Standard Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Access, Excel (with Microsoft Access backend), Act! From Best Software and many other office applications provide multi-user access to the source data on a LAN. We simply web-enable these applications. So instead of being available on your Local Area Network, you can access the source data from anywhere, as long as you have the necessary Application available on your machine, and have a good Internet Connectivity, preferably, a DSL or Cable connection.

We use the unique IDrive ASP technology to extend your LAN to the Internet. So, you can now use your familiar office applications over the Internet. Your data is encrypted during transit with 128-bit SSL encryption, so you need not worry about security of data while it is being transmitted over Internet.

Once you install and run the IDrive ASP application that creates a mapped network drive, you will just need to move your application data to the drive, and point your application to use this data.

Why should we use IDrive ASP solution vs. using ASP solutions that have similar offers for Access, Excel among others? 

There is no learning curve. You already know the applications, and they work exactly the same way as they work on a LAN. ASP solutions for office applications have a subscription price point that are much higher than IBackup subscriptions. Also, ASP solutions are still evolving, here you have mature, market-hardened products that are ready to use.

Why should I use IDrive ASP solution from IBackup vs. using other Internet Network Drive technology solutions from other services?

No one has this solution, yet, except IBackup. IBackup is a pioneer in this field. IBackup is the only service provider that has Network Drive technology that can let applications work with the Internet Network Drive at the block level, while maintaining necessary locks required for concurrent use of the application without downloading the files first.

Is there a limit on data storage for IDrive ASP? What type of data should I store and work with my IDrive ASP account?

Yes, there is a limit of 1GB for the data stored in your IDrive ASP account. This storage is completely independent of your regular IBackup storage, limits of which are dependent on your plan. IDrive ASP should be used for storing and working with database like files including Access, Act!, QuickBooks among others.

Will the applications run slower with the data on Internet, and applications on my desktop?

There will certainly be a delay in doing certain operations within applications, since the data resides on Internet. However, the delay is usually not significant for most database like operations. Most of these office applications insert/delete/update rows on the source data, and with a good Internet connection, performance should be reasonable. Even dedicated ASP solutions cannot really offer high performance as applications running on desktops with data on a local machine. Performance in general should be comparable to ASP solutions.

One possible reason for this may be because of 'client for Microsoft Networks' setup.

If 'client for Microsoft Networks' is installed but not enabled, then please check that option in 'Local Area Connection properties'.

OR if it is not installed in your system, then please go to Local Area Connection properties->Install->client->Add->client for Microsoft Networks->Ok.

IDrive ASP also requires 'Netbios enabled over TCP/IP' in your network settings. To enable, please go to TCP/IP --> Properties-->Advanced and check this option.

I moved my database files to IDrive ASP, but my sub-account holders are not seeing the same data. Why?

Please note that IDrive ASP data is completely independent of IBackup data. It is designed for concurrent access of certain database type files including Quickbooks, Access, Act! among others. The best way to use IDrive ASP in multi-user mode is to use a single sub-account credentials (username/password) to login for all users. There is no main account/sub-account tree relationship as with IBackup.

Connection to IDrive ASP cannot be established when Norton Internet Security is turned on, Why?

If Norton Internet Security 2005 is turned on in the system, then it requires some extra settings changes to work with IDrive ASP.

During Norton Internet Security installation, by default the below settings will be blocked.

1) Default Outbound Net BIOS
2) Default Inbound Loop back
3) Windows File Sharing

To permit the above, please follow the steps below for each of the above three settings.

Open 'Norton Internet Security' -> click on the 'Personal Firewall' option -> click on the 'Configure' button -> select 'Advanced' tab -> select 'General' button -> click on the 'Modify' button to change the option from 'Block' to 'Permit'.

When I try to open an Access database, it displays a message "the file is not on your local network or intranet, this type of file could harm your computer", or something of this nature. Why?

IDrive ASP works directly with the remote IBackup account files unlike IDrive. Since the Access application senses this, it shows a warning message. You may simply ignore this warning message.

However, for some application setups including Microsoft Office XP/2003, it may simply not allow you to open Access. For such cases, please follow the steps:

Open Internet Explorer->Tools->Internet Options->Security->Trusted sites->Sites->Add IP address 127.0.0.1-> uncheck 'Require server verification for all sites in this zone' and click OK.