Access 2007 runtime on Windows Server 2003?

[rick]

Has anyone installed the 2007 runtime on a Windows 2003 server? In the
runtime distribution notes Microsoft say it isn't supported (just on XP/SP2
and Vista) but that doesn't mean it won't work. (Does it?)

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

Has anyone installed the 2007 runtime on a Windows 2003 server? In the
runtime distribution notes Microsoft say it isn't supported (just on XP/SP2
and Vista) but that doesn't mean it won't work. (Does it?)

Windows Server products can be "special" in some ways. <smile> I
certainly haven't tested that. It might work or might now.

However there should be no reason to install Access retail or runtime
on a server. Unless you are thinking of running a scheduled task on a
periodic basis or some such.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/

 

[rick]

Thanks Tony.

You say "..there should be no reason to install Access retail or runtime on
a server."

I have an Access db that has been running at 10 different sites for the past
6 years (developed in Acc2000 and upgraded to Acc2003 in 2004). I have now
upgraded it to Acc2007 and am fed up with the hassles over trying to find
where the .ocx or .dll went astray on the users Win NT, Win2000, Win ME, Win
XP and now Win Vista. I now have a Windows 2003 Server running in Terminal
Services mode and want to put a copy of the .accde and the BE.mdb on the
server.

(Here is where I base my statements on ignorance .. just what I 'think' is
happening.)
When the user logs on they get a copy of the FE in their workspace. I have
security built in that ensures only 1 user per site at a time and the keys
in the tables are unique to the site. They can only work with "their"
records. So there are no collisions or record-locking issues. And since the
indexes and data do not travel over the network there is a reduced chance of
corruption. Their computer only sees the desktop of their workspace in the
server.
(Please comment if I am wrong here.)

Does the advent of server technology not enable Access to run on one machine
yet serve many users?

I really don't see why this would not work. Placing a copy on each users
computer is really out of the question. Perhaps placing a copy in each users
workspace is feasible (how is this done?) but instantiating a copy in their
workspace is what I am hoping is the way to go. (???)

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

You say "..there should be no reason to install Access retail or runtime on
a server."

I have an Access db that has been running at 10 different sites for the past
6 years (developed in Acc2000 and upgraded to Acc2003 in 2004). I have now
upgraded it to Acc2007 and am fed up with the hassles over trying to find
where the .ocx or .dll went astray on the users Win NT, Win2000, Win ME, Win
XP and now Win Vista.

What controls are you using and for what purpose? If it's a MS
control and not treeview then there are replacements.

How do you get rid of troublesome ActiveX Controls/references?
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/referencetroubles.htm

I now have a Windows 2003 Server running in Terminal
Services mode and want to put a copy of the .accde and the BE.mdb on the
server.

My apologies. I had completely forgotten about Terminal Server.
Duhhh!

When the user logs on they get a copy of the FE in their workspace. I have
security built in that ensures only 1 user per site at a time and the keys
in the tables are unique to the site. They can only work with "their"
records. So there are no collisions or record-locking issues. And since the
indexes and data do not travel over the network there is a reduced chance of
corruption. Their computer only sees the desktop of their workspace in the
server.

Define workspace. That's not a common terminology for PCs or
servers.

And I agree that TS is a better solution in some situations.

Does the advent of server technology not enable Access to run on one machine
yet serve many users?

Insert the word Terminal in front of server and I would completely
agree with you.

Perhaps placing a copy in each users
workspace is feasible (how is this done?) but instantiating a copy in their
workspace is what I am hoping is the way to go. (???)

You do however want to give each user their own physical copy of the
front end MDB/MDE in a different folder.

I specifically created the Auto FE Updater utility so that I could
make changes to the FE MDE as often as I wanted and be quite confident
that the next time someone went to run the app that it would pull in
the latest version. For more info on the errors or the Auto FE
Updater utility see the free Auto FE Updater utility at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/autofe.htm at my website to keep the
FE on each PC up to date.

In a Terminal Server or Citrix environment the Auto FE Updater now
supports creating a directory named after the user on a server. Given
a choice put the FE on the Citrix server to reduce network traffic and
to avoid having to load objects over the network which can be somewhat
sluggish.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/

 

[rick]

Tony, thank you very much for your replies to my query on the servers vs.
Access.



I have installed 2 Dell PowerEdge servers for a charity (a community
outreach centre for at-risk youth) I support as a volunteer. One runs
Windows 2003 Small Business Server (SBS) and is the domain controller. The
other runs Windows 2003 Server in Terminal Services role and is a member of
the domain (on the same LAN). An SBS only allows 2 RDCs and only Admins may
logon. Within the community centre there are 21 desktop computers for staff.



I developed an Access 2003 d/b for them which tracks their clients and their
children as they register and attend programs. I do all development at my
home and then RDC to the SBS and upload the FE.mde to the server. On the
SBS, the BE and the FE. reside in the same folder and Access is not
installed on the server. There are 4 staff who update the BE and each has
Access 2003 installed on their computer. They simply click on an icon and
the FE is brought to their computer and executes. This has been running this
way for 3 years now and nothing has been corrupted. Yet you and others say I
must have the physical FE on their computer. Why is this? (Confused
volunteer speaking here.)



The other database I developed for them is to track clients of a federal
nutrition program for pregnant young women and their newborns. This is the
one I mentioned in the thread and it is a stand-alone running at 11 sites
across the city. This one has been running since 2001 and I would like to
update it to Access 2007, integrate the tables from each site into 1 BE,
place the BE on the SBS server and then have the various sites RDC to the
Terminal Services server. They get there by Using IE6 or 7 to connect to the
SBS Remote Web Workplace (HTTP over TCP/IP) where they authenticate then
connect to the TS server by RDC (where they must authenticate again). At
this point they will click on a shortcut on their TS desktop and run the FE.
I was breezing along thinking I could place both the FE.accde and BE.mdb in
the same folder on the SBS and place the Access 2007 Runtime on the TS. But
since asking the question in the newsgroup I am concerned.



At this time all users are in the SBS active directory and, because that is
where the User Data Folders are located, I have set a loopback group policy
for the TS server which redirects their My Documents folder. Do you suggest
I create a folder for each user on the TS and place a copy of the FE in
these folders? If so, I will download a copy of your FE Updater utility and
get to know it.



All reporting is done by the users (internal and external) using Crystal
Reports XI and a front-end dashboard called DataLink Viewer by Ido Millet.



Thanks for your time and expertise, Tony.



....rick

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

I developed an Access 2003 d/b for them which tracks their clients and their
children as they register and attend programs. I do all development at my
home and then RDC to the SBS and upload the FE.mde to the server. On the
SBS, the BE and the FE. reside in the same folder and Access is not
installed on the server. There are 4 staff who update the BE and each has
Access 2003 installed on their computer. They simply click on an icon and
the FE is brought to their computer and executes. This has been running this
way for 3 years now and nothing has been corrupted. Yet you and others say I
must have the physical FE on their computer. Why is this? (Confused
volunteer speaking here.)

There is a greatly increased chance of corruption with the FE. Now I
suspect this has as much to do with how the developer does things
although I haven't bothered to research exactly what that might be.
So you may very well not be doing the things that cause other folks
problems.

At
this point they will click on a shortcut on their TS desktop and run the FE.
I was breezing along thinking I could place both the FE.accde and BE.mdb in
the same folder on the SBS and place the Access 2007 Runtime on the TS. But
since asking the question in the newsgroup I am concerned.

At this time all users are in the SBS active directory and, because that is
where the User Data Folders are located, I have set a loopback group policy
for the TS server which redirects their My Documents folder.

I have no idea about the above stuff as I'm no server expert.

Do you suggest
I create a folder for each user on the TS and place a copy of the FE in
these folders? If so, I will download a copy of your FE Updater utility and
get to know it.

Yes, although you can create just one folder on the TS system and let
the Auto FE Updater automatically create the sub folders by user id.

All reporting is done by the users (internal and external) using Crystal
Reports XI and a front-end dashboard called DataLink Viewer by Ido Millet.

I know nothing about that stuff either.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/

 

[Alexander]

Polnuy bred

Tony, thank you very much for your replies to my query on the servers vs.
Access.



I have installed 2 Dell PowerEdge servers for a charity (a community
outreach centre for at-risk youth) I support as a volunteer. One runs
Windows 2003 Small Business Server (SBS) and is the domain controller. The
other runs Windows 2003 Server in Terminal Services role and is a member
of the domain (on the same LAN). An SBS only allows 2 RDCs and only Admins
may logon. Within the community centre there are 21 desktop computers for
staff.



I developed an Access 2003 d/b for them which tracks their clients and
their children as they register and attend programs. I do all development
at my home and then RDC to the SBS and upload the FE.mde to the server. On
the SBS, the BE and the FE. reside in the same folder and Access is not
installed on the server. There are 4 staff who update the BE and each has
Access 2003 installed on their computer. They simply click on an icon and
the FE is brought to their computer and executes. This has been running
this way for 3 years now and nothing has been corrupted. Yet you and
others say I must have the physical FE on their computer. Why is this?
(Confused volunteer speaking here.)



The other database I developed for them is to track clients of a federal
nutrition program for pregnant young women and their newborns. This is the
one I mentioned in the thread and it is a stand-alone running at 11 sites
across the city. This one has been running since 2001 and I would like to
update it to Access 2007, integrate the tables from each site into 1 BE,
place the BE on the SBS server and then have the various sites RDC to the
Terminal Services server. They get there by Using IE6 or 7 to connect to
the SBS Remote Web Workplace (HTTP over TCP/IP) where they authenticate
then connect to the TS server by RDC (where they must authenticate again).
At this point they will click on a shortcut on their TS desktop and run
the FE. I was breezing along thinking I could place both the FE.accde and
BE.mdb in the same folder on the SBS and place the Access 2007 Runtime on
the TS. But since asking the question in the newsgroup I am concerned.



At this time all users are in the SBS active directory and, because that
is where the User Data Folders are located, I have set a loopback group
policy for the TS server which redirects their My Documents folder. Do you
suggest I create a folder for each user on the TS and place a copy of the
FE in these folders? If so, I will download a copy of your FE Updater
utility and get to know it.



All reporting is done by the users (internal and external) using Crystal
Reports XI and a front-end dashboard called DataLink Viewer by Ido Millet.



Thanks for your time and expertise, Tony.



...rick