Internet>>Making application available over Internet

[Oyster]

What is the easiest way to make an application available over the internet?
My web master says we'll need to rewrite most of it in ColdFusion, but there must be a better way. I'm new to web deploying apps so I have no idea where to begin. Please provide as much info as possible.

I thought the whole application could be stored on a server, and a simple portol or hyperlink created on our website that would allow users to kick off the application.

 

[Pat Hartman]

What is the easiest way to make an application available over the internet?

The fe database can be installed locally and linked to the be which is stored on a file server. When linking the tables, you can choose the server from Network Neighborhood or type the UNC name directly in the file name box.

Of course if you want to make the application public, you would be better off creating web pages. You would also be better off not storing the data in Access. Once you are not using Access to develop your forms/reports, etc, there is no reason to use Jet to store the data. There are lots of more powerful RDBMS' available. Even open source products.

 

[shadow9449]

Some dumb questions, if you don't mind:

linked to the be which is stored on a file server

Does it need to be an IIS server to host Jet tables?

you can choose the server from Network Neighborhood or type the UNC name directly in the file name box.

How are they connected? Over a VPN? I know little about wide area networking, so I am wondering what kind of connection you'd recommend for a hosted database.

Can Jet handle it, or would you recommend converting the tables to MySQL or MSDE if the BE is on a server?

Thanks in advance

SHADOW

 

[Pat Hartman]

Does it need to be an IIS server to host Jet tables?

- No. You are not running Access on the server. You are running Access on your local PC. You are simply retrieving data from the server. The server needs to be a file server, that's all.

Can Jet handle it, or would you recommend converting the tables to MySQL or MSDE if the BE is on a server?

I always prefer to use non-Jet back ends so If you have some other RDBMS available to you, you'll have better performance, provided the forms/reports, etc. are properly constructed for a client/server environment. MSDE is a crippled version of SQL Server. It is designed to SLOW down when more than 8 threads are in use. That is a pretty small number if you ask me. Whether you need a back end other than Jet is really dependent on the size of your tables as much as the number of concurrent connections you need.

 

[shadow9449]

You are not running Access on the server. You are running Access on your local PC. You are simply retrieving data from the server.

Ok, that answers my question.

If you have some other RDBMS available to you, you'll have better performance

They all cost big bucks (which I don't have ), except for MySQL which is free.

Whether you need a back end other than Jet is really dependent on the size of your tables

None more than 10K records.

as much as the number of concurrent connections you need.

No more than 10 users, let's say. Unlikely they will ALL request the same record at the same time, so I guess MSDE isn't THAT bad in this situation.

SHADOW

 

[Oyster]

The fe database can be installed locally and linked to the be which is stored on a file server. When linking the tables, you can choose the server from Network Neighborhood or type the UNC name directly in the file name box.

Of course if you want to make the application public, you would be better off creating web pages. You would also be better off not storing the data in Access. Once you are not using Access to develop your forms/reports, etc, there is no reason to use Jet to store the data. There are lots of more powerful RDBMS' available. Even open source products.

Hate to sound dumb, but the method you mentioned, would we be able to access this via the internet? The application and its data should not be available to the public, but only to individuals within the organization. I can't believe that this whole app will need to be rewritten!!!

 

[Pat Hartman]

Is the server inside or outside your firewall? If it's outside, I'm sure that you can require a password to access the server. If it's inside, your network security should handle access to the server.

You are stretching the limits of my knowledge here. Why not just try it?