It depends on the ODBC connection...
Since it is a Micrsoft product, the sorts/queries mostly hit the DB.
For things like Oracle, MySQL or PostGreSQL it is a mixture.
Sometimes it is painfully slow... since Access will use the LEAST capable SQL queries... due to "safety." We sped up a query/Join by manually editing it for a customer. Result went from several hours for a report to run clawing through millions and millions of records... sorted locally and manipulated locally. To results from a much smarter initial query with everything returned in the right format plus reduced the return rows to only those needed... reduced it to about 30 seconds fully rendered and "playable"
This was using a SSH tunnel with s local port forward on the "server" using the built in Access MySQL connector.
For things like Oracle, MySQL or PostGreSQL it is a mixture.
Sometimes it is painfully slow... since Access will use the LEAST capable SQL queries... due to "safety." We sped up a query/Join by manually editing it for a customer. Result went from several hours for a report to run clawing through millions and millions of records... sorted locally and manipulated locally. To results from a much smarter initial query with everything returned in the right format plus reduced the return rows to only those needed... reduced it to about 30 seconds fully rendered and "playable"
This was using a SSH tunnel with s local port forward on the "server" using the built in Access MySQL connector.