Access Connect is a secure TLS tunnelling application designed to provide a secure connection to a remote database Server in the Access Hosting Environment without the need for a site to site VPN.
How does it work?
Access Connect Client is a small application that is designed to be run on your Windows PC/Server as a Windows Service that allows you to connect securely to your Access Hosted Database Server. In a lot of ways it acts similar to a client VPN but is specifically designed for your remote database and the Access Attaché Hosting Environment. Connections to and from the server are encrypted using industry standard TLS 1.2 connections (2048bit) security and can only be made from the PC that has the client installed. In order to support your requirements it can be installed on multiple clients on your site as required.
Requirements
Supported 64bit Windows Operating System (Windows 11, Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022)
User with rights to install applications and background services.
Active Internet Connection with outbound access on specified port
Access Attaché Username and Password for your Hosted Database Instance.
Data flow
Pre-requisites
Speak to your Access Attaché consultant or raise a new case online to have Access Connect set up on your hosted server.
Client Certificate and Key. These are a unique certificate and key file pair for your organisation, they will be provided as a link once Access Connect has been setup on your server.
External Port Number. This is a unique number that is assigned to your organisation and will be provided once Access Connect has been setup on your server.
Access Connect Client Installer. You can download it from the below link. Please make sure you chose the correct version:
AccessAU_SQL_Connect (For CHS) .exe public link is: Access Connect for CHS.
Access_AttacheMydesk_Database_Connect (For Attache on Evo) .exe public link is: Access Connect for Evo.
Install the AttachéServer ODBC driver on your local machine(s). See: ODBC Installation Guide.
Installing Access Connect
Install Access Connect on the local machine which will be used for the ODBC connection.
Double-click the Access Connect Installer to start the installation. If UAC mode is enabled, then you may be prompted to continue or provide local admin level credentials to proceed with the installation.
Click I accept the agreement and click Next to start the installer.
On the following screen review the notes and click Next to continue.
The following screen will be displayed.
Click Browse and navigate to the folder that you saved the certificate and key file to as part of the pre-requisite steps. The key name will be based on your client VIP number and will take the format: <VIP>.sqlrelay.attache.theaccessgroup.com.au
When selected click Open and then Next.
The following screen will be displayed. This screen allows you to enter a local port that the application listens on for client connections on your PC.
This is the port that will be used in the Service field of the ODBC DSN, so make sure to note it down for later setups.
The port number can be any value between 1 - 65535. It is important that the port is not in use
by any application on the local PC as it binds to that port on the loopback adapter.
The suggested default port is will be given to your by your Attache representative, please ask for the SQL port number needed.
This port cannot be the same as the external port provided by us, which is used in step 6.
Once you have entered the port then click Next.
The following screen will be displayed. This requires the external port that you have been given as part of the setup.
Enter the port number provided and click Next.
The following screen will be displayed.
Click Browse and then navigate to the folder that you saved the certificate and key file to as part of the pre-requisite steps. The key name will be based on your client VIP number and will take the format: <VIP>.sqlrelay.attache.theaccessgroup.com.au
Click Next.
Click Install to complete the install.
Once finished click Next and then Finish.
Usage
Once installed a new background service will have been created called AccessSQLConnect. This is set to run under the system account and will run as a background process. Client ODBC connections can now be made to the exposed port, defined in setup, on the loopback address (127.0.0.1). You will need the following information for your ODBC Connection:
Host: 127.0.0.1
Port: Given to you by the Access Attache Consultant, or port defined in step 5.
Username: Access Attaché username
Password: Access Attaché password
Create the DSN
Updating
Access SQL Connect periodically checks for updates to ensure that you are using the latest version. When an update is released, you will be presented with the following message on logon. It will display the currently installed version and the update that is available.
To update your install, click OK and the update will install automatically.
📌 Note: During the installation the background service will be restarted which will terminate all connections to the remote database server.
If you do not want to update at this time, click Cancel and you will be prompted on the next update check.
Although not recommended you can disable the auto-update functionality by disabling the Scheduled Task Access SQL Connect Update through the Scheduled Tasks windows applet.