[PLUG] not MS SQL Server

[Jon Galt <jongalt@pinn.net>]

Greetings fellow pluggers,
  this is an anti-MS question that requires some knowledge of MS Access.
  I have a friend who wants to use open source software (hurray!) wherever
possible, but currently he has a database in MS Access, with about 100 MS
Word forms that pull data from the database for reports, etc.
  Their database is in two .mdb files, the "front end" which the users
see, and the "back end" which holds the actual data.
  They are growing and they want to switch to a real database system with
multiple users.  Currently they have a very labor intensive process, where
the database is only accessible on one computer in one of their two
offices.
  I'm thinking a good transition would be to leave the front end alone,
and replace the back end with an open source database like PostgreSQL,
running on Linux or *BSD.
  So here's my main question:  How (and how easily) can this be done?  I'm
sure it can be done by replacing the back end with MS SQL Server, but
that's something they want to avoid because of the cost.
  They have mentioned FreeBSD, but I'm not sure between FreeBSD, NetBSD
and Linux, which one is better with respect to security.  Anybody?
(Gabriel? :-) )
  Another question:  Can Access be used on multiple workstations in a VPN
environment to access a common back end database?  (I think if the VPN is
done correctly, it shouldn't make any difference to the front end app - it
should just look like a LAN.  But I'm just checking.)
  They're kind of on a shoestring, so I want to make the transition easy
for them.

Thanks for any suggestions,
Wayne
_________________________________________

Need an experienced programmer who knows
both the Unix and Microsoft worlds?

Then you need to hire Wayne:
http://hirewayne.com

wayne@hirewayne.com
_________________________________________


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