Advantages of Client/Server Applications

With client/server applications, you can request exactly what you want. With file-server applications, you have a much lower degree of granularity; for example, even if you only select one record from one table in a file-server database, Microsoft Jet must read at least a 2K page. Also, by isolating all database files under the control of one database server and one physical machine, the server can provide advanced features that can’t be furnished by a file-server architecture. For example:

• Online backup Use an automatic scheduler to back up your database without having to exclude users from the database.
  
  
• Durable transactions Updates made within a transaction can always be recovered or rolled back if either the client or the server computers fail.
  
  
• Better reliability and data protection If either a workstation or file server fails while a Microsoft Jet database (.mdb) file is being written to, the database may be damaged. You can usually recover a damaged database using the Repair method, but you must have all users close the database before doing so. This rarely happens with a server database such as Microsoft SQL Server.
  
  
• Advanced hardware support Uninterruptable power supplies, hot swappable disk drives, and multiple processors can all be added to the server with no changes to the client workstations.