Access for a scheduling program

  • Thread starter Thread starter Craig
  • Start date Start date
C

Craig

Would access be able to handle a scheduling and tracking program for a
office of about 50 users. We were told it is not robust enough and it
locks up much. Any alternatives

craig
 
Craig said:
Would access be able to handle a scheduling and tracking program for a
office of about 50 users. We were told it is not robust enough and it
locks up much. Any alternatives
Click to expand...

It should be able to handle it with little problem and a switch to SQL
Server on the backend would fix that.
However be sure you have this well analyzed and in writing if you are in
charge.
This could be a massive undertaking and there are other programs out there.
 
You can certainly use Access on the front end. Whether JET (the default
database engine used by an Access MDB) would be a suitable choice for the
back-end is more open to question.

Are all of those users on a fast, stable LAN? A well-designed Access
application using a JET (MDB) database can be very stable in that situation.
If they're not, especially if remote access is involved, you don't want to
use an Access front-end linking to a JET (MDB) database. Possible
alternatives include using Terminal Services, using ASP or ASP.NET on the
front end, or using SQL Server with pass-through queries or stored
procedures on the back-end. All of these alternatives result in 'moving the
processing to the data' rather than 'moving the data to the processing'. The
processing happens on the server, rather than on the client, which makes for
a more robust solution where less stable connections, such as a WAN, are
involved.

If all of the users are on a fast, stable LAN, then there are some other
questions to be considered. Will all of those 50 users frequently add or
modify records? Are there peak periods, does everyone want to update their
schedule at the same time, like Monday morning, or Friday afternoon? Fifty
users might be pushing it a bit in that situation.

How mission-critical is the data? JET has no facility to make 'live'
backups - to backup data safely, you need to do it while no one is using the
system, which probably means one or at most two backups per day. If you
can't afford to lose the data entered since the last backup, it may be worth
your while investing in SQL Server, with its facility to make 'live' backups
while the system is in use, and to log transactions occurring between
backups.

Finally, scheduling is inherently complex. It's not too difficult to manage
independent schedules for individuals, but if you're trying to schedule
meetings and events that involve finding free time slots in the schedules of
multiple individuals, it can get very complex indeed. It may be worth
checking whether an existing application meets your needs, or can be
customized to do so, before trying to build a scheduling app from scratch.
 
Back
Top