I have a scheduling software that has a database of clients, client pets, pets grooming styles, appointments and invoices.
The generic reports that are given with the software are not giving me the information that I need to go. Support from the software company is telling me to use Access to build the reports that I require.
I am not seeing how to connect to the software's DB to use in Access to generate my custom reports.
Any help or links to the information for this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance everybody
One of MS Access' unique features is connecting to external RDBMs' ( SQL Server, Oracle, Postgres, MySQL, SQLite) in complement to its default Jet/ACE SQL Engine. In fact, Access can connect to any other ODBC-compliant system even Quickbooks or your software assuming it has an ODBC API.
An .MDF is a SQL Server main database file but usually you do not connect directly to the file but the server instance. Most likely, you are required to connect Access to the SQL Server database the software sits on. In fact, you will be doing what the software does: connect to a backend database. No software or web/mobile app is without a database or data store of some kind.
MS Access backend setup is very easy with many online tutorials:
Find the SQL Server instance and all needed credentials (server address or host, port, schema, user, password).
Be sure to have an installed ODBC Driver (usually already available if SQL Server is installed) or check if software has a pre-defined DSN. Free MSSQL ODBC downloads are available online. Open odbcad32.exe to see current computer driver/DSN installs.
In a saved Access .accdb/.mdb database, under External Data tab in MSAccess.exe, click ODBC database (globe icon) where you walk through a wizard to connect to aforementioned Driver or DSN (machine or user). You can either import tables or link live tables which upon successful connection will prompt you to select the database tables.
From there you can use linked tables like any other local table within MS Access including forms, reports, macros, and modules.
In fact, knowing the ODBC connection you can work in most programming languages that maintain database APIs including Python, PHP, R, Perl, Java, C#, VB, even your everyday MS Excel to interact with scheduling software's data.
I am implementing a simple POS (Point of Sale) application using C#/WPF. The scenario I am working on is that there will be multiple cashiers running the application in the same physical store. I need to have a centeralized database so that both users connect to the same database to lookup the products and for other operations.
I worked with a company and done the same but all network connectivity and servers were ready at that rime.
How do I connect the two PCs so that one can connect to the main PC which hosts the database. Do I need to install sql on wvery client PC to connect or .NET frame work on client will suffice. What are the options (LAN vs Wireless).
I understand that SQLite3 does not operate under the client-server database application model, so I was wondering how one would actually connect to a "running" database server with a SQLite3 back.
Meaning if I were to have a database server running on Linux with a SQLite3 back, how would clients connect to this server? Would I have to use another RDBMS?
Thanks,
Jake
You don't have any database server running SQLlite3. You can just have applications using SQLlite3 (there is no client - server protocol involved). The data is in some files accessed by the libsqlite3 library linked inside the application. (so the data is local to the system running that application).
So by definition you cannot connect to a SQLlite3 database server. Such thing don't exist.
Read the http://www.sqlite.org/ front-page, which starts with
SQLite is a software library that implements a self-contained, serverless, zero-configuration, transactional SQL database engine.
And the wikipage sqllite
If you want to have a database server (with external, possibly remote, applications interacting thru a client-server protocol with it) switch to PostGreSQL, MariaDB, etc...
Clients that connect to SQLite "server" just use API that looks like connection. Library for "connection" is embedded into application.
we're close to migrating our legacy MS Access app to SQL Server for our internal warehouse management system. Our customers are often asking us for access to the data for e-commerce integration and general reporting. Once the migration is complete I would like to provide open access to the data via web services and odata. However I don't want to host these services as we are on a slow ADSL connection which won't cope with the traffic.
My question is, can I replicate (one-way) to a remote DB hosted by shared-hosting companies such as Hostgator? I see they have shared windows hosting with unlimited MS SQL DBs. Are there any special requirements on the hosted-side? For instance do I need to explicitly set-up replication on hosting db or is it managed on the client-side?
If this is possible then I might be able to run all our web services and reporting apps on the host's servers, and only the replicated data need travel over WAN. What sort of control is there over replication? Such as bandwidth throttling, replication periods etc? For instance when & how often does replication take place?
I'm new to SQL Server in general and some of the topics are a little overwhelming.
Thanks for your help.
You could try setting up transactional replication with a push subscription with the distributor on your side. The relevant bit is how the distribution agent connects to the subscriber. distrib.exe supports both trusted and SQL authentication, so you should be good to go either way.
I'm not sure whether I'm asking the question correctly, but I've been told SQL Server cannot run on a Novell server. Is this true? If yes, why not?
Your problem is your directory service, whether it's Microsoft's Active Directory or Novell's Directory Services (I think it's called).
Sounds to me like your DNS is broken if your clients can't resolve names to IP address.
NOW I see your problem! Sorry dude!
Yes, VERY easy. Kinda.
SQL Server used to be able to talk IPX (the netware protocol) but I think Netware will now talk TCPIP, and you can run IPX and TCP/IP on the same network without an issue - windows clients can run both at the same time, 99% of routers handle all protocols etc.
Windows (XP/2003/etc) can run the netware client, so it can talk to shares etc.
Use the SQL Server logins (rather than windows integrated logins), and it'll work from anything - we have Java on Linux talking to SQL Server on windows just fine :) It's all in the connection string: userid=username;pwd=whatever;server=yourserverhere; etc. But you MUST use the SQL Server Configuration Manager to set these up - the default is shared memory, so you have to enable TCPIP etc.
You may have to be more specific about what a "novell server" is. From what I understand, Novell servers run some form of Suse linux. Sql Server is a windows only product.
My company, however, does have clients that run Novell networks, and we do run Sql Servers on their network. But they're hosted on a win box...
SQL Server is a Windows app. Novel is either one of:
Novell
or
Linux
Neither of these are windows :) It's like asking "why can't I run this Mac application on my windows box". Or "why will my petrol car not run on diesel?"
There are old version of Sybase, which SQL Server sprang from, which COULD run on Novell Netware, but you'd need to find a software museum to find one, I think!
If you need a SQL Server, I'd suggest you either get Small Business Server, which comes with MSSQL, or install one of the free editions of SQL Server on XP or windows 2003 server. Or use something like MySql, Postgress etc on Linux.
I'm not sure what you are asking. Are you looking for software to allow NetWare applications to talk to a SQL Server running on Windows? The wording of your original question implied that you want SQL Server to run on the NetWare machine.
The question of why SQL Server doesn't support NetWare is best asked of Microsoft, but AFAIK SQL Server doesn't support any non-Windows OS.
As someone else said, SQL Server originally came from Sybase's SQL Server (now called Adaptive Server Enterprise), which supported NetWare at one time but dropped it a long time ago. Sybase's other RDBMS, SQL Anywhere, dropped NetWare as of version 11, but versions 9 and 10 are still supported on NW.
OK, now I think I understand. I was thinking "client" as in database client application, not the Novell client.
I don't think you'll need the Novell client on the Windows machine, for a couple of reasons:
If the client is trying to connect over TCP/IP, it doesn't matter whether or not the Windows machine has the Novell client installed
Windows shares aren't affected by the Novell client, though you need some kind of Novell client for the Windows machine to map NetWare volumes
If the Windows machine does need to map NetWare volumes, I have found in the past that the Client Service for NetWare service (which ships with Windows but isn't installed by default) is sufficient, and doesn't have all the overhead of the Novell client.
It sounds like your Windows SQL Server is in fact a second class citizen on your networks. (I imagine you are using SQL Authentication instead of AD based.) If you have to connect via IP rather than name, then your Windows boxes aren't participating in an Active Directory authentication + DNS setup like is the case in most "windows" networks verus the "netware" network that you are running into. Netware has it's own form of directory services that is independant of Microsoft.
If you want your Microsoft SQL Server to be a integral part of your network, then you need Microsoft Active Directory installed with integrated windows authentication and DNS services running on a Domain Controller. But, this would conflict with your directory services (if used) on your netware server.
If your Netware network is running just fine, then I wouldn't change it. Simply add the microsoft sql server's network name to your local DNS services and it won't appear like it's a second class citizen. You could install the netware client on the SQL machine but that would make most DBA's cringe. But, it would register the machine in Netware's directory.
SQL Server, although rooted in a Sybase/Unix/VMS background, is a native windows application. Apart from the compact edition (which runs on some Windows mobile platforms), SQL Server runs on Windows desktop and server operating systems.
More informaiton can be found at wikipedia.
Sorry to be prickly, but I'm not a noob: I know you can't install SQL Server on Linux. Do you guys have customers running Netware trying to connect to a SQL Server? That is what I am dealing with.
We have customers, mostly school systems, that use Netware as the "network OS" with many Windows workstations running the Netware client. Our app uses SQL Server which is usually installed on a Windows 2003 server, but the server is always a second class citizen on the network. Users often must use the IP address rather than machine name to connect the SQL Server.
#Will: Do your Novell customers have trouble accessing SQL Server on the Windows server? Can you install the Netware client on the Windows server to enable file sharing?
#Graeme: Thanks for helping me refine my question. My employer somehow has the impression that a Windows server is a second-class citizen on a NetWare network. Would installing the NetWare client on the Windows server make it easier for NetWare clients (with some form of Windows OS) connect to the SQL Server? Would installing the NetWare client on the Windows server allow the server to share directories and files like a Novell server?
#geoffcc: The app uses SQL Authentication to connect to SQL Server.
The core issue is how are you authenticating to the SQL database. If you have an Active Directory tree, and an eDirectory you can easily link the two via Novell Identity Manager, which will synchronize users, groups, etc (any object you care to map between the two systems) as well as passwords.
Thus the same object exists in both locations so each system can use it as much it needs too. The license for Identity Manager is included with the Open Enterprise Server license (OES can run on Netware or on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)).
Then you could use the Active Directory integrated authentication.
Beyond that, your Netware server likely does not need to connect to the database directly. If it does, you will be writing or using an application that includes the database connectivity. At which point it becomes a question of is there a client for this OS or not.
#flipdoubt Well if you are using SQL Authentication, then you are using a SQL Client of some kind to connect to it, and the fact you have Novell in the picture is as unrelated as if you had Banyan Vines. (There you go! Now a search will show at least ONE reference to Banyan Vines!! Every good technology site needs at least one, and probably not more than one!)
As others have noted, what are you trying to do?
If they need to use the IP address of the SQL server to connect to it via a SQL client, then you have a DNS problem.
If you want to connect to the MS SQL server box to put a file on it, then that is somewhat unrelated to the SQL aspect of the issue. There again, DNS can solve your woes, if you register the name of the server (Say it is SQLSERV1) with the default DNS name (say acme.com) tacked onto the end of it, so that the IP Name sqlserv1.acme.com resolves to the IP Number you want it to point at.
Next comes the question of where are the user identities stored? You are using SQL Authentication, so that means you are creating accounts in SQL for each user.
The basic alternatives are to use Active Directory and have MS SQL server use those identities. If you are in a non-AD shop, you can investigate Novell Identity Manager product which has a JDBC driver that can do a fair bit, One thing it can do is synchronize users from eDirectory to be SQL Server users. (Or to Active Directory, Lotus Notes, most LDAP directories, AS400's, mainframes, NIS/NIS+ and many more systems).