Remote Computing: Communication Options.

• Author: Johnston, Randolph P.

This is the first in a series of four articles on remote computing.

Are you tired of having the speed of your remote access reduce your productivity when you try to work out of the office? Would you like faster, more reliable remote access for your mobile, telecommuting, or remote staff members? There are ways to get this done that won't break your budget or bank account. The techniques discussed in this series will work in most parts of the country, with slight regional variations. You can implement these techniques in a few short weeks and recognize the gains shortly thereafter.

What's the business goal?

The first step in designing any remote computing solution is to consider the business goals you want to accomplish. Here are some choices.

* Enable work from home. Consider how frequently the staff member will want to be at home--for part- or full-time telecommuting, requiring occasional or permanent access. Determine which applications will be needed, such as e-mail, file access and transfer, and business applications, such as tax return preparation or accounting software.

* Enable work from on the road. This includes from client sites, hotels, and airport clubs.

For an example, let's say that you want to enable everyone in the office to work from anywhere around the country as if they are sitting in the office. You want them to be able to run all applications securely. You cannot predict where they will be working. Sometimes they will be working at home, sometimes traveling, sometimes at a client site. You want to use the Internet to minimize your communications cost. Because the Internet is to be the communications medium, you are concerned about security, speed, and access.

To develop a solution to this or any remote computing scenario, there are four primary components to be considered. These components are:

1. Communications. This means the type of Internet access, such as dial-up or on demand, wireless or roaming, or permanent.

2. Security. This includes firewalls and virtual private networking.

3. Software required This means thin-bandwidth client and remote-control client.

4. Hardware required. This includes communications hardware and PC hardware options.

The whole solution for the scenario described here contains the following parts: access to the Internet through a national-class dial-up provider or permanent Internet connection, remote computer loaded with Citrix MetaFrame as well as a modem and network interface, a Citrix MetaFrame server in the office on the outside of your firewall, and a hardware...