Hi all

I have a client using an AREV 3.12 based accounting app and they have a requirement to run this for up to 10 users at a remote location (350 miles away).

I am getting a 256k CIR (512k burst) radio link installed as a VPN on an ISP's local loop.

I am looking for a FAQ, white paper, or just a list of suggestions gleaned by blood, seat, and tears on the best way to implement this.

My thoughts so far consist of W2K Terminal services but given my lack of exposure to this (and its relative newness) I am hoping to take advantage of everyones combined wisdom.

Please enlighten me

Graeme,

I'll give you what works out to be a pretty reasonable solution to your situation. Depending on the speed needed, the connection can be set at the appropriate level.

- The first solution that comes to my mind is a PC Anywhere dial-in, but the phone fees would become too high in short order. Working along those lines, consider this. At the home-base for the server, add a few machines that are set up as normal workstations. Install PC Anywhere on them as a normal installation. These machines would be kept in network (TCP/IP protocol) host mode. The workstations really don't have to be high-end machines, just reasonable machines. Install a permanent internet (fixed IP address) connection at the home-base that will allow a VPN connection thru it. At the remote location, the users could use dial-up connections (reasonable, but by no means blinding, speed), or a permanent internet connection could be used for better speed. At the remote location, the user establishes a VPN connection to the home-base. (For dial-up, this would be a local call.) Once the VPN connection is established, use PC Anywhere in network remote mode to connect to the host machines using the actua

l IP address of one of the host machines. Arev would run on the host machine in the home-base location. The only thing passed across the VPN connection would be graphics. You have some redundancy here that may be useful. If the remote internet connection goes down, the users can go back to an internet dial-up connection. If the home-base internet connection goes down, one could set the machines up for temporary, normal, dial-in connections.

I've done (and continue to do) this type of connection with the remote being a dial-up connection. The home base has a DSL permanent internet connection. My connection continues to be a dail-up connection that is 56k capable, but I seldom get more than 44 - 45K out of the connection. The Arev application is not at all uncomfortable to work with this way. If my internet connection were permanent (cable modem, DSL or better), this would probably be a decent way to work.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,

Eric Drews

Drews Enterprises

www.drews-ent.com

908 665 2513

Graeme,

We have used Citrix MetaFrame successfully when you need more than 4 or 5 users connected to an Arev Application remotely over the Internet. A Terminal Server becomes cost effective at about the 8 to 10 remote user level when you factor in management of 8 PCAnywhere boxes. This has a higher associated cost, but the sessions are faster than PCAnywhere and more reliable if you get knocked off your session. If you do NOT need to print remotely, Terminal Services will work, but one of the GRAND things Bill does for you with Terminal Services is cut off the ability for a DOS Applications to Print. This requires that you purchase the Citrix Product for approx. $4K for 15 users, plus the approx. $1600 for a 15 user Terminal Services License. Citrix and MS have this one worked out. Citrix is one of the few companies to walk away from dancing with Bill on a acquisition proposal and technology suck and actually make money. But, Citrix does work as advertised over the Internet. It's reliable and with some configuration

tweaks, very useable.

At this point, we have had best luck with a WinTS 4.0 with MetaFrame 1.8 box over the net. I have a document of tweaks that will speed the Server up for you. Also, follow the Knowledge Base article on Revelations Web Site.

A WinTS 4.0 w/Citrix 1.8 should come in around $8000 to $8500. Get a dual Pentium PIII 800+ w/512MB of Ram and the fastest SCSI Hard Drive you can afford to optimize it. Each session needs at least 20K of bandwidth for the Citrix ICA protocol to stay successfully connected over the Internet. So 256K should be enough for 10 users. Each session, after the WinTS and MetaFrame OS is loaded only takes up about 10MB of RAM, but starting, stopping and restarting AREV sessions garbages up the RAM over time. The number one tweak to a Citrix box is to have it reboot automatically daily, if you can. And at least weekly. Also, most MetaFrame boxes will only support 10 or 11 users because of AREV's utilization of the processor. Each user hits about 10% processor utilization. You might test Steve Smith's CPU Plus product to see if it increases the amount of sessions you can garner from a Citrix Server.

That's what I can tell you for now.

Feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected]

Karlyn

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