Need a new database as work, suggestion to help find a solution

Phate

Phate

Phate

Caporegime
Joined
1 Nov 2003
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Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Hi all,

Ok at work we have an Access database thats years old, it's used to store information on our machines including stuff like admin passwords (uses a password generator to generate a set of passwords at random) and who the machine is assigned to etc, you get the gist of it.

Anyway, we need a replacement for several reasons.

The main reason being is that the password generator isn't compatible with our Windows 7 build that was released a couple of months ago also we cannot edit the data in it, again the database is very old and doesn't work properly with our build.

So I have been tasked to sorting a replacement, particularly by the end of the week...if I can pull this off, it means serious kudos :)

Ok now can anyone can help with any input on this and suggestions then I would REALLY appreciate it, heres the specs for what we need...this is just from initial brain storming...

When opened it gives 2 options, for either a new build or for an existing machine.

If its for an existing machine when you click on it it takes you to a page where you put in a bit of info about it, ideally the machines service tag or the users name, hit search and it brings up the entry.

If its for a new build it takes you through a process where it asks you for specific data and you have to go through a checklist, also doesn't let you pass on to the next stage or complete the entry if something is missing.

Does not run in MS Access - We are trying to get away from it due to the security issues it causes, and we are a security company, so have to follow procedure/set the standard.

Can be stored on our MS Sharepoint Site and/or accessed via a link.

Doesn't need anything special to run, for example anyone can view it if needed (theres a thought, maybe something running in IE)

Has a user friendly UI

Ok, so does anyone have any input on this? Know where I can get some kind of template I can work from, rip apart and go from there?

Thanks guys, any help appreciated :)

Jake
 
Well by the sounds of it you need a asset management product (if I am reading this right)

There are a lot of programs out there that will do a lot of the donkey work for you.

A product I use is ManageEngine's ServiceDesk Plus software. Although it is mainly helpdesk related (not sure if that is something your after as well?) Otherwise they do have just an asset management system which you could use.

You can always run automated scans to ensure the info is up to date.

Try a demo and see if it does everything you need it too.

http://www.manageengine.com/help-desk-software.html


There is also Visual Audit X4 but we replaced that with the service desk software due to the extra features and easier user interface.
 
Hey buddy, thanks for the reply.

We have an asset database built into SDE (service desk express) - which is great, we use it so we know various bits of info about equipment assigned to each user.

This isn't what I'm after unfortunately, we need something more, an actual database that can generate the admin passwords, something that can be used as a look up tool.

Hmm it may be easier posting a screenshot of what we currently have/use tomorrow when I'm back in work :)
 
Would a PHP/MySQL database combo work for you? If you need to replace Access then surely PHP/MySQL would do the job? You could design the interface yourself using XHTML/CSS and have a login page for staff to authenticate themselves with for access to the data.

Apologies for the basic suggestion, you might already have thought of it and discarded it for whatever reason. I don't know for sure but I can't see why a PHP/MySQL system couldn't generate a string for a password where the characters allowed as part of the string could be numbers, letters and all the other keyboard characters.
 
Are you looking to create AD admin user accounts or is it just local machine admin accounts.

If you are looking for AD accounts then try this instead

http://www.manageengine.com/products/ad-manager/index.html

Although from the sounds of it you are looking for something a little more bespoke than an off the shelf product which to me would mean using:

sql 2005/2008 server backend (presume you are a microsoft house given you are using sharepoint)

You could get away with sql express 2008 (providing database doesn't exceed 10GB and its used internally)

Then a web server using what ever web technology is best for you (presuming .net)

Then you could easily import the access database onto the sql server and then create a simple couple of pages that perform all the functions you need.
 
MarcLister said:
Would a PHP/MySQL database combo work for you? If you need to replace Access then surely PHP/MySQL would do the job? You could design the interface yourself using XHTML/CSS and have a login page for staff to authenticate themselves with for access to the data.

Apologies for the basic suggestion, you might already have thought of it and discarded it for whatever reason. I don't know for sure but I can't see why a PHP/MySQL system couldn't generate a string for a password where the characters allowed as part of the string could be numbers, letters and all the other keyboard characters.
Click to expand...

Since then I have been chatting about this to a mate and he suggested this :)

We have an in house team that could do this...plus I think it'd look better on me if I managed it and came up with the product... :D

Think I'm gonna go this route, however all other suggestions are welcome :)
 
Phate said:
Since then I have been chatting about this to a mate and he suggested this :)

We have an in house team that could do this...plus I think it'd look better on me if I managed it and came up with the product... :D

Think I'm gonna go this route, however all other suggestions are welcome :)
Click to expand...
Jolly good. :) I just think you'll be able to customise it to your work's requirements more exactly than any other product.

An upper school I used to work at before I went to Uni had the same thing as you have now, an Access database with records of each machine and the licence keys for Windows etc assigned to each machine. They even had the IDs for the mice and keyboard for each machine linked up. :p

They used a barcode scanner to speed up, and ensure accuracy, of the data. It's been my aim since then to develop my own version, using PHP/MySQL of course, not Access. ;)
 
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