Access Database with Multiple Users Slow on Terminal Server

ID: Q231798

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0, 4.0 SP1, 4.0 SP2, 4.0 SP3, 4.0 SP4
Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0, 4.0 SP4, Terminal Server Edition

SYMPTOMS

When multiple users on a computer running Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition attempt to open the same Microsoft Access database on another computer running Windows NT Server, performance may be severely degraded. However, single Terminal Server users do not experience any performance degradation.

If several Terminal Server users communicate with different servers containing Access databases, performance is not impaired, but when they open the same database, query timing may be an order of magnitude slower.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because database record locking is affecting performance. By default, Terminal Server establishes a single session with the Windows NT Server-based computer that contains the database. Multiple users querying the database through that one session can cause conflicts. When you use Network Monitor to track network traffic, the trace shows that the computer is no longer using opportunistic locking.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, apply the fix described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Q190162 Terminal Server and the 2048 Open File Limitation

This article describes how to set up different sessions between the servers, and describes changes to Terminal Server that are made with Service Pack 4. After you apply the fix and restart the computer, the performance issue should be resolved.

In addition, if there are multiple users on the computer doing large amounts of record locking, refer to the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q191370 Slow Network Performance with Terminal Server

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbinterop kbnetwork ntsp
Version : winnt:4.0,4.0 SP1,4.0 SP2,4.0 SP3,4.0 SP4
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb