Is it possible to access MS Access 2010 database over the internet without using Sharepoint or similar services? I have a server where I want to put the back end and email the front end to various people. As I understand this is easy if all the users are on the local network. But how do I share my database over the internet? Thanks.
2 Answers
MS Access 2010 is a file-based database. Thus the only way to share it with a separate front-end / back-end database (linked tables) setup is if you expose the file share on the Internet. This is most definitely NOT a good idea.
Even if you use a VPN to add security you will probably find performance unacceptable. The only realistic solution is to use a SQL Server back-end and link to that from the MS Access front-end databases.
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You don't have to use SQL Server at the back-end. Access as a front-end should work with any ODBC connection, so the back-end could be any DBMS (including SQLite, for argument's sake).– user3463Feb 17, 2011 at 23:44
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Thanks for your answer. Although sharing it is not a good idea, I would like to know how I can do it. Any suggestions how I can do it?– BahaFeb 17, 2011 at 23:45
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Access doesn't like too many connections, so be wary of this.– user3463Feb 18, 2011 at 1:27
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@Baha you can ONLY do this by exposing a file share on the Internet. You would likely need to remove any firewalls and probably also add a port-mapping rule. Even once you've done all of that performance will likely be unacceptable. Feb 18, 2011 at 22:02
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@Randolph - yes of course, any non-file based database engine will do (e.g. not SQL CE either) just as long as it can be connected to over a TCP port. Feb 18, 2011 at 22:04