Need Help With Frontpage 2000 and Linking to Databases on another server.

[Joshua]

Ok so after calling microsoft's top support line it appears that they are stumped and rather would just like to give me the ol they don't support that line. I have come here to see if anyone else can help me out.

First a Summary of what I am trying to do.

The setup, I have a load balancer, 2 web servers, a file server, appcenter and some databases.

The problem is this. Within the company I have users that view and also upload databases to the one of the web servers, lets call it web1 and the other web2, So what is happening is that now all the links on the web page are hard coded so if someone wants to view any of the databases they are forced to go to web1, but I don't want that anymore, the load balancer is not being used to its full extent and I want more of a redunducy issue to take effect. So here lies the proble

App Center is on Web1 and it replicates everything over to web2 but not the other way around if somethin changes on web2 then it might get over written by web1 or web1 will never see the updated file. So if a person logs into the Load Balancer and is sent to web2 and that person makes changes to a database or uploads a database those changes will never been seen on web1, which is a problem.

So What I want to do is put the databases on a fileserver and have both web servers link to these areas so that if a user needs access both web servers will give them the same access. Sounds simple I know but for some reason I can't get it to work.

What I have tried is creating ODBC using the ODBC Admin in Windows 2000 but when using the ODBC through frontpage 2000 the connection always seems to fail when it goes to get result, no real time out error or anything it just doesn't allow you to go any further then picking the ODBC you want to us, as soon as you hit next to choose the fields it just says it can't. I have also tried creating Virtual Dirs and use them in frontpage but get the same results.

Can anyone help, does anyone else have anything they use when having the databases on another server.???? Thanks.

 

[Jim Buyens]

First, make sure that both Web servers *and* the file
server are in the same domain, or at least in trusted
domains.

Then, set up a domain account that the Web server will
use. Assign a non-expiring password.

On the file server, give the new account Update
permissions on the file share that contains the database.

Finally, on each Web server:
o Give the new account the "log on locally" user right.
o Give it permission to read and execute the site that
accesses the database.
o In IIS Manager, configure the new account as the
anonymous account for the site that accesses the
database.
o When you specify the database location, specify a
UNC file name (i.e. \\servername\sharename\my.mdb).

I must warn you, though, that you're approaching the
practical limit for Access databases. If the application
is busy enough or important enouth to warrant all this
redundancy, it's probably worth SQL Server.

Jim Buyens
Microsoft FrontPage MVP
http://www.interlacken.com
Author of:
*----------------------------------------------------
|\---------------------------------------------------
|| Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 Inside Out
||---------------------------------------------------
|| Web Database Development Step by Step .NET Edition
|| Microsoft FrontPage Version 2002 Inside Out
|| Faster Smarter Beginning Programming
|| (All from Microsoft Press)
|/---------------------------------------------------
*----------------------------------------------------

-----Original Message-----
Ok so after calling microsoft's top support line it

appears that they are stumped and rather would just like
to give me the ol they don't support that line. I have
come here to see if anyone else can help me out.

First a Summary of what I am trying to do.


The setup, I have a load balancer, 2 web servers, a file

server, appcenter and some databases.

The problem is this. Within the company I have users that

view and also upload databases to the one of the web
servers, lets call it web1 and the other web2, So what is
happening is that now all the links on the web page are
hard coded so if someone wants to view any of the
databases they are forced to go to web1, but I don't want
that anymore, the load balancer is not being used to its
full extent and I want more of a redunducy issue to take
effect. So here lies the problem

App Center is on Web1 and it replicates everything over

to web2 but not the other way around if somethin changes
on web2 then it might get over written by web1 or web1
will never see the updated file. So if a person logs into
the Load Balancer and is sent to web2 and that person
makes changes to a database or uploads a database those
changes will never been seen on web1, which is a problem.

So What I want to do is put the databases on a fileserver

and have both web servers link to these areas so that if a
user needs access both web servers will give them the same
access. Sounds simple I know but for some reason I can't
get it to work.

What I have tried is creating ODBC using the ODBC Admin

in Windows 2000 but when using the ODBC through frontpage
2000 the connection always seems to fail when it goes to
get result, no real time out error or anything it just
doesn't allow you to go any further then picking the ODBC
you want to us, as soon as you hit next to choose the
fields it just says it can't. I have also tried creating
Virtual Dirs and use them in frontpage but get the same
results.

Can anyone help, does anyone else have anything they use

when having the databases on another server.???? Thanks.

 

[Thomas A. Rowe]

FP can not see virtual directories. Have you tried creating a System DSN on the current server, to
the database on the other server, then in FP connect to the System DSN on the current server?

--
==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
WEBMASTER Resources(tm)

FrontPage Resources, WebCircle, MS KB Quick Links, etc.
==============================================

Thanks for the ideas but none of them worked.

It seems as though when you are in front page and you go to get your database results it just

doesnt' even appear to try and make a connection through the Virtual Dir. Anyway of testing to see
if front page is getting a link ?

 

[Joshua]

yeah I have created System DSN in the ODBC admin of the Web computer and tried to connect it to the File server using front page and the same thing happens, front page doesn't even really bother to look it just errors out rather quickly.

 

[Thomas A. Rowe]

You create the System DSN on the web Server using the ODBC Admin, then in FP you connect to the
System DSN on the web server. FP does not see or connect to the File Server.

I think you will not be able to use the FP database component, instead you will need to learn to
hand code your ASP/VBscript application to work with this database, or you will need to place the
Access database directly on the web server.

If the database is only being used to display data on the web site, then as the database is updated,
it can just be copied over to the web server.

If the database is being updated by site visitors, then you can not also have local users updating
the database from the Access application at the same time.
--
==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
WEBMASTER Resources(tm)

FrontPage Resources, WebCircle, MS KB Quick Links, etc.
==============================================

yeah I have created System DSN in the ODBC admin of the Web computer and tried to connect it to

the File server using front page and the same thing happens, front page doesn't even really bother
to look it just errors out rather quickly.