Four Important Things While Setting Up Microsoft Exchange Server

Microsoft Exchange server is an extension of the Microsoft Servers, and is used by enterprises mainly for hosting of web-based electronic mails, and for organizing calendar events in the form of memo. Exchange servers are usually set up in offices where one server machine is used for maintaining active directory. It is usually one individual computer responsible for sharing its features with the terminals remotely attached to it via local network.

Four important things while setting up Microsoft Exchange Servers are -

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1. Exchange is an application extension, so it requires the server edition of windows pre-installed on the computer. Usually the latest version of server edition is preferred for better compatibility, or for migration purposes. For example, Exchange 2010 can only be installed on Windows Server 2003 and 2008. Moreover, the recent Exchange releases are 64-bit, so the machine as well as the operating system needs to be 64-bit compliant. For best results, a fresh installation of server is usually done to avoid any complexities.

2. For a server to work in a local area network, it needs to have proper network settings. By default, Exchange configures IP addressing to be DHCP enabled. Since it needs to be a subnet controller, the IP needs to be set to static. Therefore it is required to mention a specific address that would be used. This IP needs to be included in the DNS list as well and then the gateway for the network needs to be specified in order to be able to connect to the internet.

3. For any server to work, it needs to have one computer to work as the active directory. Before installing Exchange, the active directory needs to be installed and properly configured. Active directory is essential for working as the domain supervisor, and the Exchange Server is usually kept as the first domain controller. Selecting a domain name is important as it will be associated with all the mail addresses if they are hosted in the server itself, and it cannot be changed easily.

4. The IPv6 settings are particularly important. It can be left in its default settings, with automatic DHCP, but it needs to be kept turned on for setting up Exchange, as some of its services will not start if IPv6 is not enabled. The active directory installation will continue as long as the IPv4 is made static, irrespective of the state of IPv6 as long as it is enabled.

Four Important Things While Setting Up Microsoft Exchange Server

For any assistance on Microsoft exchange, visit the free-to-use website - Techyv.com provides all types of solutions in the form of blogs, articles, tips and tricks!

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An Overview of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

If you're in business, you should really consider learning about and then using Microsoft's Office SharePoint Server. For any organisation that shares data on a daily (or perhaps hourly) basis, you need a server, but one that pulls together all the Office Applications without conflict or bugs. The SharePoint Server was designed exactly with this in mind.

What is it?

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The SharePoint Server is a set of tools and facilities that can help an organisation be more effective in how it manages its content, searching, sharing part of the business, and improves the way information is shared. There are mini versions of this kind of practise already - you know if you add or edit notes on a document while you're editing it for a colleague? Or if a document is "locked" as read only so you don't get three people editing three different versions at once before merging? Think of the SharePoint server as a larger, more complex way of making use of these kinds of tools.

It's worth mentioning that after testing, Microsoft has (unsurprisingly) recommended that the SharePoint Server be used with MS Office 2009 applications. This is hardly surprising since it's the latest, most up to date version of the suite, and less likely to throw up errors and bugs. Some businesses still use NT or XP, but this should still mean you can use the SharePoint services.

What can I do with it?

Most businesses are highly collaborative these days: how often do you create a spreadsheet or document that only you will read and edit? Not very often. Usually, as part of a larger team, you'll have different groups of people accessing different Office documents at any one time. SharePoint has certain features to make this easier, such as keeping track of a document's life cycle (how many of us have been happily editing something, then see with horror that you're in the 2006 version because it looks and feels similar to the 2009 one?), RSS feeds, and the use of portals (or intranet sites: something most businesses have these days).

Search features are handy when you're dealing with so many different documents in so many different formats. Searches become more relevant, and the ways you can search are more flexible (wanting to see what the accounts team edited at the end of the last tax year, for example).

The chance of "messing up" a shared document (as per the previous example with three people editing something before a merge, losing 2 out of 3 sets of changes) is reduced if you use a shared server. There can be individual document levels and hierarchies - the work experience girl can't edit the MD's diary, for example! And major/minor work versioning - if you change a sentence, and I change a page, then the server "knows" and acts appropriately.

Security is also a hallmark of a decent server sharing system, SharePoint notwithstanding. Controlling who can (and can't) see certain sensitive business information is crucial, no more so than today where the Freedom of Information Act, coupled with the Data Protection Act can cause a lot of problems if breached. You can restrict access to whole areas of information, not just the documents inside (if you had a fraud investigation team, for example, this would be separate from other parts of the business).

Although servers are often maintained by IT managers and their contemporaries, there's no reason why you can't try mastering it yourself, especially if you already have Office 2007. With a bit of training, and a lot of investigating its capabilities, the SharePoint Server could make your working life a lot easier, and much more streamlined for 2009.

An Overview of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on sharepoint server courses, please visit http://www.microsofttraining.net

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SQL Server Security Updates

Microsoft's has a whole new attitude towards the security. In their own words: "We will rethink our approach to security. We will examine our code for vulnerabilities. We will release patches as needed. We will turn off most features by default in order to keep the footprint small. If you need something, turn it on. But if you don't need it, leave it off. That way if a vulnerability is discovered in a product you are not using, you won't be affected."

The latest SQL Servers has come up with many additional security features; these features not only make the database more secure, but also more explicable and easier to manage. Database applications can be developed by the programmers, whilst running with the precise privileges required, with the added new features. This feature is called "the principle of least privilege." A programmer is no more required to run as a SA (System Administrator) or DBA (Database Administrator).

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Some of the main new features that have been added in the latest version of the server, are as follows:

Security for.NET

A combination of different SQL Server permissions,.NET code security and Windows permissions are required to administer and execute the.NET code. 3 distinct levels are used to decide as to what a code cannot or can do outside and inside of SQL Server.

The Password policies for the users of SQL Server

If running the SQL Server on a Win 2003 Server, then the users are allowed to go by the similar policies as for integrated security users.

To Map a SQL Server user to Windows credentials

The users of SQL Server are allowed to use Windows credentials when they access any of the external resources such as network shares and files.

Separating schemas and users

Schemas in a SQL Server refer to the 1st class objects that can be owned by a user, group, application roles or a role. The fact that the definition of synonyms is allowed, make this very easier to administer.

Permissions grant

It is no longer required for logins or users to be in some specific roles to get certain permissions; all of them are grantable with REVOKE, GRANT and DENY verbs.

Fresh security on the Server's metadata

One is not allowed to directly update the new metadata views, and only if a user has permissions to certain metadata about specific objects, that he can list them.

Support of encryption keys and certificates

The latest security features allows the server to manage encryption keys and certificates, for use with Web Services SSL, with Service Broker, for new data encryption, and with code authentication.

Above are but some of the many new security features the SQL comes with. But It would help you in giving some idea about how the Microsoft has tried to work hard in fixing any security loopholes in the old versions of the SQL Server, and how they have made it much more secure than the earlier versions of this server.

SQL Server Security Updates

More information: SQL server security

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Your Guide to Microsoft Sharepoint Server 2007

* How does it work?

* Hosted vs. Dedicated

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* Features of SharePoint

* Integration with Microsoft Office

* Benefits of SharePoint

* Case Study

* Free Trial

How does it work?

Microsoft SharePoint server 2007 is a program which has been specially designed to work with products in the Microsoft Office range. Accessed through a standard Internet Explorer web browser or by using Microsoft Outlook 2007, Microsoft SharePoint 2007 provides businesses with an easy to use web portal or extranet system. Users can upload documents to SharePoint in several ways:

* By logging into their SharePoint 2007 site and uploading the document directly

* Directly from Microsoft Office applications, e.g. Word, Excel

* By e-mailing a document directly to the SharePoint site.

SharePoint allows workers to perform the following tasks:

* Collaborate with co-workers on group tasks and activities

* Share resources and business intelligence

* Manage and create content

* Search for people and information quickly and easily

* Create workflows and business forms to streamline your business practices.

Hosted vs. Dedicated

SharePoint services are available in two forms: Hosted and Dedicated.

Hosted SharePoint - Hosted SharePoint is based on a SaaS (software as a service) shared platform, which is suitable for most customers. This is a low cost option for running your own SharePoint sites without the need to purchase or maintain any hardware or Software.

Dedicated SharePoint - For customers with specialized requirements or who require their own server equipment, Genesis Communications have dedicated SharePoint Server solutions. These range from a single server to a tailor-made, advanced system.

Dedicated Microsoft SharePoint 2007 allows for an unlimited number of SharePoint sites, with an unlimited number of users and custom Business applications.

Features of SharePoint

* Create team workspaces

* Coordinate calendars

* Organize documents

* Receive important notifications and updates through communication features including announcements and alerts

* Create Company and employee blogs to publish information internally or externally

* Create virtual meeting spaces to reduce travel for meetings

* Create Online Surveys to gain instant feedback

* Take advantage of convenient offline synchronization capabilities.

Integration with Microsoft Office

SharePoint has the ability to fully integrate with all programs in the Microsoft Office suite to create the ultimate business utility with the following applications:

PowerPoint 2007 - With SharePoint, you can create a library of PowerPoint slides that can be shared with other users on an Office SharePoint Server 2007 site.

Office Access 2007 - Synchronising SharePoint with Access will allow you to use the reporting features to view data and create reports whilst offline.

Office Outlook 2007 - SharePoint allows you to take document libraries offline which are displayed just as other Outlook folders are.

InfoPath 2007 - Users can create form templates then publish them to an Office SharePoint Server 2007 site. You can then enable them for use in a Web browser.

Office Excel 2007 - Save worksheets on a SharePoint site so that users can access them by using a browser. You can use these to maintain and efficiently share one central, up-to-date version of all worksheets.

SharePoint Designer 2007 - Users can create their own master and content pages, so that your site has a consistent look and feel. For the more technically minded, you can customise sites using the latest ASP.NET technology and XHTML code.

Benefits of SharePoint

* Easily manage documents

* Ensure integrity of content

* Improve team productivity

* Give employees or suppliers secure document access

* Automate Customer or Supplier interaction using a Web portal

* Easily Track the progress of Company Projects

* Convenient offline synchronization capabilities

* Employee Presence Awareness - see if workers are online

* Reduce travel costs by allowing virtual meetings to take place

* Reduce HR costs by automating regular administration such as expense forms, holiday requests, sick leave, access to employee handbook etc.

* Reduce Operational costs by allowing the creation of 'workflows'.

Case Study

ABC Engineering Ltd has 8 employees, consisting of 3 users at head office, 2 users at their site office, 2 mobile workers (1 sales and 1 support) and also 1 home-based worker in accounts.

Genesis Communications created a tailor-made Hosted SharePoint 2007 solution for ABC, with a digital certificate to ensure their SharePoint data is encrypted and secure.

Each user has access to the Internet with mobile workers using either their windows mobiles or laptops using Vodafone mobile broadband adapters.

Each group of users can have access to their own part of the company's SharePoint system, based on templates for their specific application.

For example, HR has access to an expense reimbursement and approval template and the Support department have access to the Help Desk template.

This integration helps the business to streamline their working operations, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.

Free Trial

Genesis Communications offer a 14 day, no-obligation Free SharePoint Trial. This allows customers the opportunity to 'test drive' SharePoint before purchasing.

Your Guide to Microsoft Sharepoint Server 2007

For more info contact us at http://www.genesis.co.uk or call 0845 184 8022

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Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and 70-662 Exam Training in One Package

The newest Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 has been released a few months ago and enterprises are already upgrading from the older versions in mass scale. Microsoft holds almost 2/3 of the market share in email communication solutions and the Exchange Server 2010 is its flagship product and the cornerstone of Unified Communications for many companies.

The new Exchange 2010 version boasts ground breaking features such as PowerShell utilization as its main engine, Transport Protection Rules, Role Based Access Control, full unified communication support (text to speech, voice mail, instant messaging etc) and other advanced software communication features that make this product one of the most powerful enterprise tools.

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If you are going to get involved for the maintenance and administration of Microsoft Exchange 2010 then you certainly need a good training for such a complex product. I.T administrators responsible for their Exchange Server must be ready and prepared to manage hundreds or thousands of users and their mailboxes, the security of the servers, the databases, the operating system etc. Getting a solid and proven Exchange 2010 training package is essential if you want to "survive" for such a demanding task.

There is also an Exchange Server 2010 relevant Exam, the 70-662 (Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Configuration) which counts as credit towards two Microsoft Certifications (the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist - MCTS and the Microsoft Certified IT Professional - MCITP certifications). Passing the 70-662 exam, you will be one step closer to a better career, to a better salary, and to a more stable IT position in your company.

Now, what if you could find a training package that will offer you two things:

1. Extensive in-depth training to teach you how to install, configure, maintain and troubleshoot the newest Microsoft Exchange 2010 Server with hands-on experience from a Certified Instructor.
2. Full coverage of 70-662 exam requirements with practice exam questions.

The combination of the above can be found in the Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Training Package from Trainsignal. Check it out because I believe it's a great deal in terms of cost and the amount and quality of information that you will acquire. And the best part is that the training package above comes from one of the most trusted Computer Training companies, so you will be assured that you will get the best results.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and 70-662 Exam Training in One Package

The Exchange Server Training from Trainsignal company is one of the best deals you can find. You get top notch training similar with instructor-based only for a fraction of the cost. Plus you get also 70-662 Exam Preparation from the same training package.

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Email Archiving and Mailbox Size - Best Practice Recommendations Under Microsoft's Exchange Server

Background

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Today's businesses, large and small, depend on their email systems for a significant majority of their communication needs. Email has developed from a rudimentary, inaccessible technology used only by the tech-savvy to its current role as a rapid, reliable communications tool for just about everyone. Along the way, as user needs and data storage have evolved - remember when 1 Mb of storage was a big deal? - the use of email systems has increased well beyond their original scope of sending and receiving short messages. Today's email systems provide calendaring, group collaboration, task management, workflow and, ever-increasingly, file and data storage. Users now store many years worth of email and attachments, and refer back to them on a frequent basis for important historical information.

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This increasing document retention, along with the ever-increasing size of attachments, has caused email systems to dramatically increase in size and therefore demand higher technical capacity and management. Meanwhile, the email content itself has increased in value - often being sensitive, proprietary or even mission-critical in nature. It is essential that today's business protects its email investment and associated systems with document retention and archiving policies. An effective policy will balance system needs for security & stability with user needs that include rapid access.

Over the years of working with our clients, Seitel Systems has developed a set of best practices for dealing with these complex needs. Outlined below are our recommendations for retention and archiving under Microsoft's Exchange Server.

Group Policy Templates

Regardless of whether Outlook Auto Archive is used to manage mailboxes, the Outlook Group Policy Template should be used to centrally control settings (including whether or not archiving is allowed). Configuration information is available below.

Outlook 2007: Outlk12.adm Outlook 2003: Outlk11.adm

Exchange 2000 Environments Exchange 2000 is limited in the amount of available storage to 16 GB (17 GB for short term repairs). As a result, SSL recommends that these organizations implement mailbox management policies as follows:

1. Mailbox Size Limits: to 500 MB or smaller depending on the overall size of the organization. Smaller organizations can have larger mailbox limits. This should be managed through mailbox quotas enforced by Exchange Server. As users approach their assigned quota they'll receive warning messages to that effect. Once they reach the quota they'll be restricted from sending and receiving emails.

2. Outlook Email Auto Archive should be configured for all users to run with the following settings:

Turn On Auto Archive: Yes

Run AutoArchive every days: 7

Prompt before AutoArchive runs: No

Delete Expired Items: No

Archive or delete old items: No

(note: this is a setting relevant to email retention policies and expiration dates, not the deleted items folder)

Show archive folder in folder list: Yes

Clean out items older than: Never

Permanently delete old items: No

(note: this is a setting relevant to email retention policies and expiration dates, not the deleted items folder)

3. Archive folders should be stored in the following locations:

· Workstation users should archive to a pst file located on the network. This runs the risk of file corruption as MSFT recommends against using a network share for email auto archiving but alternative solutions (such as archiving locally) entail greater risk of data loss due to disk or backup issues.Search the Microsoft support site for kb/297019 to find the supporting article.

· Laptop users should archive to a pst file located on their local hard drive. A manual process will be required to copy these psts to the network on a regular basis (minimum weekly) to ensure that they are backed up. SSL recommends placing a recurring appointment on the user's calendar.

· A manual process will be required for all users to ensure that individual pst files do not exceed 2 GB in size. The frequency of this process will depend on the rate of email sending & receiving, but should be checked on at least an annual basis. SSL recommends placing a recurring appointment on the user's calendar.

Exchange 2003 Environments Exchange 2003 is limited in the amount of available storage to 75 GB. This is likely more storage space than will be consumed by the average small business, but for those businesses that approach this limit SSL recommends one of the following solutions:

· Upgrade to Exchange Server 2007 with its near-unlimited storage space. This is the likely solution for businesses on older hardware or simply wanting to take advantage of the features of 2007.

· Add in a second mailbox store on the existing Exchange Server and migrate mailboxes to balance the storage load. This solution assumes available disk space and remaining useful life of the server hardware.

Due to the large available storage space and the inherent complexities of archive files SSL does not recommend implementing mailbox size limits or email auto-archiving policies except for laptop (mobile) users. Prudent user management of their mailboxes is encouraged through deletion of non-essential emails especially those with large attachments that do not need to be archived. The Outlook Group Policy Template should be used to prevent users from enabling Auto Archive on their mailbox.

Mobile users with large mailboxes will experience significant performance degradation when operating outside of the office LAN. Cached exchange mode or offline storage files are not recommended as they are both limited to 2 GB file sizes, plus their required synchronization time can be painful when done over a WAN connection (broadband or otherwise). For mobile users SSL recommends the following:

1. Outlook should be configured to use RPC over HTTPS to allow secure access to the Exchange Server whenever the laptop is connected to the internet

2. To keep performance at an acceptable level it is recommended that mobile users need to keep their mailboxes below 500 MB in size. This could be managed through mailbox quotas enforced by Exchange Server.

3. Auto Archive should be enabled for mobile users to run quietly every 7 days and archive information to a pst file located on their local hard drive. A manual process will be required to copy these psts to the network on a regular basis (minimum weekly) to ensure that they are backed up. SSL recommends placing a recurring appointment on the user's calendar.

4. A manual process will be required for mobile users to ensure that individual pst files do not exceed 2 GB in size. The frequency of this process will depend on the rate of email sending & receiving, but should be checked on at least an annual basis. SSL recommends placing a recurring appointment on the user's calendar.

Exchange 2007 Environments Exchange 2007 offers near unlimited storage limited only by the available hard drive space. As a result, SSL does not recommend implementing mailbox size limits or email auto-archiving policies except for laptop (mobile) users. Prudent user management of their mailboxes is encouraged through deletion of non-essential emails especially those with large attachments that do not need to be archived. The Outlook Group Policy Template should be used to prevent users from enabling Auto Archive on their mailbox.

Mobile users with large mailboxes will experience significant performance degradation when operating outside of the office LAN. Cached exchange mode or offline storage files are not recommended as they are both limited to 2 GB file sizes, plus their required synchronization time can be painful when done over a WAN connection (broadband or otherwise). For mobile users SSL recommends the following:

1. Outlook should be configured to use RPC over HTTPS to allow secure access to the Exchange Server whenever the laptop is connected to the internet

2. To keep performance at an acceptable level it is recommended that mobile users need to keep their mailboxes below 500 MB in size. This could be managed through mailbox quotas enforced by Exchange Server.

3. Auto Archive should be enabled for mobile users to run quietly every 7 days and archive information to a pst file located on their local hard drive. A manual process will be required to copy these psts to the network on a regular basis (minimum weekly) to ensure that they are backed up. SSL recommends placing a recurring appointment on the user's calendar.

4. A manual process will be required for mobile users to ensure that individual pst files do not exceed 2 GB in size. The frequency of this process will depend on the rate of email sending & receiving, but should be checked on at least an annual basis. SSL recommends placing a recurring appointment on the user's calendar.

Links:

Configuration information for retention settings is available at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc303413.aspx (Click on "configure retention settings).

The Outlook Administrative template is located in the Office Resource Kit which can be downloaded from: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/desktop/default.aspx. Different versions are available via the Home->Versions link.

Email Archiving and Mailbox Size - Best Practice Recommendations Under Microsoft's Exchange Server

Seitel Systems provides network, server, telecommunications, and desktop services that include system design, implementation and support. Seitel Systems has been serving Puget Sound businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations since 1990. Contact us at http://www.seitelsystems.com

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When Should You Use Microsoft SQL Server Over Microsoft Access?

Two of the coolest tools that have ever come out from Microsoft are certainly Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access. Microsoft Access databases have certainly become more prevalent over the last 2 years as large corporations break the imposed ban on using the tool. Many of our large corporate clients and government clients have stymied development in Microsoft Access for varying reasons which can include security issues or simply the IT Managements belief that they don't want to support the application.

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Some of the reasons why IT Departments do not want Microsoft Access in their environments are quite valid. For example, the use of Access Databases in high security areas such as in the Education Department for storing student information, Department of Defence systems, Hospitals storing patient data are all valid reasons why data should not be stored in a MS Access Database.

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However, one of the key advantages that Microsoft Access has is the ability to build a software system to manage a range of services very quickly. The downside is that Microsoft Access on its own is very un-secure and can easily be lifted without any trace using a USB Stick or CDROM. But there are ways to secure Microsoft Access and to prevent data from being lifted.

First of all let us look at Microsoft SQL Server...

Microsoft SQL Server is the tool of choice for many corporate environments because it is a commercial database server. Its core role in the commercial world is to store data which is slightly different to Microsoft Access. MS Access whilst it is a database, it is more so a database management system that allows you to build a fully interactive user interface that allows users to enter data and report on data where as Microsoft SQL Server simply stores the data within tables. It doesn't have the ability to provide you with a front-end like ms Access.

Microsoft SQL Server allows you to store large volumes of data which include items like photographs, video, text, numbers and much much more. Now whilst I'm sure everyone is saying, "But Microsoft Access can do that too", you are right to a certain extent but Microsoft Access has very defined limits. Microsoft SQL Server is designed to handle terra bytes worth of data where as Microsoft Access can only hand around 1 Gigabyte of data without having issues.

Can You Use Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access together...

The answer to this question is a resounding YES. In fact my preferred way of developing systems is to utilise MS SQL Server as the datastore and then use MS Access as the Front End. To join the two together I simply link the SQL tables to Microsoft Access via an ODBC connection.

This method is what I consider the best way to build a database system which requires a medium to high level of security and integrity. There are a number of reasons for this -

1. Microsoft SQL Server integrates security into the Microsoft Windows Active Directory Security System

2. Microsoft SQL Server can be setup to automatically back up

3. It can do incremental backups which means it can backup during the day rather than just once at night

4. Using the server with the Active Directory environment means that your users only need to have one username and only need to logon once

5. Microsoft SQL Server databases cannot easily be duplicated or copied without the SQL Server DBA (DBA stands for Database Administrator) knowing

6. It can handle Terrabytes worth of data where as Microsoft Access is questionable over 1 Gigabyte

7. Microsoft SQL Server allows you to do some of the system processes on the server via Stored Procedures and DTS (Data Transformation Services) where as Microsoft Access requires the client to do all the processing

I am quite sure most small business owners will look at this article and say, "Well I can't afford such a system". Well let me tell you, you can. Microsoft many years ago introduced a software package called Microsoft Small Business Server. This package includes professional tools such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange and they competitively priced this package for around 00 Australian. The key reason they did this was so that small businesses would have the ability to access professional resources at an effective and cost efficient price rather than being disadvantaged.

You can buy servers in Australia with Microsoft Small business Server for around 00 to 00 dollars which is far more competitive than what it was a few years ago. It also means that by having Microsoft SQL Server available, the systems they can develop can be as professional as those organisations whom have multi-million dollar budgets.

The time to use ms access on its own is really dependant on whether you need your data to be mobile. If you do and the security of the data is not important, then using Microsoft Access as the data store is appropriate. For example, the other day a company who puts together mining information on key contacts, wanted to distribute their information in database format to people who want to know who's who in the industry. In this case they developed their information in an Access database and distributed it to those who were prepared to buy it in this format. Security in their case wasn't an issue because customers were paying for it, so it was appropriate to develop the system in Microsoft Access rather than any other format that might utilise Microsoft SQL Server.

If for instance, the data you are storing is in fact sensitive or is mission critical but the data needs to be mobile. For example you might need the data for a Financial Planner or Loan Mortgage Broker then in this case your data should be stored in MSDE. MSDE is in fact a cut down version of Microsoft SQL Server and by design it is far more secure than Microsoft Access plus it is much harder to copy the data.

The bottom line is this, if your data is important to your business then your principle data store should not be MS Access, you should be developing a system where your data is stored in Microsoft SQL Server and then using MS Access as the Front-End to manipulate the data. Further to this, you should be integrating your SQL Server logins with your Active Directory Security System. If you use this technique your data will be far more secure than if it is stored in Microsoft Access Exclusively.

When Should You Use Microsoft SQL Server Over Microsoft Access?

Chris Le Roy is a veteran of the software development having worked in the field for over 20 years and has been developing systems using Visual Basic 6, VB.Net, Microsoft Access and SQL Server, ASP, VB Script and Java Script. He currently runs a specialist Computer Training Centre in Townsville Australia, where people from all over the world, train to learn advanced techniques in programming in these applications. Many of his clients specifically focus on Microsoft Access development training. Chris has written a number of training programs, including a Microsoft Access Course and has a number of other Microsoft Office Course available.

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