How to Query a remote database & show results to customer????

[sb]

I am a VB programmer, but never written ASP code so....
Let see if I can explain this in a nutshell:
My application (contact management & Job Tracking) uses a MS Acess 2000
database. I need to build a web page to Query this DATABASE and display
information BUT....

1. The DATABASE (large over 200 MB) is located in a Windows 98 office
network, in a computer that is running DSL and a FTP Server application
(Serv-U FTP Sever 4.0) connecting to the outside world...
2. The web site is located in a Web Hosting Company.

The DATABASE cannot be uploaded to the Web Hosting Company, because is
constantly being updated in the office... so... Is there a way to comunicate
to the office computer when a user is requesting a query from the web site?
May be the web site can post a REQUEST file to a folder in the office's
computer and my application constantly monitor for request files and perform
the query and write a responce file that the web site can "read" and send
the final results to the user????

Am I way off track?????? Please help.... This is a project I need to look
into... What should I be using for this???
Silvio

[Dave Graney]

Silvio,

This is a problem we have tackled frequently. You have to decide which of
the two sets of users of the database (web site users and internal data entry
staff) is more important, and put the database closest to them so that their
performance is the best. Then you use a web front end for the other set of
users to access the database remotely. Whichever way you look at it, you
want to avoid making ODBC connections over a slow link. I strongly advise
you to look at datalive (www.lrs.com.au) which lets you view and edit databases
remotely from a web browser without programming a line of ASP...any way you
look at it, you will probably just need to set up a web server internally
which your hosted site can defer to for pages that need database access...

Hope this helps...


"sb" <silviobrig@msn.com> wrote:
>I am a VB programmer, but never written ASP code so....
>Let see if I can explain this in a nutshell:
>My application (contact management & Job Tracking) uses a MS Acess 2000
>database. I need to build a web page to Query this DATABASE and display
>information BUT....
>
>1. The DATABASE (large over 200 MB) is located in a Windows 98 office
>network, in a computer that is running DSL and a FTP Server application
>(Serv-U FTP Sever 4.0) connecting to the outside world...
>2. The web site is located in a Web Hosting Company.
>
>The DATABASE cannot be uploaded to the Web Hosting Company, because is
>constantly being updated in the office... so... Is there a way to comunicate
>to the office computer when a user is requesting a query from the web site?
>May be the web site can post a REQUEST file to a folder in the office's
>computer and my application constantly monitor for request files and perform
>the query and write a responce file that the web site can "read" and send
>the final results to the user????
>
>Am I way off track?????? Please help.... This is a project I need to look
>into... What should I be using for this???
>Silvio
>
>