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Small MS Access Application - MySQL backend - Best Host?
My company has been using an MS Access application for 20 years. The need for shared data between users is minimal, and we've gotten by storing the db on Dropbox and pulling it onto our desktops when we need to use it. Now I'd like to share a few core tables in the cloud. The data amounts to about 20 MB now without a whole lot of growth expected. We use Google Cloud Console for some features, so I thought maybe I would put a MySQL db there, but I don't want my employer to have to pay anything if I can help it. There's no website interaction. What's the best free host for a very small MySQL database?
- Beware "free" anything, including remotely hosted database services. You get what you pay for in most things; this is one area where you might want to think carefully about that. This is not a private photo collection. This is your organization's business data. How long would you be down if this "free" remotely hosted database service doesn't work out?
I'm not saying it's impossible, but I am saying that your employer might not be all that excited about moving their data (and it is the company's data, after all) into the cloud this way.
Make sure your employer knows exactly what you are doing with their data.
If you can't afford a small fee for a monthly remotely hosted MySQL database, then I'd have to wonder if the need is really there.
Another consideration, which I have personally encountered, is whether a "free" web hosting service is going to let you connect your Access front ends remotely to the MySQL on their site. They are, I believe, mostly aimed at supporting web sites. If you do go there, look before you leap.
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- Are you all on the same LAN when you "pull the db onto our desktops", or are some users remote?
- We don't have a LAN. Just users with their own computers.
- If you have rent a host,I think the clients do not to pay more money just as you visit a web site.
- Beware "free" anything, including remotely hosted database services. You get what you pay for in most things; this is one area where you might want to think carefully about that. This is not a private photo collection. This is your organization's business data. How long would you be down if this "free" remotely hosted database service doesn't work out?
I'm not saying it's impossible, but I am saying that your employer might not be all that excited about moving their data (and it is the company's data, after all) into the cloud this way.
Make sure your employer knows exactly what you are doing with their data.
If you can't afford a small fee for a monthly remotely hosted MySQL database, then I'd have to wonder if the need is really there.
Another consideration, which I have personally encountered, is whether a "free" web hosting service is going to let you connect your Access front ends remotely to the MySQL on their site. They are, I believe, mostly aimed at supporting web sites. If you do go there, look before you leap.
