Run App on a Data Stick? (1 Viewer)

[bob fitz]

Just wondering if anyone has tried using an access app on a data stick.
Any one have any pros and cons or opinions on its success.

 

[isladogs]

I wouldn't recommend it. Fine for restoring and transferring files.
Risky for running databases in case of dropped connections.
Similar issues as with running Access from One Drive or Dropbox or when using wireless connections to a LAN.
If a connection is dropped when you are modifying data, corruption may occur

 

[bob fitz]

I wouldn't recommend it. Fine for restoring and transferring files.
Risky for running databases in case of dropped connections.
Similar issues as with running Access from One Drive or Dropbox or when using wireless connections to a LAN.
If a connection is dropped when you are modifying data, corruption may occur

OK Colin. I thought that might be the case but have never actually tried it or heard of anyone else doing so.
Many thanks for the advice and speedy reply

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Speaking strictly from theory, if a datastick is inserted into a USB port, file sharing CAN occur. I.e. SMB protocol should work because SMB is a part of the presentation layer while USB is at the physical link layer in the 7-layer ISO model. There might be a speed issue because USB speeds tend to be slower than disk speeds, often by a very large percentage. But it should be theoretically possible.

The question is not how the stick connects to the computer because that layer of the ISO model is lower than the protocols of file sharing. It is more about how the computer hosting the stick connects to the computer that is running MSACCESS.EXE to drive the app. If they are the same computer, should work. If not, then at least one other networking hop is part of the end-to-end connection and thus needs to be considered.

I do not recall that USB connections are tenuous or intermittant, but if someone has actual experience with flaky USB physical-link layer behavior, please advise. My discussion was from a theoretical point of view regarding networking behavior. I've never actually tried it.

 

[Gasman]

I do not recall that USB connections are tenuous or intermittant, but if someone has actual experience with flaky USB physical-link layer behavior, please advise. My discussion was from a theoretical point of view regarding networking behavior. I've never actually tried it.

Personally I would have thought not, as you have or used to have the ability to use it as extra memory.?

If that was going to be flaky, that would be a recipe for disaster, would it not?

 

[bob fitz]

Speaking strictly from theory, if a datastick is inserted into a USB port, file sharing CAN occur. I.e. SMB protocol should work because SMB is a part of the presentation layer while USB is at the physical link layer in the 7-layer ISO model. There might be a speed issue because USB speeds tend to be slower than disk speeds, often by a very large percentage. But it should be theoretically possible.

The question is not how the stick connects to the computer because that layer of the ISO model is lower than the protocols of file sharing. It is more about how the computer hosting the stick connects to the computer that is running MSACCESS.EXE to drive the app. If they are the same computer, should work. If not, then at least one other networking hop is part of the end-to-end connection and thus needs to be considered.

I do not recall that USB connections are tenuous or intermittant, but if someone has actual experience with flaky USB physical-link layer behavior, please advise. My discussion was from a theoretical point of view regarding networking behavior. I've never actually tried it.

Thanks The_Doc_Man for your interest and your thoughts on this matter.

 

[Micron]

I have never done so - because I do know someone who did and the result was corruption. Was that the sole reason? Who knows; I just took his word for it. All in all, I don't see any upside to not copying over the file and working on a stable drive.

 

[isladogs]

I have tried it a few years ago but only on small test databases.
Whilst I didn't have any disasters the application was noticeably slower (but USB has improved since then)
I didn't want to risk a complex operation on a large production application

In the interests of testing what I hoped would become a commercial app, I also test ran an Access app on Windows tablets using a wireless connection. The plan was to have a student attendance FE database which could be used by PE teachers when outside with their classes with the BE on the school server.

It ran for a surprisingly long time without any issues, albeit extremely slowly.
Eventually some corruption did occur in my tests but by then the poor performance meant I'd modified the approach.
Instead staff were asked to transfer the class register data to a local table at the start of the lesson, take the register then copy it back to the network after the lesson.
Technically that was fine, but inevitably teachers forgot or couldn't be bothered.
Most chose to either do registers on paper for someone in the office to transfer ...
... or did so electronically inside the building whilst connected to the network.
After a while, we all agreed to abandon the experiment

 

[bob fitz]

I have never done so - because I do know someone who did and the result was corruption. Was that the sole reason? Who knows; I just took his word for it. All in all, I don't see any upside to not copying over the file and working on a stable drive.

The 'upside' would have been that my client would not have to keep coping and pasting when moving from his desktop pc to his laptop. Believe it or not he seems to be struggling with that :banghead:
Thanks for your interest and comments

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

The 'upside' would have been that my client would not have to keep coping and pasting when moving from his desktop pc to his laptop. Believe it or not he seems to be struggling with that :banghead:
Thanks for your interest and comments

Hi Bob,
I have moved over to Google Drive. So instead of keeping folders on my PC I keep folders in Google Drive. When I finished something, I upload it to Google Drive. I just keep a working folder on the PC which only contains what I happen to be currently working on. I wonder if your client could adopt this system? When finished, upload the database to Google Drive, then download it onto the laptop/PC. An added advantage would be, if dated file names were used you would have an automatic backup system!

 

[bob fitz]

Hi Bob,
I have moved over to Google Drive. So instead of keeping folders on my PC I keep folders in Google Drive. When I finished something, I upload it to Google Drive. I just keep a working folder on the PC which only contains what I happen to be currently working on. I wonder if your client could adopt this system? When finished, upload the database to Google Drive, then download it onto the laptop/PC. An added advantage would be, if dated file names were used you would have an automatic backup system!

I shall look into this idea in the hope that he can manage this process a little better. Thanks for your interest.

 

[Micron]

The 'upside' would have been that my client would not have to keep coping and pasting when moving from his desktop pc to his laptop. Believe it or not he seems to be struggling with that :banghead:
Thanks for your interest and comments

Now that you mention it, when dealing over the phone with someone to set them up with a shortcut on their desktop, they had no idea what I was talking about. That was an eye opener. I just thought it was like breathing.
EDIT - just saw the note about using a web based drive. They'll want to work off of the file from there. Better not!!

 

[Mark_]

One approach for using the USB drive;
Keep a copy of the front end on each computer. First thing it does is check if the proper back end exists. If not, it gives a big message "Insert flash drive" and exits.

This way you avoid the issues of one front end going strange if they pull the drive while the program is open. Doesn't stop back end issues but should reduce them. Putting both front and back end on the same drive is asking for problems.