depends on how you code it. Remember to open and close connections as fast as possible. Use arrays where you can so you can release the resources.

If this website has an expected heavy use, then I recommend HIGHLY that you move to a more robust database.

 

[Calvin]

When you say "web" do yo mean webpage/webapp or shared over an intranet?

Either way it is all subjective of the environment and what kind of network does it run on, is a firewall going to be an issue, how many users will there be simultaniously?
Writing a split app can be faster to develop but has deployment and maintenance issues that an ASP page (web app) doesn't, while a web app that uses a web browser like IE or Netscape can be easier to support with almost no distribution problems, can be quite a bit more complicated to develop.
I develop my web apps (asp pages) in .NET, so I don't know about developing in Cold Fusion, but I hear DreamWeaver is probably the easiest for getting connected to a database and displaying/formating reports.
I also have several split access apps that each have a couple of hundred users, a couple with about 15-20 simultaniously connectioned users at any given time of the day. Our intranet is secured behind several firewalls and spans dozens of locations across half of Oregon, but is connected via Fiber-Optic cabling and Sonit-Rings so performance is about as good as I can ask for.
If network performance, deployment and long term maintenace is an issue than I would lean toward a web app but development and testing time can be about twice as long.

 

[mdbBound]

Appreciate all your insights. My boss is not so big on the idea of this becoming a web app however i will try to justify it. I think web app is the way to go. Users are 50% intranet and 50% internet. They are in downtown LA and in other cities.

If this stays in Access,

1. where will the application be located and how do i handle updates?
2 if I use Sql server as backend, do all location need a sql server? My guess is yes. Im pretty sure not all locations have one.
3. The major requirement is that the Access form must be accessible via internet/intranet. I know there can be a link that users can click and download the application with the tables in the same database everytime they need to see the lastest version, how am i going to make an .mde? Is there a better way?
4. "The major requirement is that the Access form must be accessible via internet/intranet." This is what I am scared about!!! If the users decided to open the application from the link instead of downloading to their PC, how many people can do the same thing at the same time and where should the application be located? What about updates, does it update the main file or just the instance opened by the user somewhere else.
5. Data Access Pages (DAP) - I've seen this stuff. I never like it. It's a web app wanna be but maybe you need to VBA the DAP pages. But does it work with VBA at all, connections are terrible. One time I tried, it never work and it has a terrible layout. We have Access 2000 Professional, maybe an Access Database Project (ADP) but will need certain version of Access.

Please I really need to figure this out fast. I have a meeting at 11am tomorrow 3/26 Pacific time and we will talk about this. This is also the only way to voice out if ever I really need to do it in Coldfusion or ASP. Please!!!

 

[Kodo]

1. where will the application be located and how do i handle updates?
The application will be located on a web server at your desired location.
Updates will be handled by the application.


2 if I use Sql server as backend, do all location need a sql server? My guess is yes. Im pretty sure not all locations have one.
No. You need on SQL server which is located at your desired location. The web app will communicate with it.


3. The major requirement is that the Access form must be accessible via internet/intranet. I know there can be a link that users can click and download the application with the tables in the same database everytime they need to see the lastest version, how am i going to make an .mde? Is there a better way?
if you go Web App with SQL server, you won't need an MDE. If you use access as your back end, you will have to store the database ON the web server.


4. "The major requirement is that the Access form must be accessible via internet/intranet." This is what I am scared about!!! If the users decided to open the application from the link instead of downloading to their PC, how many people can do the same thing at the same time and where should the application be located? What about updates, does it update the main file or just the instance opened by the user somewhere else.
The server will be located in a centrally located location hosting the web application and the SQL database. SQL server is much more robust than Access and you can have significantly more users performing the same action than Access.. 15-20 is pocket change to SQL server. Updates will update the main SQL database.

 

[mdbBound]

Thank you Kodo. You are very helpful. I certainly will mention all of this to the meeting. Sorry I don't mean to be repetative, but just to make sure I get this right:

If I will use Access as a frontend and database server as backend wherein both must be installed in a web server or the same computer where the web server is installed. Then, when user1 clicks the link in the internet page, the application will open and user1 will be able to use the frontend. When user2 clicks the link, user2 will be able to use the application such as view summaries and reports while user1 is still using the application.

Do I already move my tables from Access to SQL server before I link it to my required forms? I've never done it this way, I've always just develop in Access and create an MDE afterwards automatically separating Access tables.

I think this project is too much I can handle but I have to prove myself, please be patient with me.

Thank you