Vpn connection using filePro

[Brian K. White]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis Malen" <dmalen at malen.com>
To: <gcc at optonline.net>; "Filepro List" <filepro-list at celestial.com>
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 4:22 PM
Subject: Re: Vpn connection using filePro


> We have been using  a VPN for about a year. It works great.
>
> We have a firewall. Once the user gets past the firewall the user is 
> connected to the Microsoft 2003 Server on the windows server.
>
> Once the user has logged into the server they may then log into filepro on 
> our UNIX box by clicking on the icon for Tiny TERM. Tiny Term then 
> connects them through the ethernet port to the AIX box.
>
> Works as fast as if you are in the office.

That's the clue.
The mere existence/use of VPN is not enough info.

What matters is what's flowing over the vpn.

Forget the vpn for a moment and just think "net connection", not necessarily 
"internet connection" either, just net connection, not any particular type 
or speed of connection.

Consider 4 scenarios

1)
When a user accesses a windows or a unix version of filepro from the actual 
filepro server, there is no net connection involved anywhere. End result: 
Fast operation. This works great always.

2)
When a user accesses a unix filepro directly using telnet/ssh, the only data 
passing over the net connection is the absolute minimalist plian text screen 
display. This is a miniscule amount of data. The many megs or gigs of filpro 
data only flows between the hard disk and the cpu and memory on the server. 
End result: Fast operation. This works great even over connections as slow 
as early (14.4kbaud) dialup connections, even tolerable on earlier (2400 
baud) dialup.

3)
When a user accesses a windows version of filepro (or as in Dennis's case a 
unix version but indirectly through a windows box) via 
citrix/remote-desktop/pcanywhere/windows-terminal-server/vnc/goto-mypc 
etc... the only data flowing over the net connection is similarly only 
screen display. In this case, the screen display is graphical data which is 
a lot more than the direct telnet/ssh to get the same outward appearance, 
but it's still a manageable amount of data thanks to a combination of 
compression techniques and internet connections that are much faster than 
dialup.
Also similarly to the unix version the many megs or gigs of filpro data only 
flows between the hard disk and the cpu and memory on the server. End 
result: not as fast but fast enough operation. This works well enough on any 
net connection that is faster than dialup.

4)
When a user accesses a windows version of filepro from a windows filepro 
client machine ("the normal way"), the data that flows over the network is 
the actual filepro data, and depending on your batch file setup possibly the 
filepro binaries as well. This is usually a lot of data. End result: Slow 
operation which can be partially helped by extremely fast net connection and 
small data files, small record sizes, small indexes. This never works great 
but is OK on fast net connections, where "fast" is at least 10x faster than 
any internet connection anyone can afford yet.

A common 100mbit full duplex switched lan that most people have by now, even 
with the a commodity under $100 switch, is an extremely fast network, which 
is why you can even stand to use the windows version of fp.

Until the advent of vpn's it was generally not possible to do "4" over the 
internet because windows filepro requires a mapped network drive which if we 
don't count the possibility of purchasing an nfs server and nfs clients, is 
not possibe over the internet because isp's block the tcp ports windows file 
& print sharing uses. And so it never came up that "4" would be 
excruciatingly slow if you tried to do it over an internet connection.

But now we have what I'd call almost-fast internet connections. Generally 
downloading at 1 to 3 mbit, uploading at a 100 to a few hundred kbit.
And now we have cheap, easy to use vpn hardware that lets us do windows file 
& print shareing over internet connections.

At the top I said we don't know enough because you didn't say exactly how 
the vpn was being used, but my guess is that they are doing "4" over the 
vpn.

So, the answer is, you can do everything but "4" over the internet, vpn or 
no vpn.
It's just too much data, like trying to suck soft ice cream or honey through 
a straw.
At least not until someone offers a 10mbit (upload AND download) internet 
connection you can afford.
If they want to use windows filepro over the internet, they need to switch 
to some form of "3".

Brian K. White  --  brian at aljex.com  --  http://www.aljex.com/bkw/
+++++[>+++[>+++++>+++++++<<-]<-]>>+.>.+++++.+++++++.-.[>+<---]>++.
filePro  BBx    Linux  SCO  FreeBSD    #callahans  Satriani  Filk!



> Dennis Malen
> 516.479.5912
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "gcc" <gcc at optonline.net>
> To: "Filepro List" <filepro-list at celestial.com>
> Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 2:05 PM
> Subject: Vpn connection using filePro
>
>
>> Windows server 2003 and Win XP clients
>>
>> One of my clients has started to use a VPN to access filePro and has
>> complained that it is taking about 5 minutes for the first login screen 
>> to
>> appears and over a minute for data to appear.
>>
>> Since most other clients are accessing there systems remotely either 
>> using
>> pcAnywhere or gottomypc and the performance is more the adequate, do any 
>> of
>> you have any advise as to how to improve the performance.
>>
>> I am not sure if the are using remote desktop of another method for
>> connecting.
>>
>> Richard Kreiss
>> GCC Consulting
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
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