Very Computer

        I am creating a client-server solution on a Windows 95/Windows
NT 4.0 network using Visual Basic 4.0 (and getting VB5 ASAP)
Enterprise Edition.  A central database holding employee records will
be held on the file server.  Users will be using 33.6 Modem
connections, possibly internet connections, and of course LAN
connections.
        I need a solution that will allow 15 users to use this
database periodically (two or three at a time) over any of the
previously-mentioned connections and still be able to get a quick
response rate.  The database will hold thousands of records but will
only return, at the most, a few records or a list of the names of a
few hundred employees at any given time.
        Should I just use an ACCESS database on the server and access
it using RDO?  Should I use Remote Automation and put a RA server on
the server machine that returns RecordSets, or is it okay if I just
use RDO?  Alternatively, we can use SQL Server if needed.
        I figure that many people on these newsgroups are extremely
knowledgable in this area.  I appreciate any comments (welcome them).

        Thank you!  Replies via post or e-mail are great!

        Chris Walker

An Access database should be able to handle what you are trying to do as
long as you can use Optimistic page locking (the default is pessimistic).
I have some Access databases that I use on the internet (with ODBC) and
have not had any problems to date.

Kim Crompton
CompuHelp, Inc.

Quote:>    I am creating a client-server solution on a Windows 95/Windows
>NT 4.0 network using Visual Basic 4.0 (and getting VB5 ASAP)
>Enterprise Edition.  A central database holding employee records will
>be held on the file server.  Users will be using 33.6 Modem
>connections, possibly internet connections, and of course LAN
>connections.
>    I need a solution that will allow 15 users to use this
>database periodically (two or three at a time) over any of the
>previously-mentioned connections and still be able to get a quick
>response rate.  The database will hold thousands of records but will
>only return, at the most, a few records or a list of the names of a
>few hundred employees at any given time.
>    Should I just use an ACCESS database on the server and access
>it using RDO?  Should I use Remote Automation and put a RA server on
>the server machine that returns RecordSets, or is it okay if I just
>use RDO?  Alternatively, we can use SQL Server if needed.

I'd strongly suggest that you leave all that sort of thing to the
server machine, and therefore that you use SQL Server (or whatever
other DBMS you might have). I've done this myself, and even accessing
an SQL Server database over a 28.8 modem connection is quite
satisfactory.

Did this make sense? I hope so! :)

Trond Solberg
Systems Consultant
Mandatum as
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http://www.mandatum.no