Access Database Limits
Tue, 08/10/2010 - 11:10
Have you encountered performance issues with Path related to the size of the database? A user I'm working with has been running and saving many scenario results and his .mdb is approaching 2GB (the limit for Access databases.) Recently, he's been encountering problems getting scenario output. Of course, I couldn't get him to replicate the problem on demand, so I asked him to let me know if he gets an error message the next time it happens. Until then, I wondered if you've encountered space issues?
Tue, 08/10/2010 - 12:37
#2
Compact Access mdb
The Access mdb can get large and cause problems if it nears the Access 2GB limit. Have you tried compacting the database? This can help enormously to reduce the database size and needs to be done on a regular basis (we have discussed adding a feature to do this automatically from within Path in the future). You can find this in Access 2007 under the Manage menu (under the Office button) - there's a similar option under the Tools menu in Access 2003. Let me know if this helps.
It is forseeable that as users get more and more output into their DB that they will approach the 2GB limit of Access. Some possible solutions to this problem are:
1. Under Advanced | VDDT Settings | Output select to print output for only some, not all time steps.
2. Use MS Access to Compact and Repair your database.
3. Create multiple databases for completing your simulations. Note that multiple databases can be opened at the same time in Path and scenario properties can be copied between them.