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Visual Basic + Access for LAN

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by hunterzh

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I hope to design a database for our company. It needs to be running in a LAN. Now I?m still not very familiar with SQL server, but know Access much better.
Is it possible to design this database by Visual Basic + Access 2000 (for LAN)?
The key point is data sharing and users management. From my previous learning, normally we need to split Access database for LAN use, but then need to share the database completely. It?s not safe.
Can someone give me some directions, and where to find teaching materials?
Do I necessarily need to learn programming with Visual Basic + SQL?

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by _damian s_

Naturally, using VB with SQL Server would give you a much more robust and secure solution, however, there are some instances when Access is perfectly suitable, such as when the database is going to stay under 250 meg in size, there are fewer than 10 concurrent connections and all users are on the same physical LAN.

To share the Access backend across the LAN, you will need to have R/W permissions for the directory where the back end is placed, and have the .mdw (security) file in the same location.

The easiest solution for you with a VB front end and Access backend is to have a single user account that is used by your application to handle database logins to the backend, and handle your front end user security manually by having a users table and security/permissions matrix. This solution assumes that you have secured the backend using MS Access security.

Be aware that NO Access database is unbreakable, there are password recovery tools on the market that can easily retrieve the users and passwords given an .mdb and .mdw pair. If you have a mission critical system, I would strongly recommend you use SQL Server.

For further information regarding Access development, look on the MS website under Access 2000 - it has comprehensive information about concepts and practices for Access security and distribution.

Hope this helps.

Damian.

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