MDB file on server

Question

I have Windows Server 2003R with several client stations and a server. I have Microsoft Office 2010 Prof edition on the server with multi user licence.  If I leasve the MDB file (Front end Program) on the server and an icon on the client stations to connect when the client clicks that icon will he or she be able to use the MDB file on the server OR on each occasion will the system download a copy of MDB file from the server to the client station to work?

Thanks

HNIM2010

Answer 1

It's not clear to me what you mean here at all. Are you intending to run the app with Windows Terminal Server, via the Remote Desktop Client, or do you want it running locally on each workstation?

Answer 2

See my previous post: "... distribute a copy of the Front-End to each user.  They should not share a Front-End db, rather they should have a local copy."

To this end see the link provided by Gina http://www.autofeupdater.com/ or develop your own vbscript to perform the copy from the server to the local machine.

Answer 3

Gina has put you on the right track.

Every database should be split into a Back-End (tables) & Front-End (queries, forms, reports, macros and vba).  You place the Back-End on a central server and then distribute a copy of the Front-End to each user.  They should not share a Front-End db, rather they should have a local copy.  As Gina mentioned Tony Toews AutoFeUpadter is a great option for this or you can create a vbscript.

Why this setup, the short answer is to avoid corruption from having multiple user all connecting to the same unsplit database.

Answer 4

Hello,

There are three possible scenarios how you can use your .mdb file in multi-user environment wit a Window server:

- using Terminal Server services, using your Windows server as a file server, or using application virtualization.

In a Terminal Server  case, all the processing is done on the server and user's computer is just a terminal where the user has an interface to the server to work with your application.  Users do not need to have MS Office installed on their computers, but they will need Terminal server client licenses as well as application (MS Office) licenses.

If a client station has MS Office Pro installed, the user can run the app regardless where it resides on the network - on the server or on any other computer, provided that they have permission to access that network resource.

Scenario where the application is downloaded on the client's computer is implemented through Microsoft Application Virtualization technology - App-V (you will need MDOP for this).

It is recommended that the MS Access database shall be split while used in multi-user environment, but in some cases it is not necessary. For example, if you have a very simple database and it is not likely that many users will access it simultaneously.

Nadia

Answer 5

Hmm, seems like you describing a scenario that is not good...

1.  The database should (must) be split.

http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/Articles/split/

http://allenbrowne.com/ser-01.html

You may also want to take a look at MVP Tom Wickerath's article...

http://www.accessmvp.com:80/TWickerath/articles/multiuser.htm

To handle the update of multiple front ends see...

http://www.autofeupdater.com/

If each user does not have a copy of Access you can install the Runtime…

Access 2007

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=d9ae78d9-9dc6-4b38-9fa6-2c745a175aed&displaylang=en

Access 2010

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=57a350cd-5250-4df6-bfd1-6ced700a6715&displaylang=en

2.  It sounds like you want them to share the same front end and/or database, see first itme.

Now, to answer your question, no the .MDB will not, by itself, download itself to each Users machine.