How many FE connections to BE are too many?

[ItsMe]

I was looking at the Microsoft website and it stated that the limit of Concurrent Users to an accdb file is 255. If memory serves me correctly, it was recommended to only have 20 to 25 users connect to an mdb file (only several years ago).



Are these rules for split DB's vs. many users connecting to one file? What if the connection is an ODBC connection and not linked tables? Would linking 500 tables via an FE count the same as an FE linking to 2 tables?

What are some of your experiences with pushing the limits of Concurrent users?

[rpeare]

Are your users just looking up data, or are they entering/modifying data?

Do you have a limited group of people that handle data addition/modification and everyone else is just looking up?

Are your front end objects bound or unbound (forms primarily)?

I've had up to 10 concurrent users of a database that was on unbound forms and using it for lookup only, there were 2 - 3 people doing data entry within the front end structure at any given time.

[ItsMe]

Just trying to provoke a hypothetical discussion. I have had about 18 users concurrently connected to a single mdb file over a network. No FE and all users doing any combination of data entry, query, calling functions, etc. Granted, it was not a large file, but it did have several Modules with UDF's, queries and such.

I like the idea of developing apps with Access. Historically, Access has gotten a bad rep as not being able to handle this or that. I don't see limitations that often. The benefits of using Access are greater than any limitations a developer may run into, IMO.

So I was just curious about pushing the limits of concurrent connections. I don't believe I have gotten close yet. I have read threads about some 100 plus PC's with their own FE to a single BE. Microsoft seems to support this topology with a limit of 255 concurrent connections.

[Dal Jeanis]

My feeling on that is it's very application-specific. The more modular and granular your application, and the better your coding and testing standards, and the better your LAN support, the less "fascinating" things will happen.