Location for shared Access database

  • Thread starter Thread starter Elton Cohen
  • Start date Start date
E

Elton Cohen

Hi newsgroup!

Can anyone tell me where I should put a simple Access database file in
order to be accessible for every computer in the network (same
workgroup)? There does not need to be any protection (I heard people say
that I should buy a dedicated server or have special rights for each and
every user, but I can keep it simple since there will be no intruders -
no internet connection available -).
I don't think that the "Programs" folder is the right place.
Should I just place a folder on the primary hard disk, like
"C:\MySharedDatabaseFolder"?

Would that work on Vista, too?

Any help is welcome!!
Thank you for your reply,
Elton.
 
Elton Cohen said:
Hi newsgroup!

Can anyone tell me where I should put a simple Access database file in
order to be accessible for every computer in the network (same workgroup)?
There does not need to be any protection (I heard people say that I should
buy a dedicated server or have special rights for each and every user, but
I can keep it simple since there will be no intruders - no internet
connection available -).
I don't think that the "Programs" folder is the right place.
Should I just place a folder on the primary hard disk, like
"C:\MySharedDatabaseFolder"?

Would that work on Vista, too?
Click to expand...


The correct location for a network-shared access database is
c:\$Recycle.Bin.

For a network-shared database, use SQL Server instead:

SQL Server Express Edition (free)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/sql/register/default.aspx

SQL Server Migration Assistant for Access (SSMA Access)
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/solutions/migration/access/default.mspx


However, if that's not an option then

C:\MySharedDatabaseFolder

is good. You will also need to add a share on that folder, and grant
network users read write access. This will work on Vista as well, although
you'll need to adjust the local folder permissions since users don't have
write permissions on c:\ by default.


Remember when creating a share, there are two levels of permissions that
both must be set: share-level permissions and folder-level permissions.

If your users aren't in a domain, then you will have to create local
accounts on the shared computer with usernames and passwords matching the
ones used on the users' workstations.

David
 
I thought SQLServer Express databases were not permitted to be
on shares; I thought they were single-use only. Is that not true?

Robin S.
---------------------------
 
Depends on the number of users. For a home network, access is a prefectly
acceptable choice and easy to maintain...much easier than SQL Server.
 
Hi David,

thanks for your reply.
I really must sleep over that because networking has always been
frustrating for me.
I have kept that chapter in a very dark corner of my project for a long
time.

I think I have somehow underestimated it because I did the following:

1 PC WinXP Pro
1 PC WinXP Home

both PCs have differently namend user accounts, but both are administrators

Plugged both together with an Ethernet cable
Put both in the same workgroup
Shared 1 folder on PC 1
Shared 1 folder on PC 2

PC1 could see and write to folder on PC2
PC2 could see and write to folder on PC1

Somehow I really think I did something magic when I hear that this is
only possible with special permissions or domains or equally named
accounts/ passes.

Giving a short statement about that would be very nice of you.

Thanks.
Elton.
 
Elton Cohen said:
Hi David,

thanks for your reply.
I really must sleep over that because networking has always been
frustrating for me.
I have kept that chapter in a very dark corner of my project for a long
time.

I think I have somehow underestimated it because I did the following:

1 PC WinXP Pro
1 PC WinXP Home

both PCs have differently namend user accounts, but both are
administrators

Plugged both together with an Ethernet cable
Put both in the same workgroup
Shared 1 folder on PC 1
Shared 1 folder on PC 2

PC1 could see and write to folder on PC2
PC2 could see and write to folder on PC1

Somehow I really think I did something magic when I hear that this is only
possible with special permissions or domains or equally named accounts/
passes.

Giving a short statement about that would be very nice of you.
Click to expand...

Honestly I don't know why that works for you. May be something with XP. I
know domain or workgroup authentication will work for any version of
Windows.

David
 
RobinS said:
I thought SQLServer Express databases were not permitted to be
on shares; I thought they were single-use only. Is that not true?
Click to expand...

Not true. SQL Server Express is well suited to small workgroup environments.
It has not connection limit or workload governer. Rather it is physically
limited to 1CPU, 1GB of RAM and 4GB per database. By default the installer
doesn't enable remote connections to the database, but that's just to be
"secure by default". You can enable remote connections after the install
and you're good to go.

David
 
¤ Hi newsgroup!
¤
¤ Can anyone tell me where I should put a simple Access database file in
¤ order to be accessible for every computer in the network (same
¤ workgroup)? There does not need to be any protection (I heard people say
¤ that I should buy a dedicated server or have special rights for each and
¤ every user, but I can keep it simple since there will be no intruders -
¤ no internet connection available -).
¤ I don't think that the "Programs" folder is the right place.
¤ Should I just place a folder on the primary hard disk, like
¤ "C:\MySharedDatabaseFolder"?

You can place the database file anywhere. In a workgroup environment you just need to create a
network share for the folder location and provide full access to all users.

Users can then create a mapped drive letter to the share or reference the database by the UNC path
(e.g. \\ComputerName\Sharename\db.mdb).


Paul
~~~~
Microsoft MVP (Visual Basic)
 
¤ I thought SQLServer Express databases were not permitted to be
¤ on shares; I thought they were single-use only. Is that not true?
¤

Permitted but not necessarily supported. A SAN is OK but there are certain requirements for NAS. If
you're just using a standard computer file share then all I can say is "good luck".

Description of support for network database files in SQL Server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304261


Paul
~~~~
Microsoft MVP (Visual Basic)
 
RobinS said:
I thought SQLServer Express databases were not permitted to be
on shares; I thought they were single-use only. Is that not true?
Click to expand...

To clarify, in SQL Server the Database Engine instance is installed on the
same computer as the Database files. Clients connect over the network to
the database engine. Running the database engine on a different computer
from the database files is not supported, and in any case only a single
database engine instance can connect to the database files.

David
 
Just to make sure I understand. I can run SQLServerExpress
on a computer, and put the database files there.

If I want to access that database from another computer,
I can do that with a desktop app (or web app) using ADO.Net.

But if I install SQLServer Express on the second computer,
I can't access the database files on the first computer
using that instance of SQLServer Express.

But I can have multiple people with desktop apps accessing
the SQLServerExpress database at the same time using ADO.Net?
Or not?

Is that right?

Robin S.
--------------------
 
RobinS said:
Just to make sure I understand. I can run SQLServerExpress
on a computer, and put the database files there.

If I want to access that database from another computer,
I can do that with a desktop app (or web app) using ADO.Net.

But if I install SQLServer Express on the second computer,
I can't access the database files on the first computer
using that instance of SQLServer Express.

But I can have multiple people with desktop apps accessing
the SQLServerExpress database at the same time using ADO.Net?
Click to expand...

Yes. You've got it exactly.

David
 
Phew! I'm going to keep that information somewhere I can find it
in case I need it in the future!

Thanks,
Robin S.
----------------------------
 
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