MS ACCESS 97 Limitations

[mpbarker]

Hi. I currently have a MS Access 97 database that's about 29mb with 20+ users.

Anyone know the ACCESS 97 limitations? File size, max number of people, etc? I'm trying to decide between upgrading to ACCESS 2002 or some other type of database.

Thanks in advance,
MPB

 

[GDGarth]

Maximum file size is 1 GB.

I'm not sure of the max number of users.

 

[Blanch]

The text below is sraight from the help file, my additional experience is this you will start to see a signifcant drop off in performance at 30 users, if you are sharing the entire mdb over the wire. My suggestions (if your intent on staying with A97):
1. Split your code.mdb from data.mdb
2. Distribute your code.mdb to clients desktops
3. Move all fast growing tables to thier own .mdb, this will allow each table to grow to a full 1GB before you must archive.
4. Compact and Repair all data.mdbs regularly.
5. Become very smart on the best prcatices for indexing your tables for optimum speed. (this will serve you well no matter what RDBMS you choose.

Lastly, I am a firm believer in not fixing things that are not broken, but I also believe in upgrading when the technology advancements out weigh the price of not upgrading. Access 2K, 2K2 and even using MSDE as a backend server are much better options than A97. If you do decide to upgrade, I suggest that you make a clean break and plan for a full rewrite to take advantage of ADO over DAO.

I hope this helps!


Database specifications from Access 97 Help:

Attribute Maximum
Database (.mdb) file size 1 gigabyte.
However, because your database can include linked tables in other files, its total size is limited only by available storage capacity.

Number of objects in a database 32,768

Modules (including forms and reports with the HasModule property set to True) 1024
Number of characters in an object name 64
Number of characters in a password 14
Number of characters in a user name or group name 20
Number of concurrent users 255