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menreeq

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How to troubleshoot intermittent internet connection problem

I have a client w/ 2 locations - I'll call them REMOTE & HQ.  Users at the REMOTE location connect to a Terminal server at the HQ location via a VPN tunnel.  Unfortunately they're experience intermittend latency.  The Terminal server session just freezes for a few seconds and then comes back and continues to work fine for a couple of hours.  This happens several time a day in a sporratic fashion.  The client has a T1 connection at the HQ and a cable modem at the REMOTE site.  I'm guessing that this is an internet connection problem at the REMOTE site, how should I go about troubleshooting and isolating this problem.  I have a feeling that the ISP's tech support won't be able to help unless I give them specifics.  Thanks in advance.
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niken_asterina

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menreeq

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Thanks Niken.  The ping works fine while I'm testing it.  I suspect that there may be some sort of a routing issue between the two sites... I guess I'm hoping that a tool exists that will monitor the internet connection between two sites and pinpoint the problem to a specific router but maybe that's hoping too much....

If there is no problem with ping, I think there is no problem with ISP.
You may put traffic monitoring software (e.g iptraff) or any other traffic monitoring in router/firewall. Or it may be embedded to the router,
Although you posted this in Networking, I wouldn't rule out the Terminal Server or the OS as a possible culprit. Are you using performance monitors to check for CPU and network loads on the server itself? Make sure that the server itself is not the bottleneck. Heavy loads and or background tasks on the server can cause the symptoms you describe. Check the event logs to see if there are any application of system events that correspond to the latency.

You should also be able to rule out the REMOTE site by seeing if any of your users are experiencing the latency from another location. If they are then it points to the HQ. If the REMOTE site is the only place where the latency is experienced then that is most likely the source of the problem and you need to examine the REMOTE network environment.

Report you findings and we can help narrow your sources.