SQL Server and FP2000

[JA]

I am thinking of moving my main product database to SQL Server, but keeping
my smaller databases in Access in the fpdb folder. Is there any problem with
that and FP2K? Would the SQL Server db be kept in the fpdb folder also?

Thanks, Jill

 

[Thomas A. Rowe]

MS SQL is a database server, normally run on a different machine than the
machine hosting the web site.

You would normal either use Access or SQL, not both. You will need MS
Enterprise Manager to work with your tables in SQL, however you can use a
Access Projects to maintain the data within your MS SQL db.

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[Thomas A. Rowe]

Jill,

How much data are we talking about?
Why do you think you need to go to SQL?

Yes, Enterprise Manager is need to add/modify fields, etc. and the setup of
Access Project to maintain the data in SQL.

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Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
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[Kevin Spencer]

Actually, you don't need anything other than Access 2000 or later to work
with SQL Server. You can create an .adp (Access Database Project) project in
Access which allows you to work with SQL Server databases just as you would
with Access databases, through the Access program. SQL Server is a database
server which uses TCP/IP to connect, so you can set up a System DSN that
points to the SQL Server you want to work with, and then set up your Access
..adp project.

Yes, I would recommend migrating all of your Access databases to SQL Server.
You would be amazed at the performance improvement it will make.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
http://www.takempis.com
Big things are made up of
lots of little things.

 

[Kevin Spencer]

SQL Server is a database server. You don't download anything from it. The
databases remain on the server, just as web sites remain on the web server
when you connect to it via a browser. The Access .adp project just connects
to it. It is very small. In any case, the .adp project is not for your web
site; it's for you to work with your databases remotely when you need to.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
http://www.takempis.com
Big things are made up of
lots of little things.

 

[Thomas A. Rowe]

Jill,

With SQL, you would be working on your database, you can have as many tables
as needed, within a single database, same as Access. However with SQL, you
will always be working with your database live on the machine hosting the
SQL database, even when working with a Access Project across the internet.

With Access, you can always download the database and work on it locally. I
am currently working on a project where the Access database is 330 MB.

Unless you get say 100,000 or more hits per month, you can most likely
continue to use Access, but that depends on how well your pages are coded
(hand), and how your tables are structure.

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Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
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[JA]

Just got a message back from my wonderful ISP - they want to know just how
big a SQL database I would need, and they'll let me know if they can
accommodate me or not. I love them!

So, my questions now are - does the Unicode bloat Access, but wouldn't bloat
SQL Server? If so, what size difference would you guess it would make?

And, I think you guys may have already answered this, but it isn't clear to
me - could I have my SQLSvr database that I connect to using ASP and work
with using Access project AND still have my regular little Access databases
in the fpdb folder that I connect to through FrontPage?

Also, so using an Access project would be like working with your website
live through FrontPage, is that right? Or like opening an Access database
with FrontPage? That is what I'm wondering - it takes neigh-on-to-forever to
open a big Access database with FP - in fact, I think it just times out.
Would that happen with this big SQLSvr db and Access project?

Sorry I'm so dense!

Jill

Thanks again, Jill

 

[Thomas A. Rowe]

Jill,

The database was moved from SQL to Access, because even with a cable connect
of 800 kbps up/down, it was a pain to attempt work on it online, when one of
the tables currently has 511,000+ records, since the Access Project defaults
to 10,000 records view each time you open a table, you then have to change
it to unlimited, and wait for it to re-open each time.

With 60,000 hits a month you should be ok. So far I have not seen any
problems with a site that get 37,000 hits a month running a Access database,
but all of the ASP/VBScript is hand coded, so there is no extra code
overhead.

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Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
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[Kevin Spencer]

I'm not sure where Tom got his figure of 100,000 hits from, but I would
estimate it to be a good bit lower than that.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
http://www.takempis.com
Big things are made up of
lots of little things.

 

[Kevin Spencer]

Hi Jill,

ASCII characters are 8 bits in size. Unicode characters are 16 bits. You
should be able to figure it out from there.

As for working with your SQL Server database, you would not use FrontPage at
all to do it. Access is a file-based database. In order for any program to
work with it, the program must be on the same LAN as the database. SQL
Server is a database SERVER. You can work with it from anywhere on the
internet. Therefore, it is not necessary to download ANYTHING to work with
it. Your Access .adp project would sit on your local desktop, and connect
with the database server remotely. The only thing in your FrontPage web site
would be the ASP pages it generates.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
http://www.takempis.com
Big things are made up of
lots of little things.

 

[Thomas A. Rowe]

Kevin,

I should have said Visitors, not Hits.

It was very easy to come up with a conservative figure of 100,000 Visitors
per month as I have client site that had 6,266 Visitors on January 10, 2003,
so if you multiple that times 30 you come up with the ability of the site to
handle 187,980 Visitors per month.

Total stats for 1/10/2003 -

Total Visitors: 6,266
Total Page View: 37,351
Total Hits: 195,516
Total Bytes: 682.7 MB

The site run under Windows 2000 Server, with a System DSN connection to a
Access 2000 database. The main functions that were accessed on this date,
where Membership Signup, (query and then a write), Login (query only), and
the Shopping Cart (mostly queries and few writes).

The Shopping Cart is based on StoreFront 2000.


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Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
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[Thomas A. Rowe]

Kevin,

How can you change a MS SQL table structure using a Access database project
connection?

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Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
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