Inventory of the network's databases
Finds every .mdb and .accdb on the share, measures size against the 2 GB limit, sees whether it is in use from the lock file, and reads format, tables and rows in a copy.
Octo for Access databases
Every Access database is a file in a folder. The one who decides what gets migrated is you.
An .accdb holds up to 2 GB, has no server or REST API, and the business rules live in queries, forms and VBA. Octo finds the databases scattered across the network, measures size, use and format, reads the tables without opening Access, migrates to PostgreSQL or SQL Server with checks by count and sum, and relinks the front-end, which can remain the department's screen. The cutover, the data and the access stay with the system owner.
Maximum file size2 GB.accdb or .mdb, minus the system objects
Access 2016 and 2019Oct 14, 2025end of support; LTSC 2021 on Oct 13, 2026
SSMA for Access10.6targets: SQL Server 2019+ and Azure SQL
Sources12listed at the end of the page
01
What Octo does with Access databases.
Six possible deliverables, drawn from the research. All of them start with a copy and reading, all of them check by content, and all of them go to review by the system owner.
Reading without opening Access
mdbtools on Linux, Jackcess in Java or the Access ODBC driver on Windows, with the same architecture as Office. Schema and data go out to CSV or SQL.
Deliverable: exported schema and data, with a hash of the sourceMigration to PostgreSQL
mdb-schema ... postgres reviewed by a person, mdb-export table by table and \copy into a staging database.
SQL Server with SSMA
Assessment report, schema conversion, synchronization and data migration through the SSMA for Access console, with a log and an XML report.
Deliverable: SSMA project, reports and staging databaseFront-end relinked
Lists each front-end's links (TableDefs, Connect), finds broken network paths and saved passwords, and relinks to the new server, first in a dry run.
Checks by content
Count per table, sums, nulls, dates, orphan records and duplicate keys, against a manifest taken from Access itself before the migration.
Deliverable: list of discrepancies for the data owner
02
Eight arms, a checked database.
The same Octo cycle, applied to Access databases. Each arm has a narrow role; the ones who decide what gets migrated, answer for the data and approve the cutover are people.
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Discovery
Finds what exists
The network's databases, size, use, format, front-ends and each one's links.
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Data
Reads the schema
Tables, relationships, target types and the manifest of sums and counts taken from Access itself.
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Security
Looks after access
Passwords saved in links, folders that are too open, databases with personal data (LGPD, Brazil's data protection law) and unsupported Access versions.
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Architecture
Chooses the target
SQL Server, PostgreSQL or Dataverse, and whether Access stays as the screen or is retired.
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Development
Writes the scripts
Inventory, export, load, check and relinking, with the source of each option noted.
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Review
Checks by content
Count, sum, orphan, duplicate and a form opened in staging. "It loaded without errors" is not a check.
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Release
Prepares the cutover
A window, the old back-end read-only and a rollback ready; it executes only with recorded approval.
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Documentation
Records what applies
Inventory, type mapping, discrepancies handled, who approved and how to roll back.
Octo works with copies and reading; it writes only to a staging database. It does not delete files, does not change a database in use, does not keep the database password and does not do the cutover without a person's approval.
03
Every task, its own path.
The criteria Octo uses to choose, with the tool and the note that matters.
| Task | Path | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Find the network's databases | Search for .mdb, .accdb, .adp | A .laccdb/.ldb next to it indicates use |
| See format and tables | mdb-ver, mdb-tables, mdb-count | On a copy; mdbtools is for reading |
| Read with Microsoft's engine | Access ODBC driver (pyodbc, .NET) | Same architecture as Office: 32 or 64 bits |
| Read and write in Java | Jackcess, UCanAccess | Apache 2.0 |
| Export the schema | mdb-schema ... postgres | Human review before applying |
| Export the data | mdb-export + \copy | -D and -T for ISO dates |
| Migrate to SQL Server | SSMA for Access, console + XML | SQL Server 2019+ and Azure SQL |
| Move a table to Dataverse | Export, Dataverse, in Access | Power Apps license |
| Relink the front-end | DAO: Connect + RefreshLink | Windows authentication, no saved password |
| Compact and repair | msaccess.exe banco.accdb /compact | With a logged-in user; rewrites the file |
| Run in a service with no user | Don't use Access or ACE | Unsupported (KB 257757); migrate the data |
04
From a file in a folder to a database with a server.
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your team.
A proposal, not a promise
Inventory
Octo shows how many databases exist, how big they are, whether they are in use, without writing anything.
- Spreadsheet per database and per table
- Alerts for the limit and for unsupported versions
- Databases with personal data flagged
Checked migration
The databases that matter go to SQL Server or PostgreSQL, with a check manifest.
- Schema reviewed by a person
- Count and sum matching on both sides
- Front-end relinked, if the department wants to keep the screen
Rules out of the forms
Critical queries and VBA become views, procedures or an application, with an owner and a version.
- Business rules documented
- Per-user access on the server
- Access retired where it isn't needed
05
Confirmed by a source.
Every point below has a source published by Microsoft (Learn and Support), by the package's official repository (PyPI, NuGet, PowerShell Gallery) or in Brazilian federal law. The examples are scripts to follow, not runs. The sources are in the next section.
7
points with a published source, each with its reference shown alongside.
- Confirmed2 GB and 255 users
- A file of up to 2 GB minus the system objects, 255 concurrent users, 255 fields per table and 32,768 objects.Source: support.microsoft.com, Access specifications
- ConfirmedUnsupported versions
- Access 2016 and 2019 went out of support on Oct 14, 2025 and Access LTSC 2021 on Oct 13, 2026; Access LTSC 2024 is supported until Oct 9, 2029.Source: learn.microsoft.com/lifecycle
- ConfirmedADE 2016 discontinued
- Support for the Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable ended on Oct 14, 2025; the recommended replacement is the Microsoft 365 Access Runtime, which includes ODBC, OLE DB and DAO.Source: microsoft.com/download, id 54920; support.microsoft.com
- ConfirmedNo automation on the server
- Microsoft does not recommend or support Office automation from an unattended component, and treats the ADE and the Access Runtime as Office components.Source: KB 257757
- ConfirmedSSMA for Access 10.6
- Targets SQL Server 2019 onward, Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance; a console with XML scripts.Source: learn.microsoft.com/sql/ssma/access
- Confirmedmdbtools on recent or password-protected .accdb
mdb-verrecognizes the JET3, JET4 and ACE12 to ACE17 formats. On the dev branch, an encrypted.accdbis rejected; 1.0.1 has no such check and may open the file with no tables, which the inventory marks as "check (password?)".Source: github.com/mdbtools/mdbtools, src/util/mdb-ver.c and src/libmdb/file.c- ConfirmedSSMA console script
- The elements of the sample script (
load-access-database,convert-schema,migrate-data,link-tables) were checked against the console documentation; before use, the file is validated against the XSD schema of the installed version.Source: learn.microsoft.com, Execute the SSMA Console (AccessToSQL)
06
What Octo does, and what stays with you.
Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Octo prepares
Surveys, organizes and produces the files: documents, spreadsheets, presentations, schedules, inventories and check reports, on file and through the APIs, without sending or publishing anything.
Deliverable: material ready to checkYour team checks
Whoever is accountable for the document, the spreadsheet or the schedule checks what Octo delivered before approving. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: checked by the person accountableWho signs and approves
Octo does not sign, approve or send. The document owner reviews and signs; the project manager approves the baseline; the Microsoft 365 administrator grants consent for permissions; the data protection officer approves anything that goes out with personal data.
Approval: document owner and 365 administrator
07
Sources.
Microsoft support, lifecycle and documentation pages, the mdbtools, Jackcess and UCanAccess repositories, and the PostgreSQL versioning policy, consulted on Oct 31, 2026.
- Access specifications2 GB, 255 users
- Lifecycle, Access LTSC 2024until Oct 9, 2029
- Lifecycle, Access 2019until Oct 14, 2025
- Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributablesupport ended
- Microsoft 365 Access RuntimeODBC, OLE DB, DAO
- KB 257757Server-side automation
- SSMA for AccessTargets and requirements
- SSMA, consoleCommand-line options
- Office command-line switches/compact, /x, /runtime
- mdbtools1.0.1, LGPL/GPL
- Jackcess5.0.4, Apache 2.0
- PostgreSQL, versions18 until 2030
Your Access databases, inventoried and checked.
The assessment starts with an inventory of the network's databases, read-only and on a copy. You get the list of what exists, what is close to the limit, what runs on an unsupported version and the questions only your team can answer, and you decide with that in hand.