Remote Networking

Anyone using current PC technology has probably dealt with networks at some point, but that experience is typically with internal networks and applications. A central server, with many users connected to that server sharing files and data, is the configuration that comes to mind when envisioning a network.

Remote Networking, on the other hand, uses external WAN communications links to other physical locations across town or across country, and it is not always a simple task to design a system that can provide remote sites with acceptable performance! The specific criteria that must be balanced are:

• Traffic is the foremost concern, as every external link has a incremental cost, and for that cost a finite bandwidth. A normal modem connection provides acceptable performance for a single remote user, however that connection is seldom ideal (as most of you know, accessing this screen via modem right now). The speed of that modem link is fixed, a current top speed of 28.8 Kbps, and no more information can be squeezed into that pipe in a given second.
  
  
• Application Design is also a critical factor, as the amount of information that must be carried over the link is a fundamental performance factor. Good client/server design can be utilized to minimize the link traffic, however there are a number of gotcha's that must be considered. A client/server design itself serves to provide an advantage over other types of applications, as a client/server application utilizes the network services for connections to the server and database. Other applications must rely on sophisticated remote control programs that add another layer of complexity and performance degradation.
  
  
• Communications Cost is driven by speed requirements. If faster service is required, a more expensive connection must be utilized, in which case the cost of that faster link must be justified. Basic modem connections, typically suited to a single user, are not adequate when a remote office is connected. That remote office might have five, ten, or more simultaneous connections to the central office, not a very cost effective solution using individual phone lines.

Faster communications is also required for more sophisticated operations, such as the database synchronization facilities provided by the current generation of relational database systems.

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