Data services

Database installation and configuration

Picking a database is a decision you feel for years, usually at the least convenient moment. There are engines for a single desktop and engines for many users on server hardware, and the skill is in knowing which one your requirement actually is.

Small stores we have lived with include SQLite, Microsoft Access, SQL Server Express, Windows CE DB, and phone isolated storage. Server databases include Oracle, SQL Server, and MySQL, which bring concurrency, backups, and hardware that is actually a server.

Questions we ask

  1. Who uses the database, and what tasks do they perform?
  2. How often is the data modified, by whom, and with what?
  3. Who provides technical support for it?
  4. What hardware is available to host it?
  5. Will it be reachable over the internet? If so, that usually means a second replica, extra security, or a web service.

If you already have a database, we work inside that constraint. Gateway Solver Desktop still files CIS to HMRC from systems that started life as desktop files.