Cristof,

>>If a table is not opened exclusively it could be that this won't affect performance. A NT server can use Exclusive oplocks to provide a sort of exclusive mode even when you opened the table with the SHARED clause or having SET EXCLISUVE OFF.
>
>I can't speak for Windows NT, but I tested this a long time ago on FoxPro DOS. The same operations took 300% more time on a table that was opened in shared mode, compared to exclusive access, and the table was not accessed by any other station. We finally traced it down to the number and size of packets that FoxPro sent. With shared mode it transferred more and smaller packets than in exlcusive mode.

On a NT network, the NT server can open the file exclusive for you (even if the client has opened it in shared mode), allowing the client to buffer updates and have a larger read buffer.

When another client jumps in, the server asks the first client to write it's buffers and allows the second client to use the file. This all happens in the background.

Walter,