Not really. Can be true if you are accessing an Access database (MDB or
ACCDB database file) as the backend without using a remote desktop solution
such as Terminal Server or Thinsoft. In the case of SQL-Server, it's false
in all cases; excerpt maybe for the case of logical corruption if you don't
use transaction. However, if you don't use transaction, the possibility of
getting logical corruption would exist even in the cases where you wouldn't
be on the WAN.

A logical corruption is a situation where each of the individual records in
the database are physically OK but the relation between them is not; for
example when some of the details of an order are missing. Transactions are
used to keep the database in a logically coherent state; even in the case of
a communication failure. (BTW, this doesn't mean that all transactions will
necessarily succeed and that you cannot lose some information.)

Of course, even with the use of transactions, there is still the possibility
of getting corruption in the dabase file(s) because of an I/O problem or
other physical problem but this situation exists wheither you are on the WAN
or not.

Maybe your consultant was thinking about the possibility of losing some
information in case of a communication failure (for example, you start
entering an order but the communication if lost before you have time to
finish it) but even to this problem, there are solutions.

--
Sylvain Lafontaine, ing.
MVP - Technologies Virtual-PC
E-mail: sylvain aei ca (fill the blanks, no spam please)


"David" <David@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:ABF6A633-2692-4367-BD89-8AE0B8E35227@microsoft.com...
>I have been told by our consultant that we cannot access our SQL Server
>over
> the WAN without corrupting our data, is this true?
>
> Thanks for any help,
> David