LAN over fibre? internet?

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Wadec

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#315125 15-Jun-2024 11:52

Hey, just looking to see if anyone is aware of a solution for this... and apologies if my terminology is wrong. I don't know what I am talking about.

Do any Telco's offer the ability to connect two offices in different locations via ethernet? Our IT company tried to connect us via the internet using a VPN thing but the latency means that our software doesn't seem to behave well. The software connects to a SQL server at the primary location so any dropout in the connection gives issues.

gehenna

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#3249341 15-Jun-2024 11:56

Look into software defined networking. But it's less likely to be the medium that's the problem, more likely to be the setup of the medium and your underlying internet performance. Databases aren't very tolerant of latency, so if the connection itself is not good, or has latency, then any traffic going over it will suffer.

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#3249348 15-Jun-2024 12:30

I agree with gehenna: it's likely to be a configuration or other underlying issue. You're doing the very thing a VPN is designed for, so if you're having issues then it's likely that something else is wrong.

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#3249374 15-Jun-2024 13:27

If you cant find issues with the database itself etc, or not happy with the latency over the net, you'll be looking at a managed WAN which = $$$$.

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#3249377 15-Jun-2024 13:32

Where are the 2 offices? Same city or different?

cyril7

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#3249389 15-Jun-2024 13:49

Hi, even a managed WAN wont solve latency issues. I do VPN builds to far and remote places all over the planet and around here in my day job, if your using modern kit and VPN tech then latency (over and above physical constraints) is minor, and if its all in NZ and on fibre, packet loss and jitter will be minimal (unless their VPN tech is rubbish).

These type of DB applications with physical distance between DB and App have all but disappeared with the advent of cloud based applications, where the DB and web app are located in a common data centre.

In years past where we had similar issues (and commonly poorer xDSL based carrige) I found it better to stand up a RDS server along side the DB, and create a RDP "remote app" for remote users to access the app's via, this way the client session on the RDS session is along side the DB, clients are just peering into the app via RDP, so carrige issues pretty much disappear.

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#3249390 15-Jun-2024 13:56

Wadec:

Do any Telco's offer the ability to connect two offices in different locations via ethernet?

Yes, most telcos will do this on request. You'll need to be sitting down when you review the pricing. They would typically supply their own router at both ends and present an ethernet port to connect to your router so they control and can monitor the connection.

The VPN solution should work well. Have the same routers at both ends of possible so there are no compatibility issues and use the same ISP to reduce the number of hops between the connections.

An option you have is to host an RDS (Remote Desktop Server/Terminal Server) solution at the main site and staff at the second site connect to the RDS. Alternatively, staff at the second site can use the application as a VirtualApp. The program looks and feels as if it is running locally, but it is actually running on a server at the main site and the second site just has a remote view of the program.

We have a company in your neck of the woods that we partner with who can assist if you'd like a second set of eyes over this, and I'm happy to make the introduction.

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#3249416 15-Jun-2024 16:36

It depends on how the VPN was implemented. Some older VPNs use slower protocols. I use Tailscale, based on Wiregard. It's fast enough to do a full virtual machine backup from a data centre in Auckland to my NAS at home.

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#3249424 15-Jun-2024 17:39

If the VPN was misconfiguration it could be putting all traffic over it causing the latency. No way a functioning VPN will be significantly worse than what you would get from telcos. Unless they are doing something stupid like landing both offices on a host at amazon or something, the latency added by the VPN will be minimal to non existent.

Get numbers for the latency, get charts of the utilization of the connection, get charts of the CPU on the VPN devices, get the charts of the port and connection utilization. If they dont have this data then they are not doing it properly.

Something doesnt add up if an "IT Company" cant make a simple inter-office VPN work.

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#3249431 15-Jun-2024 18:35

It's not uncommon for database heavy apps to not work well with an inter-office connection.

You're likely to be better off looking at a Remote Desktop services solution, where you stream the app/desktop over the site to site link, rather than the SQL data.

Zeon

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#3249725 16-Jun-2024 22:04

How many queries does your software make to the database?

Remember that the physical distance drives up latency and when you have multiple queries running synchronosuly (one after the other) it can add up. Le'ts say you have 100 queries to load a page and 100ms latency between your software and the database, if all else is perfect that is 10 seconds (100 x 0.1s) just of latency alone.

In such a scenario the suggestion from @cyril7 is the best one.

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nztim

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#3249733 17-Jun-2024 00:27

You can ask your telco for DFAS pricing (This is raw glass between the two locations) and you can do what you want with it

Be prepared to be horrified when you get the pricing back

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#3249734 17-Jun-2024 00:41

Zeon:

How many queries does your software make to the database?

Remember that the physical distance drives up latency and when you have multiple queries running synchronosuly (one after the other) it can add up. Le'ts say you have 100 queries to load a page and 100ms latency between your software and the database, if all else is perfect that is 10 seconds (100 x 0.1s) just of latency alone.

In such a scenario the suggestion from @cyril7 is the best one.

Correct. If your app is making ten queries to the database, that is ten roundtrips.

Is there any way to optimise the queries? Instead of ten queries, reduce the number by using JOIN and UNION, so that more of the logic is processed by the SQL Server so your app needs less queries?

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