Thanks a lot! pKai, that sounds very close to what I thought would be a good solution! However, when testing the connection I make manually via Administrative Tools->Data Sources(ODBC), it fails basically whatever information I add to the different text boxes / screens of the DSN dialog box, typically saying just "Test failed" etc.

I believe this must be a result of not having prepared MSSQL to accept such a remote connection. What do I need to do in MSSQL... do I need to set up "remote access" for that database - and how? What MSSQL tool do I use to do that? Do you (or anyone else) know of a web page where they go step-by-step through the different DSN configuration dialog box screens for MS SQL Server?