System Design question

[bbulla]

Hi,

We have a relational DB that holds information on West Nile Virus. Currently, we have 5 tablet PCs that take a full copy of the DB and updates/edits are done in the field.

Once a month, the tablets come back and someone manually takes the 5 databases and uploads the changes to the central database. I want to find an easier way to do this. Some sort of 'synchronization' type of process.

Can anybody recommend anything? I am not too experienced with Access and this sort of functionality.

I think ideally I would create an application to check data in and out of the central DB, but I'm not really sure where to start.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[neileg]

Look up syncronisation in Access help. It's a built in feature.

 

[rsmonkey]

are these pc's networked? if so why dont you split the database into a FE (Front End) & BE(Back End) system. Obviously the backend is stored on one machine & contains all the data & the front ends would be stored upon all the machines and reference/update.modify etc.. all data in the backend!

 

[bbulla]

Yeah, I've been doing some research and it looks like 'replication' is what I want to be doing. I read a post on here that says I should be splitting my DB and not doing replication though. Why would I choose one method over the other?

 

[neileg]

As you are using handhelds, splitting won't do it for you. You can split as well, but you need to use replication. I suspect rsmonkey missed the reference to tablet PCs.

 

[bbulla]

No, the tablets won't be connected to the network while the edits are being done. So I will try using replication instead of splitting. Or is it better to do some combination of the two?? The users will be using forms to enter data, so if I ever need to change the form at the Master splitting would help...right??

During my testing I see that when setting up the replication in Access I end up with a 'Design Master' and a 'Replica'. If I need more than one replica, can I just copy/rename the already created 'Replica' or do I need to the process again??

Thanks for your help.

 

[dfenton]

No, the tablets won't be connected to the network while the edits are being done. So I will try using replication instead of splitting. Or is it better to do some combination of the two?? The users will be using forms to enter data, so if I ever need to change the form at the Master splitting would help...right??

Every Access application should be split, except if it's only ever used by one user and there are never any changes to the code by an outside developer.

In a replicated scenario, the front end should *not* be replicated, as replication does not work with front end objects -- it works well only with pure Jet objects (tables and queries).

Only the back end data file should be replicated.

In your case, you have two reasons that require splitting:

1. multiple users.

2. replication.

During my testing I see that when setting up the replication in Access I end up with a 'Design Master' and a 'Replica'. If I need more than one replica, can I just copy/rename the already created 'Replica' or do I need to the process again??

For initializing your tablet PCs, yes, you can just copy the replica to each PC.

However, once anyone edits data, you can ever again copy or move those replicas, except by using the MoveReplica command (which is not found in Access itself -- it's available only in Replication Manager and in the TSI Synchronizer available at http://trigeminal.com).

I'd suggest you spend some time reviewing the resources listed at my Jet Replication Wiki:

http://dfenton.com/DFA/Replication/