Business Owner - What Connects to the Internet

[ez1138]

Hi,



My current host, Purehost, provides a MySQL option. We have dowloaded Navicat and tooling around with that BUT I WANT something more simple and I do NOT care what it costs. Don't care. I am looking for simply a high-level answer. I can dump my host in a second for a smarter, easier option. All I am looking for is what options are out there to connect an Access 2007 or Access 2010 DB to my internet site with username and password-driven rights. Not looking for a fulll-blown answer of every scenario and what if you want to do this or what if you want to do that. Do I need a Sharepoint option, "should" I stick with MySQL?

As simply as it seems, watching an Access 2010 video and showing the dude connecting to Sharepoint and seeing his data, cool. Yes, I have added my DB in the past and created a link and saw the data but I operate a business and want internal and external clients to be able to login. Just literally a down and dirty "starter" reply would be appreciated. It's so amazingly difficult to have someone say Ford or Chevrolet. Just say, Ford of Chevy if those are the two, most simple options.

Thanks.

EZ

[NTC]

Generic advice on remote Access database options where one has only generic internet and not a high speed private WAN with Terminal Services capabilities…

Option 1 – stay with Access’ embedded replication feature (if .mdb format – not available with .accdb 2007 format) presuming you can co-locate or vpn them together.

Option B is to go with web architecture. find a web developer - turn over to him/her your Access db for them to look at as the prototype design...and get their quote. You will pay to have them develop it and then there will be the recurring for the hosting company...

Option III is the www.AccessTables.com service; this allows everyone to operate a copy of the Access db locally and then you send in the tables - they consolidate/replicate all the data - - and return to everyone a consolidated set of tables. Is great as long as the requirement is not for instantaneous shared data. If periodic updates is sufficient and the user base are all part of a team - this can be a good solution.

Option 3.5 is an online commercial db service - I would recommend DabbleDB.com Intuit also has a product : QuickBase - but it is quite pricey and intended for corporate users. Dabble is very reasonably priced and pretty cool. When using a db service you are in their sandbox and must live with the features and look they offer; the redesign using Dabble is a bit of work & learning and there is definitely missing many features one takes for granted in Access.

Option 5 is to have users get into Access using a commercial VPN service such as www.GoToMyPC.com. This will also have a monthly fee. The PC must always be on for the user. A bit of a latency/lag experience. Only one user can log on at a time...and, importantly, the log on user will have the ability to see everything on the PC - not just the Access application....

Option VI assuming you have Access07 or later in .accdb format you can get a sharepoint hub and use the publish/off-network function as a mode to work locally but push the data back & forth to a sharepoint hub. But sharepoint itself is another big element to manage and you might look to a shared sharepoint service from Microsoft or others.

No right or wrong per se – just right or wrong for one’s situation…finding the right tool for the job…or redefining the job for the available tool…..

[ez1138]

Appreciate your hard work and options. I am "leaning" the SharePoint way as I will be having people develop locally in the US and in Norway. From a DB perspective, I am aiming to have clients, ranging from basic to mid-level users, login with a username and password and view basic reports on what they are given access to. Not sure what SharePoint has for that but I wanted to have a decent report for them to look at to view thier data. Doesn't have to be fancy, just a columned report. Additionally, does SharePoint have drill-down capability to view supporting documents/files, such as a PDF? If not SharePoint, does Access have that?

Taking it one step further, I was on Network Solutions site and they are offering a what looks to be a decent SharePoint hosted option for what comes out to be around $45/month. I says that there is no need to purchase a software license for SharePoint, assuming that is built in to the price. Not sure if I am viewing the hosting option and having my own personal server with SharePoint Server on it as the same thing.

Again, the collaboration and ultimate basic reporting need it "seems" SharePoint might be able to do but I am hear to talk to the pros, not myself.

Appreciate any further insight.

Thanks again.

[NTC]

Sharepoint is a Collaboration/Portal application that sits on the WinServ/SQLserver/IIS stack. It is a big and complex product - - or it can be if you use all of its features. There is an MCTS and an MCM certification, both which consists of 4 exams each.
Access2010(in beta only) introduces web objects that get published onto the web via SS. But we'll assume your not wanting to be in beta world. So there are 2 set ups somewhat arbitrarily named in SS vernacular; you can 'Move' your db into SS and it is just the same as throwing it onto a shared drive. Let's say you make a WidgetConfigurator for yourself - - and you want to share that with the other 1300 sales offices - hey come take my WidgetConfigurator if you want to its at my SS location 123 ....just a file that people can grab if they want to...
Then you can "Publish" your db - in which you move the BE tables onto SS (and they then get called ‘Lists’ in SS vernacular). But due to the Access fundamental design it is best if your FE and the SS remain on the same LAN. (The publish method allows an http address but Access isn't designed for a distributed FE/BE and that doesn't change just because of SS - so I haven't heard any successful robust scenarios on this point.)
With the BE moved to SS Lists the data is then share-able with other SS features and in particular the Infopath web forms or Excel Services - and this can be quite helpful. b.t.w. you need to be in Access07.accdb format. Also you can of course set up all users on the same LAN with their own FE linked to it just like a regular split set up...
Then there is an offline/resync approach which is essentially the replication feature. This is for when you are distributed geographically because you can 'work offline' and that pulls in all the data to your FE - - then you do the work locally - - and then resync.
One doesn't enter into the SS world lightly. A large organization that is invested in SS will have people managing it – and the Access designer really won’t manage SS but simply use the features linking to it that are provided in Access07 and beyond. For an organization that finds entering into the SS world to be too daunting - and you have everyone using Access - I would recommend the www.AccessTables.com services if it is a distributed situation. When you are looking for a pure browser enabled solution then you need to go standard web design solution and Access isn't really a fit or more accurately Access isn't really an issue. Sharepoint may well suit your needs because it is a web based collaboration portal that does offer user based permissions. Sharepoint is stacked on sqlserver - - it 'accommodates' Access but doesn't have to use Access at all. From the sounds of your description it is a comparison of Sharepoint vs other collaboration tools or possibly QuickBase as a shared online database with user permissions. Not sure really if Access is even involved but that might be my misunderstanding.... Hope this helps.

[ez1138]

Thanks for the post. I am going to print it out and read through it slowly but one thing I did realize, and this might be for some short and long-term needs, is that MS Office all connects to SharePoint vs. "focusing" on creating a be-all/end-all solution to connect in to SharePoint and collaborate. In the interim I may entertain actually taking detailed Excel reports prior to having my lead code and/or modify our Access2007 DB and placing them on SharePoint. I am signing up for a Network Solutions hosting plan tomorrow to test this out. There are some definite learning curves here and there as we are obviously new at the whole web-connection piece BUT it seems I have the overall buy-in for collaboration using SharePoint and multiple applications (MS Office).

I would be curious to hear more with potential insight on side-stepping Access in the short-term (need to show a couple clients their Excel-based reports) and building something in SharePoint for basic reporting/viewing needs while I take the appropriate time to build my Access DB's and reports correctly.

Switching Gears and Focus for the Moment / We are going to study up but rights is going to be an issue on the Access Side. Quick question on Access2007 rights for the web. Is there a down-and -dirty tutorial on building a basic web page, assuming we are moving to a SharePoint platform, to create/test a username and loging WITH a DB FTP'd to our web site? Just for connectivity purposes and then getting deluxe later? Know it's remedial but just testing things out.

Thanks again for your great post!!

EZ

[NTC]

This is an Access forum and the post began with an Access focus. And Access integrates into Sharepoint. But whether or not this remains an Access project looks doubtful based on what I read. My general advice is to find the right tool or the right service supplier that will meet your requirement. There are alot of web designers out there. Sharepoint is just one tool they (or you) might use. The hosting is secondary - though integrated.

If you are going to hire someone to develop this - then you probably do not define which tool they use - as someone skilled in the LAMP stack may well use a completely different set of products.

If you are going to code this yourself - then you probably need to get knowledgeable in the competitive alternatives out there for portal/collaboration software offerings. It isn't a topic in an Access forum. Good luck.

[wwwrench]

Look this over, they can build what you need or are missing to use your access online, they even do full service work and conversion, great customer service as well.

http://www.caspio.com/solutions/ms-a...ase-online.asp