Access 97 on Windows Server 2003

[D S B]

I have an application written in VB6 which uses Jet 3.51
DAO SP3 / Access 97 as the database and Crystal 8.5 as
the report engine.

The application has been working well on 12 Win 98
computers using Win 98 networking for a number of years.
Now the customer wants to install a new Server with
Windows Server 2003. The client OS will remain Win 98
(if possible) but with the view to moving to Win XP in
the near future.

1) Can I install / run Access 97 on Windows Server
2003 ??
2) Can I install / run Jet 3.51 on Windows Server 2003 ??
3) Are there any other issues to be concerned about
running this type of application on Windows Server 2003
or Windows XP for the clients ??

 

[david epsom dot com dot au]

A application like this commonly does not have anything
other than data installed on the server.

The Jet Engine uses database services provided by
the local network client, which uses database services
provided by the Server File System.

Windows Server 2003 file services are compatible with
Win XP/Win 98 network clients, which present the remote
file system as if it was a local file system.

Jet is uniquely dependant on the quality of the network
file system, and was partially broken by certain versions,
in particular, of WinNT server and of the Win2K network
client. There aren't many people using Win Server 2003,
but I haven't heard of any enhancements to the file system,
so I'm guessing that it will be OK.

Win2K/WinXP/Win 2003 contain a number of network
optimisations and security enhancements, compared to
Win98. These changes all make Access/DAO/Jet run
slower. Your application will run slightly slower(10%).
Unless you make some minor changes, your application
may run MUCH slower at first (X5 - X10)

Another possible way of building an application like this
was to build a (winsock) server in VB, and install it on
the server. Unless you did something like that, you have
no code to install on the server. No part of Access,
DAO or Jet needs to be installed on the server - just
the native file system and network system.

(david)

 

[D S B]

-----Original Message-----
A application like this commonly does not have anything
other than data installed on the server.

Yes that is correct - only data in the underlying
tables. All SQL commands are generated by the VB6 code -
there are no code Modules or Queries in the Access 97
database file. All the work is done by the VB6
application on the client machine.

The Jet Engine uses database services provided by
the local network client, which uses database services
provided by the Server File System.

Windows Server 2003 file services are compatible with
Win XP/Win 98 network clients, which present the remote
file system as if it was a local file system.

Jet is uniquely dependant on the quality of the network
file system, and was partially broken by certain versions,
in particular, of WinNT server and of the Win2K network
client. There aren't many people using Win Server 2003,
but I haven't heard of any enhancements to the file system,
so I'm guessing that it will be OK.

Interesting to note your comments about << partially
broken by certain versions, in particular, of WinNT
server and of the Win2K network client >> I assume that
these problems must have been addressed and resolved
since then ??

Win2K/WinXP/Win 2003 contain a number of network
optimisations and security enhancements, compared to
Win98. These changes all make Access/DAO/Jet run
slower. Your application will run slightly slower(10%).
Unless you make some minor changes, your application
may run MUCH slower at first (X5 - X10)

Thanks for your comments, although I cant quite
understand why it should run x5 - x10 slower at first ??
Is this because of some network access optimisations ??
What are the minor changes you are referring to ??

10% slower probably wouldnt be an issue as a lot of the
hardware has been recently upgraded and the Server will
be a brand new box.

Another possible way of building an application like this
was to build a (winsock) server in VB, and install it on
the server. Unless you did something like that, you have
no code to install on the server. No part of Access,
DAO or Jet needs to be installed on the server - just
the native file system and network system.

I dont think this would be applicable. We currently have
Access 97 installed on the nominated Win 98 machine which
acts as the "defacto server" for the occasional table
maintenance work.


Many Thanks for your helpful suggestions, very much
appreciated.

If anyone else has actually done this type of migration I
would also be interested in any further comments /
suggestions.

 

[david epsom dot com dot au]

Interesting to note your comments about << partially
broken by certain versions, in particular, of WinNT
server and of the Win2K network client >> I assume that
these problems must have been addressed and resolved
since then ??

All the NT problems were apparently resolved: people used
NT for years. The Win2K problems were supposed to be fixed
in Win2K SP4, WinXP SP1. But we are a suspicious lot, and
you notice that standard advice here is to never share a
'front end' database.

http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/performancefaq.htm

It depends what you have got: some people find they
need to make minor changes to bring their application
up to speed on a Win2K network.

(david)

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