Re: Is There a Client/Server Version of Access ?
- From: "David W. Fenton" <XXXusenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 14:52:01 -0500
The answer to the question in the subject is NO.
And there won't ever be one as it won't fit into Microsoft's
stratetic marketing plans for its database products. SQL Server is
the only thing MS will ever sell as a client/server database.
bw@xxxxxxxxxx (B1ackwater) wrote in
news:443a9519.23356474@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
We've fooled around with Access a bit, but only using the
single-user store-bought version. It seems to be a good
database - versatile and infinitely programmable - and
can apparently be used as a front end to SQL server if
we ever needed to go that route.
Yes. All that is very true.
But - is there a client/server version of Access ? Looking
on the CDW site there is a bewildering variety of packages
and licences and such, but we can't figure out just which
do what or which setup is best for our small business. The
MS site for Access is even less informative.
Access is automatically client/server if you use a server back end.
But what you're really asking is whether there's a client/server
version of *Jet*, Access's built-in database engine.
That's the question I answered at the top -- there isn't and there
never will be one.
What we need is to get up to about ten workstations all
accessing a single central data depository. Various
kinds of field data and GIS-referenced info will be
stored there. Programs like ArcPad and Pendragon Forms
will dump data directly in from PDAs.
Are all the workstations on the same LAN? If so, it doesn't sound
like anything Jet can't handle, though if the data being appended is
coming in large batches very quickly from multiple users at the same
time, it could be a problem.
But Access ships with the MSDE, which is a version of SQL Server
tuned for small workgroups (5 simultaneous connections, 2GB total
data store). There's also the newer SQL Server Express, which is yet
another repackaging of SQL Server intended for desktop use.
There are also free Open Source options like MySQL (wouldn't
recommend it without InnoDB tables) and PostgreSQL. I'm also looking
these days at SQLite.
From what I've heard lately, if you upgrade a workstation
or server - new motherboard especially - MS expects you
to buy a brand new version of any of their 'Office' spectrum
of products. . . .
No, that's not true. If you upgrade a PC with Office already
installed on it, and the upgrades are sufficient to invalidate the
existing authorization key, you contact Microsoft and they give you
a new key. You will probably have to explain to a human being that
you've upgraded your computer. It usually takes an upgrade of more
than one component to invalidate the existing authorization key.
. . . Nasty ... and they wonder why people switch to
linux. As we DO upgrade workstations pretty frequently, but
servers infrequently, spending the bucks on a 'server'
program - and then cheaper licences for the workstations -
would be more cost-effective.
What are you talking about? There is no product anywhere like what
you're talking about.
However, you could install a Windows Terminal Server and licensing
would be handled on the server (though you'd still need Office
licenses on the workstations). You could install an Access runtime
application on a Windows Terminal Server and that wouldn't require
Access installed on the workstations connecting to it.
But before you do that, an Access runtime installed on all the
workstations would get around the authorization problem, too.
Another option is to purchase the Enterprise license from Microsoft
that don't require individual authorization of each workstation.
It's called the Open License program, and is fairly reasonable even
for small shops.
But IS there such a thing - or do we just buy a handful of
off-the-shelf Access programs and create the tables on a
file server ?
Look into the Open License program.
The whole client/server issue is a complete red herring for your
actual problem, which is licensing.
--
David W. Fenton http://www.dfenton.com/
usenet at dfenton dot com http://www.dfenton.com/DFA/
.
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