Take my database offsite and back?

[johncallaghan]

I would look at a remote access program like 'Radmin' for update the remote server. I work from home and use it all the time. It works brilliantly and allow file transfer as well as complete use of the remote computer from home.

Cheers

 

[bugleboy]

Thanks John. We're looking at implementing a VPN solution, so I'll pass the Radmin info along.

Short of remote access, there has GOT to be a solution allowing me to put my database on my laptop, update the DB records offsite, and then synchronize with the server Master BE.

Does anyone have any idea what to do next?

This is now officially a QUEST!

Sir Bugleboy

 

[boblarson]

I may be misunderstanding the question, but if you want to be able to make changes to a replicated database, you need to have the masters where you will be doing the changes. You can only work on the masters to make changes. So, if you want to make design changes then you will need to make the frontend and backend on your laptop the masters and then work on them and then you can connect back up to the network and people can synch to your laptop. That is the only way short of remote access to remote in and work on the masters via remote connection.

We used Windows XP remote access RDP to remote in to our desktop computers and then work on the network so we could do design changes to our replicated database masters, instead of having the master on the laptop (which was just asking for trouble, especially since they wouldn't be backed up if the masters were on the laptop - let alone that other users wouldn't be synched unless you were connected to the network).

 

[bugleboy]

Thanks Bob.

Let me share the pain with you

Here's my problem:

I created a database and put it on our network in a high level folder. I split the database into a FE and BE. My co-worker and I each have our own copy of the FE on our computers, which are both on the network. We currently have about 465 records that document various aspects of machine hazards at a large manufacturing plant about 50 miles from our office.

We can both update the records all day long in our office, and any conflicts are resolved if we happen to update the same record.

Now, tomorrow we have to go to the manufacturing plant 50 miles away and sit down with a guy to help us fill in some blanks on about 30 records. Since our company does not have VPN or any other type of remote accessing, I need a way to take my database with me on my laptop and sit down with this guy and update the missing data in the 30 records. Then I need to come back to my office and synchronize the updated data with the master BE on our server.

I've tried to replicate the FE and BE to my laptop, but I get a "Disk or network error" if I try to open the database when I am not on the network.
The laptop copy of the replicated FE is looking for the server master BE and can't find it.

I tried opening the laptop FE while holding the shift key down and then opening the Link Table Manager to try and attach to the local replicated BE on my laptop, but I can't browse for the local BE without checking the box next to the server BE path. I then browse to my local BE on the laptop, select it and get the error about being unable to make changes to the design,
which, of course, is not what I am trying to do.

So here I am, three days later, and my only solution is to print the 30 records out and update them the old fashioned way with a writing utensil.

Are we having fun yet?

 

[boblarson]

This is what I did to solve a similar problem.

I put the master backend on the server. I replicated the backend to everyone's computer or laptops, depending on what they had. I replicated into the same folder on their computers (C:\HDCC). Then, I gave everyone a copy of the front end (AFTER I had gone into my front end master and changed the links to go to the replicated backend located at C:\HDCC). Then, whenever anyone opened it, it opened to the correct location and they could update any data and the master would get the updates on my synch schedule. Therefore I could take my laptop and be like I was in the office and the next time I was in I could connect up and then it would synch my changes.

I hope that helps.

 

[bugleboy]

That sounds so simple it has to work!

I knew you'd have an answer if I just 'splained it right.

Thanks again, Bob!

I'll reply back after I try to make it work.

 

[bugleboy]

Question

How do I tell the Server FE to look for the local BE instead of the server BE ?

 

[boblarson]

Don't use a server FE. Each user needs a local FE. It won't work if everyone is accessing the same front end.

for a tool that lets you enable your front end to be able to autoupdate so you can make modifications to your front end and then not have to manually get the updated front end, you can get my tool here:
http://downloads.btlarson.com/AWF/Samples/Access_Front-End_AutoUpdating_Utility_rev01-02-2007.zip

 

[bugleboy]

It worked!

Never mind, Bob, I figured it out by using the Link Table Manager.

Thanks for the AWESOME solution!!!!

Your humble newbie,

bugleboy

 

[bugleboy]

Autoupdate FE is my next project!

I will implementing your autoupdating tool sometime in the near future. Won't be long before this db will be bulletproof!

 

[johncallaghan]

ke sure you use M: and N: and not the actual path. the computer is then happy to link to wherever M: and N: are. I have been using this on a system for two year now and it works well.

It can also be used where some desktops only have a copy of the data and the run locally but update remotely when they enter/edit data. This speeds up the process dramatically.

 

[boblarson]

Negative johncallaghan - use UNC NOT mapped drives as not everyone has mapped drives mapped to the same location. UNC will get you to the correct stuff and is preferred (see many, many posts here, including those by Pat Hartman, Access MVP).

 

[johncallaghan]

UNC does not do what I want.

I can change the location of M: and N:

I use it to have local copies of the database running on the desktop or I can change it to a remote location running on the server. When four computers were all running on the server it sometimes got very slow.

This way it works well.

Cheers

 

[dfenton]

If the BackEnd is on a server that is backed up regularly there is no need to do manual backups for the BackEnd.

I would disagree with this. You can ever have anought backups! Just as soon as you rely on the server backup, it will fail for some unknown reason, so it's always better to have more than one layer of backups.

Otherwise, go directly into the BackEnd and use the Backup utility. Save the backups to a folder you can create either in the directory where the BackEnd is stored or a level up.

What Backup utility is that? I don't see one in Access.

Go to the Master Front End. MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF FRONT END FIRST then use Replication on the Master Front End. This becomes your "Design Master" for Queries, Forms, Reports, Macros, and modules; but not for the tables. the tables are in the BackEnd and the links to them are replicated.

This is a TERRIBLE idea. Replication does not work for Access objects, as it's a pure Jet techology (i.e., designed for tables and queries only). If you replicate a front end, it will likely develop corruption and could eventually cause you to completely lose the whole Access project.

Why replicate the Front End? So that the Design Master can be changed without requiring exclusive user rights; this allows others to continue working while someone is editing objects that would otherwise be considered in use; and then all replicas can be sync'd with the Design Master so that the edited front end will update for each user.

This advice makes sense only if you are WRONGLY trying to have multiple users opening the same front end. That is the wrong way to deploy an Access application. Instead, each user workstation should have an individual copy of the front end. This gets round the whole problem of simultaneous editing entirely, as well as being more efficient and not prone to corruption, as is the case with shared front ends.

As Previously mentioned:
if no one else is working in the database while you're using a copy then you should be able to just replace the BackEnd with the latest data in the same directory as you got it from; as long as you don't change the table names the front end won't care.

I agree that I see no need for replication in this project as described by the original poster.

But that would be neither for front end nor for back end.

--
David W. Fenton
David Fenton Associates
http://dfenton.com/DFA/

 

[boblarson]

What Backup utility is that? I don't see one in Access.

In Access 2003 you can now select Tools > Database Tools > Backup Database. It essentially just copies the file and lets you automatically append the date.