A.04 No. WAN technology is often the cause of many
failures with database applications because of the lack of understanding
on how these private networks truly operate. Connecting
one computer network at one location to another computer network remotely,
via a low bandwidth dedicated circuit, can offer advantages in
remote file access to a variety of applications. Such is the case with
products like Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. These
types of products only need to retrieve a single file at a time for
working on a document or spreadsheet. There is never the need
to worry about other work stations wanting to retrieve or change
information on the same document or spreadsheet at the same time.
However, software applications that use database storage
techniques don't deal with data in the same manner. Database
applications store thousands of records (e.g. customer information,
past invoice/payment history, etc.) within a single file structure
on a network server. This ultimately means that data retrieval
is much more extensive and noticeable on networks with low
bandwidth. In most cases, database applications will cripple a
network by stealing all available data-bandwidth when performing
simple operations like a database lookup.
For this reason, we strongly recommend network environments that use "Thin Client" architecture like
MS Terminal Services. The advantages of thin client computing greatly outweigh the benefits of a
WAN or VPN connection in areas of performance, stability, deployment and
price. Instead of trying to maintain several small
inter-connected networks, one only has to deal with one large
network in one main location. In fact, thin client technology has all but eliminated yesteryear WAN environments because of the cost of ownership and flexibility in handling remote file access plus the ability to run any software remotely with minimal bandwidth use. Over 90% of Fortune 500 companies now utilize Terminal Services in their workplace today.
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