Database in the Cloud

[Scott24x7]

So, I've been thinking...
I would like to have my VFP tables and files (associated with it) in an internet accessible "space".
The idea is, the DBC and all tables would live in a directory on the cloud somewhere...
Then my "Client" application is on the PC, and just need to <map the cloud as a drive>. I am not interested in "Web-facing" the application, keeping it client-server is fine, but has anyone done this? Is there a specific service that caters to this? (AWS, Azure, Bob's Swampland Fox DBFS). I also don't want to have to use a VPN to get to it...

In "the past" I would just have the tables on a server somewhere on the network, with a mappable drive letter... we install the client, establish the "drive" link to the PC and then Bob's your uncle.
But I've done nothing with this in more "modern" days, beyond accessing cloud data by FTP, and that's not what I'm after.


Best Regards,
Scott
ATS, CDCE, CTIA, CTDC

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[JackTheC]

SQL Server?

Using VFP-tables is not client server. The processing/querying should be done on separate machines. (Client VFP, Server SQL)
Controlling both the program and the database in the cloud by the client in VFP won't work IMHO. That can only work in a VPN or Home network.

And <map the cloud as a drive>. tried that with Dropbox. Didn't work due to synchronization conflicts whilst "using" a table.

 

[GriffMG]

Mapping drives over the internet is a recipe for disaster, performance is nearly always poor and
before you know it your tables will be corrupt.

Lots of people use SQL on the net as a backend rather than using VFP tables though, or perhaps a
combination of local VFP and remote SQL.

Regards

Griff
Keep [Smile]ing

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are not good for you. ​

 

[Tore Bleken]

To quote Marcia Akins: "Cyanide is quicker

 

[Scott24x7]

That's all highly disappointing...
Then I need to set a VPN back to head office where the tables are based and have my staff access it that way. The client on their side, and the tables living on our server.

Best Regards,
Scott
ATS, CDCE, CTIA, CTDC

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[GriffMG]

Unless you have a really good (10mbs each way) internet connection at both ends, that will be a complete
pile of dogs doings in very little time at all.

VPN will get you a secure connection, but not necessarily a fast one.

If you must do it that way use some variant on Terminal Server, Remote Desktop or
UltraVNC to control a PC in HQ from your remote office.


Regards

Griff
Keep [Smile]ing

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are not good for you. ​

 

[Scott24x7]

Hahahahahaha...
We're based in Japan. Our minimum bidirectional bandwidth is 100mb... I've got 2Gbit in my house.

Best Regards,
Scott
ATS, CDCE, CTIA, CTDC

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[GriffMG]

OH, that sounds very nice.

That will do very nicely then.

All you need do then is map the jolly old drive like you said in the first place.

So long as the connection is reliable... and I bet it is

Regards

Griff
Keep [Smile]ing

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are not good for you. ​

 

[Scott24x7]

Most of our Wifi here is 300mb, some crappy ones are 50mb.

Most of Asia is this way... Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan... all have 100mb pretty much as their default. So even when I'm traveling and on WiFi this is still good.
Plus we only do record at a time, so at client-server, we should only be sending a small amount of data to update, not the whole screen... in the worst case if you have a 1mb graphic that gets sent, you might notice that take a second or second and a half...

Best Regards,
Scott
ATS, CDCE, CTIA, CTDC

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[GriffMG]

Lucky you.

I'm on a 512K/256K link in France and a staggering 20MB/5MB in the UK

Regards

Griff
Keep [Smile]ing

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are not good for you. ​

 

[Olaf Doschke]

Some have tried that and it kind of works with small dbfs and low "traffic" but of course the typical cloud space drive solutions sync whole files.

The fox runtime needs LAN access, SMB protocol, and that's naturally working on a port not open into the cloud, so it SHOULD RATHER be tunneled via VPN than opened. See the paragraph "Data access over TCP/IP" in

https://west-wind.com/presentations/internetenabling/InternetEnabling.htm,

especially the last sentence.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[Scott24x7]

What if I use a VLAN?

Best Regards,
Scott
ATS, CDCE, CTIA, CTDC

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Olaf Doschke]

I'm not a network expert. Wikipedia says

Placing cloud-based virtual machines on VLANs may be preferable to placing them directly on the Internet to avoid security issues

That seems to indicate it's possible, but it may also indicate the opposite, that it's possible to have a separte VLAN segment, but not in the internet. Wouldn't it all depend on computers belonging to some domain? No matter if SAN, VLAN, WAN or anything extending a LAN?

Bye, Olaf.

 

[Scott24x7]

Yeah, you're right. To VLAN them they'd all still have to be behind the same firewall, and dedicated connections... :/
So much for "The Cloud" and the modern world...

Best Regards,
Scott
ATS, CDCE, CTIA, CTDC

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Nigel Gomm]

would remoteapp fit the bill?

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc755055.aspx

the vfp exe runs on the server alongside the data but appears to the user as a normal client PC.

The biggest drawback is you can't automate their local MS Office.

hth

n

 

[Olaf Doschke]

I remember some people were asking here, at MSDN forums or foxite and someone had an answer like Rick Strahl, which would work for eg a POS system on several locations all connected via VPN and belonging in the same domain of a WAN this way. A possibility for a shop with many stores to have DBF data centrally, but nothing you'd do for the general public user.

Nigel mentions the other cut at the level of the desktop, eg your app and data runs on a server and only the visual frontend is travelling the internet. Anyway, doesn't that need CALs?

Bye, Olaf.

 

[Scott24x7]

My app will only be used by our staff. This is an internal, enterprise application, so I have more flexibility probably than most.
I heard Rick is going to be a South West fox in Mid October, in Phoenix, which I just signed on to attend. Since it's not pressing (I'm just trying to think ahead, I don't think our application is going to be really ready for general use for another 3 - 4 months), I want to have covered this issue by the time we get there. I expected it to be difficult/unobvious to answer, so wanted to start the "thinking" on it now, and hear what others have experienced. With any luck, Rick or others at the show will be able to give some ideas. I'm contemplating staying on the 2 extra days as well for the FoxIn Cloud seminar that follows, as maybe there is at least some part of that that will be useful for us (even if it means some "public views" into our otherwise "private" data system via web, like dashboard, or data progress that we have... we may want to share some data to clients, and use it as a way for them to self-service progress checks, in real time... I did a similar thing in years past with Telephony services, but today, no one wants to call in to get updates.

I've done some cool stuff in the past even with Fox 2.6 (the Telephony enablement was on Fox 2.6 for DOS!). So the internet should be nothing but a thing these days, with the power of VFP.

Best Regards,
Scott
ATS, CDCE, CTIA, CTDC

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Scott24x7]

I had another thought on this...
Has anyone tried this in Terminal Services or Citrix environment?
Any "pitfalls" in that case?


Best Regards,
Scott
ATS, CDCE, CTIA, CTDC

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[GriffMG]

Works well in a TS or Citrix environment.
Printing used to be a pain, but I think that is good, and with your infrastructure it should be
very good indeed.

In my previous post

If you must do it that way use some variant on Terminal Server, Remote Desktop or
UltraVNC to control a PC in HQ from your remote office.

Regards

Griff
Keep [Smile]ing

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are not good for you. ​

 

[Scott24x7]

Ah, sorry I totally missed that line before.

As it progresses, if I don't come up with a better alternative, I may look at that approach as well.
I've used both in the past to build very fast access to client/server applications, but it is an infrastructure overhead I'd rather avoid if I can find a viable alternative.

Best Regards,
Scott
ATS, CDCE, CTIA, CTDC

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."