Help accessing a remote database

[visionthing]

I have 2 sites that use satellites for their WAN connections and they're getting about 1.3mb. I have created a VPN (using SonicWalls) and have a connection, but it's slow. I guess this has something to do with a satellite-satellite connection and the encrypting, etc.

I'm using Quickbooks (loaded on the client) and want to use the database that's on the REMOTE side of the tunnel. This doesn't work because the database is 86Mb and wants to send the whole database through the tunnel. All I want to be able to do is to send the updates that are made on the client side to the REMOTE sides database. My workaround for now is to use a RDC to control a PC at the REMOTE side and then launch Quickbooks and access the database on the server. This works ok for 1 user, but I need to have multiple users accessing this database with Quickbooks. Does anyone have any ideas on what my best approach would be for doing this????

Thanks for any help

 

[BrainSurgery]

This greatly depends on how this database solution is programmed, but as you mentioned yourself .. a standard client-server database solution is not especially friendly to an environment with limited bandwith.

You have three angles to attack this as I see it:

1) You can change your application to something that is smarter programmed.
2) You can invest in more bandwidth ... but what is enough? It depends on how many simultanously users you have out there ... and what you can say is an acceptable time to pick up 86 mb of data :-3) The third option is to use some kind of thin client technology. You could have a terminal server at the database location, wich your users connect to over vpn and get their things done. This will go quicker, since the data are transfered on the same LAN that the database itself is located on ... and it would be economic in the perspective of bandwidth .. since only screen updates and key strokes goes over the vpn tunnel.