Help with a network...

[Asmodean]

So, this friend of mine has a small auto repair shop. Nothing fancy, and he runs it mostly as a hobby, but he aims to develop it into a real company, generating real income within the next few years.

He has a computer at the repair shop and one at home. On both PC's he has a database of spare parts and the likes that auto mechanics need. He has internet connection from both computers. The repair shop is, I should mention, located roughly 10 miles from his home.

He wants to connect these two computers in a network. How would be the best (cheapest) way of going about that? He has gotten a quote on a virtual private network from his ISP, but it is hideously expensive, and way over his budget!! The files he would have to share are quite small, and he would never have to transfer large amounts of data over the network. How could this be done??

Asmodean

[pchang]

He needs public IP addresses on both computers. Then, he can do whatever he wants (including setting up his own VPN). However, publicly routable IP addresses are fairly expensive (it is an exgtra monthly fee for most ISPs).

[Ari Rahikkala]

(forgive me for being an idiot today, I didn't sleep well last night)

[Asmodean]

Originally posted by Ari Rahikkala
What, exactly, does he need to do with the network? If it's just transferring files, would putting a SFTP server on both ends be good enough?

He only needs the network for updatig his database, so he doesn't have to manually enter the data at both ends. E.g. if he uses one spare part at the shop, and dedutcs it from his inventory in the DB, he would need the data to be transferred to his home PC, to reflect the change there as well.

How would an SFTP server go about accomplishing that?

Asmodean

[pchang]

What DB software is he using? If you can put a web page front end on it, then he would only need to run the DB on one machine and only that machine would need the publicly routable IP address.

[Ari Rahikkala]

I hope I'll actually say something *useful* in this post...

... if the frontend uses, say, a traditional Windows interface, you still have things like VNC to help you run the database in only one place.

[pchang]

Originally posted by Ari Rahikkala
I hope I'll actually say something *useful* in this post...

... if the frontend uses, say, a traditional Windows interface, you still have things like VNC to help you run the database in only one place.

Actually, this is probably the simplest solution.

[Asmodean]

What's VNC??

It *has* a windows interface BTW

Asmodean

[Q Classic]

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VNC ]

free client:
[ http://www.tightvnc.com/ ]
[ http://www.realvnc.com/ ]
[ http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/ ]

if you want to pay for something similar, there's always Symantec's PCAnywhere or RealVNC Enterprise.

[pchang]

Has this been resolved to your satisfaction?

[Urban Ranger]

Don't tell me he's using Access...

[Q Classic]

There's nothing wrong with using Access if it's a small-scale thing.

It's a decent enough tool to use, easier to install than, say, even SQLite.

[pchang]

Yes, but it is pwned by the DB2 Enterprise!

[Q Classic]

well, yes. Access is a pretty weak DB solution.

However, Access also comes with Office Pro, whereas DB2 requires a separate license/purchase...

[pchang]

I have a slightly used DB2 Enterprise v8.1 he can have for a mere $30,000 USD.