FE/BE question (1 Viewer)

[stormin_norm]

ANything to watch out for??

We have a database where most users would simply run w/ menus & forms. So standard /runtime.
I want to split the database to fe/be's as follows:
1 BE - obviously
1 FE - typical users. Will sit on shared network drive
3 FE's - for the three power users so they can make their own reports.

The 3 FE's for the power users will most likely sit on the P: network drive because thats how their IT dept. would like it. Is it 'that big a deal' to keep it on a network drive vs. local hard drive?

I assume the power users do not have to open the database /excl anymore to create reports. yes/no.
Any other gotcha's with the FE/BE besides training them how to share reports between each others FE's.

Another off the wall question- What about the idea of creating an MDE for the typical users and using a FE for the power users. Can you actually make a mixed mode of MDE & FE/BE??? Pain in the neck to administer???

Thanks!
-Norm.

 

[mcadle]

I do all of that with my network. I make mde's that reside in a shared folder for most of my users. I have a couple of FE's that reside in different folders for power users who know what they are doing. The biggest issue is rights to the folders. I operate on a novell network and just created groups that have the appropriate rights. It's good to have the FE's reside on a network drive in the event of a crash you should have a tape backup for it (if you have tape backup or some sort of backup.) As for sharing reports, the users should just export the report or have the other user import the report/query if they need it. I keep a master FE that the mde's are built from...so when I make a change I only have to change one file then create the mde to replace the one on the network. Hope this helps.

 

[stormin_norm]

Thanks mcadle for the confidence. I want to steer them to mde's for their regular users and make sure the FE's don't give exclusive lock errors when a power user wants to make a custom report. I'll probably give the three power users their own FE's so they don't get exclusive lock errors or have to jump in and out of the runtime icon & development icon.
fyi-my client is on a novell network also.
We did find an issue with a novell setting for number of locks. It seems the network default setting is too low. We could delete and update up to 420 recs, then access would hang. When we bumped up the parameter, everything was okay. I'm not the novell admin, so I don't have the parameter off the top of my head

 

[Pat Hartman]

With A2K and newer, multiple users MAY NOT make object changes to a shared db. This was a weakness with earlier versions that has now been corrected. You would need to install a source code control program to support multiple users updating a db. A better solution:

1. BE in shared network folder
2. FE, preferably an .mde, either shared or local. Local is better.
3. Separate .mdb with links to the BE for each power user.

This allows everyone to share the data. It allows everyone to share the FE and it gives the power users a place to create their own objects. The big benefit to you with this setup is that you don't need to worry about user-created objects (because they are NOT in the shared db) when upgrading the application. You can simply replace the FE with a new version. If you let the users make modifications in the production db, you are asking for trouble.

I know you don't want to have the users have to switch between databases, but explain the "upgrade" problem to them. The more users you have who can build their own objects, the more problems you'll have in integrating them.

Link the tables using the UNC name rather than a hardcoded drive letter. This gives you more flexibility if your shop has a problem with drive letter usage.

 

[stormin_norm]

Thanks PAT!
You helped firm up my plans. The handful of power users are at their wits end with the exclusive access issue. I think they understand the benefit of splitting the db now!
I only have tried FE/BE, so the MDE w/ BE & FE environment will be a first for me. But it sounds easy enough
The Novel admins handle the icons and SW distribution for the end users, so I have to be sure I have everything packaged nicely for an MDE environment.