Our existing network is set up like this:

6 PCS all running Windows XP Home SP2 and Office 2003 Professional
Cable Modem
|
4 Port Switch
|
24 Port Switch (DLink) (not sure why)
| | | |
2 Computers + 2 VOIP Phones + Network HDD (Buffalo) + 16 Port Switch
|
3 Computers + 3 VOIP Phones + 8 Port Switch (Belkin)
|
1 Computer + 1 VOIP Phone

All of this "stuff" is connected via CAT 5 or CAT 5e cable between two small rooms. The wires were run over doors and around corners. Nothing fancy.

All of the computers are connected through the Polycomm VOIP phones. The phones are then connected to a switch.

All of the computers are set up in a Workgroup.

On the Buffalo Link Station I have a small Access program installed. A toolbar full of shortcuts to the different components of the program is installed on every computer.

Recently something changed on our system and I'm not sure where to start looking.
The computers nearest to the cable modem (also the least used) run the Access well.
The further "away" from the first switch the computers are the worse they run the Access program. The 3 computers on the Netgear switch (3rd switch in line) can take over 2 minutes to load the program. It's nearly impossible to run it.
Just a week ago I didn't have any problem running the program from any of the computers. The installation hasn't changed.
Also, the Access program runs well when installed locally on every one of the computers.

So I'm pretty sure that I have a network related issue. I don't anticipate changing my equipment but if I were to consider getting a server would XP Home computers work with Windows 2003 SBS?

Are there "tweaks" I can apply to Windows XP Home to improve the network PERFORMANCE in addition to making whatever adjustments are needed to fix my problem??

Thanks for the help and ideas. So far all I can come up with is to remove one or two of the switches but seeing as they have always been there I don't know if that's the right plan.

PoSo, the main issue here is the slow response when trying to launch Microsoft Access via the network, right? Otherwise, is the network working normal? Yes, Access is the issue. I have a little bit more info since I first posted:

1. I deleted the registry keys related an issue I read about where computers on a network check other computers on the network (Scheduled Tasks/Printing) before connecting - this didn't appear to make a difference.

2. The database is accessed via a shortcut to it that is placed on each desktop. The back end and front end are together and the developer said there is nothing he can do about it for now.

3. I recently mapped the folder that the database is in as the T: drive on each computer. It was being accessed by it's location as a network share previously. This didn't appear to make a difference either.

Is there hope? One more thing. I cleaned up each PC and maxed out the RAM (2GB-4GB) because . . . why not. Still have latency issues with Access.

Hope one of you is really good with Access. Could I somehow configure the access to Access as an ODBC connection? I'm not 100% sure I know what that means, how to do it or if it will make a difference but I'm not opposed to trying "stuff" out.

Thanks for the help.

POTo me it sounds like each time you open access its bring a copy of the database across to the machine. If the database is big than the computer has to wait for the database. This is your delay.

How big is the database? and try to open a work doc or some other file from the same machine to test the speed of a smaller file.

The only problem is with this database or with network access in general for those computers? (Check it before answering).
The switches are configured for a certain speed or they are allowed to negotiate the speed for each connection? (in fact the question is if each connection is reported by the switches to be at least 100 Mbps)
How long are the network cables? I know, it is not related to your problem, I'm just curious about the second switch - or the first one. Maybe one of them is a firewall also?

Have you restarted the switches? Maybe something has gone wrong during a power peak or a glitch in one's software. Or the network map (memorized by each switch during functioning) has become corrupted.

Have you tried one of the computers to another switch? I mean a computer where you don't have that problem to try it at the far end of the chain and see if you have problems or not? (If it is not a laptop and it's difficult to move here and there forget about this "option").

You don't have to buy a server. You can CONNECT to it with Windows XP Home, but you won't be able to create a domain and add those computers to domain (and you don't need a domain for 6 computers).


If you WANT to see if your network has speed problems you may try also to copy a big file (1 GB or 2 GB) and see how much time it takes on every computer. Ping responses are ok?

ODBC is used to connect to a database, it's a protocol. The designer (developer) of the access application has to work with it, he will ask you what exactly he needs.