Backend on NAS on LAN (?)

[croy]

For a year or so, we have been using an NAS on our LAN as a
home for our database backend. It's slow, but it works.

I have learned that the NAS operating system is based on
Debian Linux.

Knowing that MS Access is a Windows-only application, I'm
left wondering how our setup can possibly be working! <g>

Doesn't the frontend basically "open" the backend, in order
to make the edits?

I'd love to get some insight into this.

 

[David-W-Fenton]

For a year or so, we have been using an NAS on our LAN as a
home for our database backend. It's slow, but it works.

I have learned that the NAS operating system is based on
Debian Linux.

Knowing that MS Access is a Windows-only application, I'm
left wondering how our setup can possibly be working! <g>

Doesn't the frontend basically "open" the backend, in order
to make the edits?

The NAS is likely using SAMBA to serve up the data, and SAMBA is an
emulation of SMB networking (i.e., Windows networking).

I wouldn't recommend it, myself, because I don't trust the low-level
differences in the file system to not cause problems with the inner
workings of Jet/ACE in a multi-user environment.

But many people report good results with it, so I'm probably being
overly cautious.

 

[Tony Toews]

For a year or so, we have been using an NAS on our LAN as a
home for our database backend. It's slow, but it works.

I have learned that the NAS operating system is based on
Debian Linux.

Knowing that MS Access is a Windows-only application, I'm
left wondering how our setup can possibly be working! <g>

Doesn't the frontend basically "open" the backend, in order
to make the edits?

I'd love to get some insight into this.

You are correct that yes the FEs do open the backend. Microsoft does
not recommend using anything but a Windows server. SAMBA was
criticized for causing corruptions but there haven't been any reports
for a number of years now, maybe even a decade or more.

So I'd say if you aren't having any problems then don't worry about
it. But if you start seeing some corrputions then time to consider
your options.

Tony (keeper of the large MS Access Corruption FAQ)
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/
For a convenient utility to keep your users FEs and other files
updated see http://www.autofeupdater.com/