Replicated Servers - in Real-time

yuloni

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swampgas

My first instinct is to think that fixing the remote access is going to an awful lot easier, and cheaper, than replicating the server.

What would it cost to provide a dedicated internat connection for your remote users?

Firstly though, have you tuned the remote RDP connections so that they minimise bandwidth?

You might also consider having a separate VM acting as a terminal server for remote connections, rather than having the remote users RDP directly onto the Sage server.

yuloni

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10-10-20

Here are some ideas... (open ended thinking)

Separate the DB's - keep manufacturing DB's locally and move the Accounts and CRM out. Download (replicate) orders to manufacturing at set times?

Otherwise, assess why remote users need direct access to the main DB's, then redesign the DB's to only replicate what's needed by the RAS users.

Set up a replication server in-house and measure the traffic over the link. Is it feasible to run replication over the speed of the link that you have given that you have no control over the quality of the link?

Look at the Silver-Peak WAN optimisation vAppliances (VX-X is free) to see if they will support what you're looking for (from the perspective of replication). http://www.vx-xpress.com/downloads/

See if there is an option to move to web-based tools then set up a proxy on the remote server rather than having the overhead of RAS.

yuloni

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Tomtata

Speak to Airspeed.ie for bandwidth - They offer wireless lease lines.

You dont need 10/10 connection - A 3 or 4mb would do you fine.

Enigma IE

Condi wrote: »

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Your correct, real-time replication is nothing new and there are many products out there. From my experience, hardware replication (e.g. SAN to SAN) is far superior to software based replication (e.g. Double-Take). HW is expensive and not likely an option for your setup anyway. I've used Double-Take since 2004, it's a very good product and reasonably priced for what you get.

Now the real issue regarding having a replicated DB is a hosted or another location (note I'm NOT a DBA, so my experience here is limited), your issue is more likely to be having a writable database in two locations i.e. your reps wouldn't be able to write to the hosted/replicated database anyway. Again sorry, open to correction here, but this is your main issue if you were to choose the replicated model.

Alternatively, have you looked increasing performance for remote users by implenting virtualisation technology like Citrix XenApp or similar? It sits on top of Windows Terminal Services technology but it uses a streamlined protocol, the Citrix ICA protocol.

Your fat Sage client is installed on a terminal server and your users would access the applications using a citrix client. ICA can be easily tweaked for high-latency, low bandwidth connections. The only traffic sent over the ICA is key-strokes, screen updates. It may be something worth looking at anyway. Ask your suppliers about deploying Sage "client" via Citrix XenApp.

yuloni

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yuloni

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ED E

How intricate is the Sage client your reps use? Would a web based front end not be a better solution, traffic would be down to a few percent of an RDP session.

yuloni

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Enigma IE

Condi wrote: »

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With XenApp, you just publish just the application, you don't need to present a full desktop session e.g. like RDP. Citrix XenApp is an enterprise product, used widely and globally.

I've not heard of Blaze RDP previously, so I dont know how widely it's used in an enterprise environment, see here, Ericom have kindly done a comparison between the two.

Agree with another poster, a web front-end would be a good option... but if your stuck with a fat/custom fat client, Citrix XenApp is your enterprise option.

The_Op

+1 for XenApp sounds ideally what you're looking for.

You could still use a full desktop internally and use the publish an app for external connections.

It's used in many large enterprises where there's a centralised service with non-centralised users.

Tomtata

If your looking at XenApp then test out 2x Application server --> Much cheaper and has very similar features.

Capt'n Midnight

Have you checked with Sage to see if their package can replicate dB changes to a copy running on an external server ?

live or every few minutes

would the offsite guys be happy if the dB was synchronised at night ?

yuloni

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