Satellite Internet and lag times

[Runyan]

I work at a small company who has an employee that works from home where the only high speed internet is satellite. When trying to connect to our server, the employee is spending enormous amounts of time for data to load, it is actually slower than using dial-up. Filemaker says it is the lag time inherent in satellite internet, they suggested publishing the db on line.

Does anyone have any experience with satellite internet and db's online? My manager is hesitant to go ahead and buy the new server advanced due to the cost.

Does anybody know of a workaround or have any suggestions?

Edited July 21, 2006 by Guest

[stanley]

Runyan:

Welcome to the Forums.

Does this user have a similar problem with web browsing and email when using the satellite connection? Do other users access the server remotely using a land line, and if so, do they suffer long lag times?

I can't see that using FMSA (versus FMS) would make a difference; either the user & server both have good connections or there is a network bottleneck somewhere.

The only other variable would be the user's computer. Is it up to the task?

-Stanley

[Runyan]

The user has no problems with the computer, easily downloads files and pages in a timely manner. Other people have no problem with connecting remotely using other high speed internet connections. In fact, the user has used this particular computer to connect from other remote locations.

I have a different satellite internet company and have the same issue - dialup is faster than my satellite connection- only when connecting to FMP remotely.

[stanley]

Runyan:

It sounds like the problem is going to be some highly esoteric networking thing particular to satellite connections - beyond my tool set.

-Stanley

[Vaughan]

I read somewhere (maybe here, maybe the FSA forum) that satelite connections may have high data speed, but they also have high *latency* that is, a period of time before any response is made.

It'l like talking to someboby who may speak quickly, but they wait for 2 or three seconds before starting to say anything.

This latency probably won't be too noticable when browsing web sites -- what's waiting another half-second for the page to download -- but it's a killer for databases and other systems that are constantlty requesting/delivering small amounts of information. It makes the system seem intollerably unresponsive. The latency may be greater than the time taken to download the data.

No alternatives like Citrix or Remote Desktop work because it's not a problem with data throughput, it's latency.

(I could be completely wrong though.)