Generically, the "server" is the computer that is supplying the data. So in
this case, the "server" would be the computer that holds the backend file.
This doesn't necessarily have to be a server operating system. If you check
your Services on your workstations (since you're using Access 2003, you have
to be using Win2k or XP) you will see that each workstation has a
Workstation service and a Server service.
More specifically, Access can also be used as a front-end for a SQL server
database. This is server software that is designed specifically for this
service. By doing this, you can pass some of the work load off to the
server, such as by calling queries stored on the server. This will allow the
server to run the query and return only those records that match the query.
Using Access files for both the front-end and back-end, Access on the
workstation has to do the work of querying the back-end itself since there
is no application running on the server side to do the work.
--
Wayne Morgan
MS Access MVP
Klutzz said:
I have created a relativly simple DB using acess 2003 (file format is
2000) and have put a copy up on our LAN server. When I open and use the DB
from different workstations everything appears to work fine. In a short time
I intend to split this into a front end and a backend as this will be
distributed to about 15-20 workstations. What I dont understand is the use
of a "server" such as Ive seen references to in these forums. Could someone
please explain the necessity for and the relationships to a sever for the
database or point me to an information source that I can use. I dont know if
we have this installed and that is why things seem ok or if due to the size
of my Db and our LAN one is not required.
