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Dear Fellows,
I have an Inventory Management System and a Point Of Sale. App is working well on a local network.
But now i would like to connect my Point Of Sale app through internet to another computer another city where the Inventory Management System with Acccess 2003 Database is installed. How Can i Share My Access 2003 Database Through Static IP and How Can I Fetch or Save Data From my POS to shared database. Please Help. Thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rproffitt

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Short summary and safe plan: Access 2003 is a file‑based (Jet/ACE) database and is not designed to be exposed as a shared file over the public Internet. As noted, the goal is remote POS ↔ Inventory syncing; as warned, exposing the host to the Internet invites attacks and data-corruption risk. Recommended approaches are to avoid forwarding Windows file‑share (SMB) ports to the Internet and pick one of the safer architectures below.

Practical options (ordered by risk / effort):

  • Run the POS on the machine that holds the .mdb (Remote Desktop / Terminal Services or a remote-control tool). This keeps the database local and avoids WAN file sharing.
  • Create a VPN (site‑to‑site or client VPN) between sites, then use the existing UNC path across the secure tunnel. This keeps SMB off the public Internet.
  • Migrate the backend to a client/server engine (SQL Server Express, MySQL, PostgreSQL). The app then uses a TCP connection (properly secured), which is far more robust for WAN access.
  • Build a small web/API service on the server that mediates all database operations (HTTPS + token auth). The POS talks to the API instead of directly to the .mdb.

Small VB6 examples (for reference only — do NOT use a UNC/.mdb over the public Internet):

' VB6 ADO (local Access)
cn.ConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\Path\Inventory.mdb;User Id=admin;Password=;"
cn.Open
' VB6 ADO (SQL Server)
cn.ConnectionString = "Provider=SQLOLEDB;Data Source=ServerName,1433;Initial Catalog=Inventory;User Id=dbuser;Password=secret;"
cn.Open

Security & troubleshooting checklist:

  • Never forward SMB ports (TCP 445/139) to the Internet. If RDP is used, protect it behind VPN or restrict source IPs and use strong auth.
  • If using a static IP for firewall rules, restrict access to known IPs only.
  • Schedule daily backups and automated Compact & Repair for Access if staying with .mdb. Test restores regularly.
  • Start with a small test dataset over the chosen method and validate concurrency and performance before full rollout.

Choosing between quick fixes and long‑term stability: remote desktop or VPN are fastest; migrating to a server DB or API is the robust, production-safe solution.

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