Access Database on Web Server

[BillD]

I read in a question posted that someone had their Access Database on a Web
Server. Is this possible without having a serious problem with corruption or
speed? I thought that this would be like file sharing where when using
Access, parts of the program are loaded into ram on the desktop PC. If there
is a connection disconnect then some of the program does not make it back to
the server thus corrupting the database. For example: If you have the MS
Access program on your desktop PC and your Access Database on a Server or Web
Server.
I guess I am not fully understanding the differences with Server, Web
Server, SQL Server. I thought the only True Client to Server setup was when
you move the tables or complete database from MS Access to SQL Server. Is SQL
Server a separate Server or just a program on any PC.

 

[Albert D. Kallal]

I read in a question posted that someone had their Access Database on a Web
Server. Is this possible without having a serious problem with corruption
or
speed? I thought that this would be like file sharing where when using
Access, parts of the program are loaded into ram on the desktop PC.

The above is correct when you're talking about a rich desktop application,
but when you're using a web server, it is the web server that's reading form
the access database not your desktop PC.

I mean when you're viewing a web page, and it shows informational of books
on the Amazon website, that data and that information about those books was
never really downloaded into your computer. It simply was displayed in a
browser . That information is simply rendered by the web server into a page
that your computer can view with a web browser like Internet explorer.

Furthermore, we should actually distinguish between the jet database engine
who used for MS access, and the MS access development system that builds
forms, report's etc. When you use MS access on a website, you're not using
the forms, code, reports etc, you're actually only using the mdb file, and
what is normally referred to as the jet database file.

So when you build a web site, if you have a copy of the jet database engine
on that web site, then the web server can read data from that jet mdb file
and render it and then transmitted to as to you as a normal web page. simply
turning off your computer, or closing a webpage your viewing is not going to
damaged nor affect the data that's in a database used by the webserver.

So you can well use a mdb file, but the JET database engine is not designed
for heavy loads, and certainly since you not using any features of MS access
such as forms, code, report's etc, then there is little if any benefit to
using an jet "mdb" file for your databae site.

So, keep in mind it's never you the end user's that's reading the mdb
directly from a web site, and therefore there's no corruption issues due to
a loss of connection over the Internet. It is the website that simply reads
the data from the mdb file, and then creates HTML that your browser then
views.

For example: If you have the MS
Access program on your desktop PC and your Access Database on a Server or
Web
Server.

Well now again we have to be more clear what we're talking about here, are
you talking about a server, or you talking about a website server that is
dishign out HTML web pages?

There's a huge grand canyon of difference between the two systems here. If
you're using a web server, then you're not using MS access to view web
pages, and they're not related in any way shape or form.

MS access as a normal rule cannot connect to a website. However and this
access can certainly connect to a database engine like a SQL server.

I guess I am not fully understanding the differences with Server, Web
Server, SQL Server. I thought the only True Client to Server setup was
when
you move the tables or complete database from MS Access to SQL Server. Is
SQL
Server a separate Server or just a program on any PC.

The problem here is you can not move an MS access application to SQL server,
because SQL server does not have any ability to create forms, reports etc.
SQL server is only database engine that can retrieve data.

However to get a access to the data on SQL server, you going to have to
write some application that reads the data from that system. That
application can be written in VB, c++, and even MS access. And, you can also
write software for a web site that reads data from sql server.

You can actually think of SQL server for a much like a web server system,
but it only serves to applications that you write (not a web browser).

Furthermore, keep in mind that it is very common and very often that your
web server software that you write to retrieve data will retrieve it from
SQL server. Remember, your web based application is just software that runs
on a web server and dishes out pages to a browser that resides on your
computer. That web server is perfectly capable of reading data from SQL
server, and in fact this is mostly how it's done.

So if you set up a SQL server in some location, you could have a web server
connect to it, a vb application connect to that sql server, and yes even MS
access could connect that sql server.

When you write an application MS access, you generally by default use the
database engine called JET. This is the default, or so called internal built
in database engine, however, you don't have to use that database engine with
MS access. You can continue to use MS access, and use SQL server, oracle,
MySql etc.as the backend database system that holds the data.

MS access is not really a database system, is a system that let you build
report's, write code, and build forms to edit the data we have. MS access is
in fact an application development tool who that lets you build the
interface such as forms accept rock and enables you to write software. It is
this software system that you can use to connect to SQL server that holds
your data. This is mostly how software is written.

SQL server can't create forms, or the user interface on your desktop...you
have to use some software development tools to accomplish that goal.

 

[BillD]

Albert:
I finished a reply to you earlier, but when I clicked POST the screen
changed for me to type in my email and password then opened a new reply
screen. I lost my reply. This also happened to me earlier today. I now copy
my response to notepad before clicking POST.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate your responses. Your patience in
helping me understand what needs to be done here is outstanding. I think I am
almost there in understanding the setup with MS Access and Web Servers and
Network Servers.
Can you confirm if my current understanding is near correct?
It would be of no use for me to place my Access Database.mdb as is on a Web
Server. I would not be able to access the switchboard, use Forms to
review/edit records or print reports from the database(even if I have the
Access Program on my PC ) unless I have a program written to communicate to
the database on the WEB Server.
If I decided not to write a web program, I could have a Server(Hardware)
loaded with SQL server software and have my database tables converted to SQL
Server and placed on the Web Server. I could have the front end of the
MSAccess Database with Forms, Queries and Reports on my Desktop PC. This
sounded good but what is on the Server (Hardware) in addition to the SQL
server program.

 

[David W. Fenton]

So you can well use a mdb file, but the JET database engine is not
designed for heavy loads, and certainly since you not using any
features of MS access such as forms, code, report's etc, then
there is little if any benefit to using an jet "mdb" file for your
databae site.

Actually, I think the reason Jet is not recommended for websites is
because it's not multi-threaded (although ADO is multi-thread,
whereas DAO is not; at least DAO until Access 2K7 was not
multi-threaded -- dunno if that's been updated), which can cause
bottlenecks on a web server.

But MichKa always said Trigeminal.com was driven by a Jet db and at
its height, he said he was getting 100K hits a day. That sounds
pretty solid to me, though it was a website designed by a
near-genius, so maybe it takes a MichKa-type near-genius to keep a
Jet-based website operating well under high loads.

 

[David W. Fenton]

MS access as a normal rule cannot connect to a website.

Access 2007 can connect to SharePoint servers using HTTP.

 

[BillD]

I am understanding that we cannot communicate with the Database on the Web
Server using an MS Access front end on my PC. We could not use the forms to
view and edit records or print reports. I am understanding that we have to
have a SQL server program on a server PC or private server that would
communicate with the Web Server with the SQL server database on it. My PC
would have the MS-Access program as a front end with the Froms, Queries and
reports on it. This Access front end would communicate with the Private SQL
server which would communicate with the SQL Database located on the Web
Server.

 

[Albert D. Kallal]

Can you confirm if my current understanding is near correct?
It would be of no use for me to place my Access Database.mdb as is on a
Web
Server. I would not be able to access the switchboard, use Forms to
review/edit records or print reports from the database(even if I have the
Access Program on my PC ) unless I have a program written to communicate
to
the database on the WEB Server.

Well if that web server was part of your network, and you could browse to a
shared folder through windows workgroup or windows networking, then in fact
you could open up the database from your computer as long as you have MS
access installed . You would simply have to be part of the same network. I'm
sure in your small office network allows each other to share files. However,
I can't see your files from my computer over here.

So, we're talking about a computer and a folder with a network share. This
type of folder share does not happen over the Internet. In fact, there is a
way to have windows networking over the Internet. This windows networking
over the internet is often refered to a virtual private network.

However because the Internet is so much slower, and is subject to temporary
disconnections, you can can't use access over a VPN in this fashion anyway.

If I decided not to write a web program, I could have a Server(Hardware)
loaded with SQL server software and have my database tables converted to
SQL
Server and placed on the Web Server. I could have the front end of the
MSAccess Database with Forms, Queries and Reports on my Desktop PC.

Yes, correct.

This assumes that your web server has those ports open to the wild internet,
and most people who run their web servers is generally don't expose the SQL
server to Joe public. However you could use a secure connection to it, and
that is very common.

Thus, if you need an access application you've written to use the same data
that a web server is going to use, and you wanna be able to do that anywhere
on the Internet, then the above setup is exactly the way to go.

This
sounded good but what is on the Server (Hardware) in addition to the SQL
server program.

Not much more. The other thing you'll need in addition to SQL server is some
web server software. So, you have to choose what program you use for your
web server. You can use the common Apache, or from micorsoft there is
Internet services. Which system you choose will depend on which system and
software tools that you want to learn in which to write a web based systems.

Just like there's many many different programming languages, there is also
many different web systems, and many different programming languages in
which to use with these web systems.

 

[BillD]

Thank you very much for the detailed overview. I now understand mostly all of
the setup with MS-Access and the Web. I have picked up a lot of other
valuable information along the way. If I have any further questions, I will
post a new thread.
Thanks Again,
Bill Depow
Fredericton, NB

 

[David W. Fenton]

I am understanding that we cannot communicate with the Database on
the Web Server using an MS Access front end on my PC. We could not
use the forms to view and edit records or print reports. I am
understanding that we have to have a SQL server program on a
server PC or private server that would communicate with the Web
Server with the SQL server database on it. My PC would have the
MS-Access program as a front end with the Froms, Queries and
reports on it. This Access front end would communicate with the
Private SQL server which would communicate with the SQL Database
located on the Web Server.

Or you could use Windows Terminal Server.

 

[twistoflemon]

What about using a webdav web folder?
I have tried this assuming similar behaviour as a network share however with
opening a .mdb file I get: