What is the easiest way to use Access DB simultaneously on multiple PCs?

[moke123]

Do all your users have an office computer which is in same location on the same network? In my office we have a spare pc which houses the backend and is left running all the time. We all access the database remotely from home or on our phones by logging on to our office PC's( which each have a front end) using TeamViewer. In essence we are running the database on our office computers and only viewing it from our home PC's. Extra bonus is that you can also access your office pc and database on your phone or tablet, although trying to type or use the mouse on a phone can be pretty daunting.

[CJ_London]

@moke - haven't done a recent comparison but you might want to look at Jump Desktop when connecting via tablet/phone, it translates touch events to mouse events much more effectively
@Thomasso - moke's suggestion will give you a good feel for how terminal server works. Main difference is Teamviewer only allows one user to connect at a time - which is not a problem if multiple users are connecting to multiple machines. However you can just use remote desktop - see this link https://remotedesktopwindows10.com/, but you will need fixed IP's. Re spare machine, yes, you will need this, or invest in a NAS Server, however you say users are on different LANS so not sure how that might work

[ArviLaanemets]

It is doable, when you have an office with LAN, shared network resources, and terminal server. Main restrictions are, that:
1. Back-end must be on shared network resource available from all locations from where front-ends are executed;
2. All locations from where front-ends are executed must be in same LAN as back-end (connection to back-end over WAN is high risk option);
3. All users must be domain users in LAN where back-end is stored;
4. All users who work over WAN must be able to connect over VPN with LAN where back-end is stored.

User, who does work from home or from separate location, has to log in over VPN, and logs in into his/her profile in TS. His/Her front-end is stored in his/her profile on TS, and session is started from there. Users, who work in LAN, can have their front-end's in their computers, or anywhere in LAN.

Most of work on setup this will be done by local network guys, who must set up secure VPN connections for all users with remote access.

Edit: The main difference with all other options is, that all real data exchange is done in LAN only. For/From remote users, only keystrokes, mouse operations, and display image are sent.

[Thomasso]

Thanks everyone for the insights, it's much more complicated than I thought...

Another idea - what if we bought a physical server and place it in the office? Something like this: https://www.techradar.com/news/best-...siness-servers

I know, it's not free, but it could be a good addition to the business, serving more purposes than the database.

Would that work? And what about WAN access?

Thanks.

[ArviLaanemets]

It is hardware there - this doesn't cost much. You have to check the cost of soft!
Or you have to look for server solutions for small enterprises - the hardware + preinstalled software. I remember a couple of years ago something like this MS advertised (when I remember it right, there were even options with some number of terminal clients).

[Thomasso]

It is hardware there - this doesn't cost much. You have to check the cost of soft!
Or you have to look for server solutions for small enterprises - the hardware + preinstalled software. I remember a couple of years ago something like this MS advertised (when I remember it right, there were even options with some number of terminal clients).

https://www.hpe.com/us/en/product-ca...009955118.html

I've found this, what do you think?

[ArviLaanemets]

As much as I did find out, it is a network server on some Linux distro. It is able to manage VPN connections and you can have shared network resources on it, but it looks like it doesn't have TS functionality (at least by default). But you better consult some network specialist - Last time I managed servers was some 20 years ago!

[Thomasso]

As much as I did find out, it is a network server on some Linux distro. It is able to manage VPN connections and you can have shared network resources on it, but it looks like it doesn't have TS functionality (at least by default). But you better consult some network specialist - Last time I managed servers was some 20 years ago!

Thanks anyway, I never dealt with servers before - no need for them. I might need to start learning about it. Thank you