Advice on Maximum number of concurrent Users

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

jjsolo - 21 Jul 2005 20:31 GMT

We have an Access 2003 application that was originally written in Access 97
that we are trying to figure out the maximum users that should be using the
application at one time.

The database is stored on a file share server and accessed by the users over
the network. The Access database has not been split into Front-End and
Back-End parts. The database size is 22 MB, and the main table has 5200
records. When I export the main table to a csv file the file size is 2.3 mb.

Currently there is an average of 10 users using the database concurrently,
with a peak of 20 users. The business unit wants to add more users to the
database and we are trying to figure out if this app will need to be moved to
a web app with a sql server backend.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

J.J.

Reply to this Message

Rick B - 21 Jul 2005 20:40 GMT

You should be fine with as many as double the current users. But, you
should definietly split into front-end back-end and put the front ends on
the user machines.

Assuming they are not heavy users, you should be able to handle 20 or 30
users without too much trouble. This also assumes a pretty robust network.
With such a small databse (22MB) it sounds like you do not have much data
going back and forth. I have a database with about 20 users active at any
given time. Four or five of them perform frequesnt reads and writes, while
the others perform some activity every hour or so. Our file is about 100mb
and we have never had any trouble to speak of.

Now, any database (even a small one with few users) can run into issues if
it is poorly designed, does not have good indexing, runs on a slow machine,
uses a bad network connection, etc.

Signature

Rick B

> We have an Access 2003 application that was originally written in Access 97
> that we are trying to figure out the maximum users that should be using the
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> J.J.

Reply to this Message

Larry Linson - 23 Jul 2005 01:00 GMT

> . . . are trying to figure out the maxi-
> mum users that should be using the
> application at one time.

Factors in how many users can be supported in multiuser include the
requirements, design, and implementation of the database application and the
hardware, software, and network environments. If all factors are near
perfect, we have reliable reports of over 100 concurrent users. Even if not
all are near perfect, we routinely see reports of 30 - 70 users. But, in
cases where we are rather sure that all are about as far from perfect as can
be, people have reported Access "falling over" with as few as four users.

I'd venture to guess that if someone went out of their way to do everything
wrong, it would be possible to create a database that wouldn't even support
one or two users. <GRIN>

> The database is stored on a file share
> server and accessed by the users over
> the network. The Access database
> has not been split into Front-End and
> Back-End parts.

I very much agree with Rick B -- you should split into BE (on the server
shared folder) and FE, with _each_ user having a copy of the FE.

> The database size is 22 MB, and
> the main table has 5200 records.

This is a realtively small Access database, so again I would agree that
database size should not be a problem. See MVP Tony Toews' site,
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm for the best collection I have found
of information and links on multiuser performance and avoiding corruption in
a multiuser environment.

> When I export the main table to
> a csv file the file size is 2.3 mb.

Seems possible that you aren't compacting the database frequently enough,
but otherwise, this is immaterial.

> Currently there is an average of 10
> users using the database concurrently,
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> out if this app will need to be moved to
> a web app with a sql server backend.

If you move to a server back end, the app will not need to be converted to a
web app, as long as all your users are on a LAN or modestly fast WAN. If
some users are accessing via the Internet, and you don't decide to use
Virtual Private Network and Terminal Services, then a web app might be
justified. There is no tool for creating web apps at this time that can give
you the rich user interface that Access can provide.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

Reply to this Message