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maharlika

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Remote desktop/VPN bandwidth requirements

One user on our network has problems connecting via remote desktop and VPN to a server.  It keeps kicking him out on his DSL connection at home, but not anywhere else. After extensive testing and finger-pointing, the dsl provider says he doesn't have enough bandwidth, that it needs at least 3 mbps to do what he wants (he needs to view image files over this connection). He uses this system with no problem at all when he connects on DSL from somewhere else (1.5 mbps) or anywhere else he goes.  I still think it's a problem with his line at home, since this is the only place it happens.
What else can he do at home to test or improve the connection to keep him from dropping?
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Rob Williams
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I doubt bandwidth is the issue. I can quite successfully maintain a VPN/RDP session with a 33K dial-up modem. Must say I don't enjoy it, but it works, and it is stable.
Does he just loose the RD session or also the VPN connection?  I have been having a lot of problems with one user with an SBC  DSL connection. Similar issue, connection drops only for a minute or so but enough to break the VPN. When only browsing I don't think the user notices, as it would only appear like a slow link. To test in these situations I usually set up a little utility, called IPMonitor, to monitor the connection. This may not be as easy if you are using a VPN software client. IPMonitor is basically a ping utility that you can set to test the connection to multiple IP's. It logs dropped connections and can be set to notify you if you wish. Set it up to monitor a local device as a control, the router, the ISP Gateway, an internet IP such as the ISP's DNS and a device on the remote network. This way you may be able to see where and how often the connection is dropped.
http://ipmonitor.tsarfin.com/download.html
Is this timing out when inactive or while the user is working? If when inactive and if they have a PPPoE connection make sure the keep alive feature is enabled.
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maharlika

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He only loses the RD connection, not the VPN connection, and it's while he's active on it.  Makes me suspect the server connections on the other end of the RD, but have never had any problem staying connected anywhere else.
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Rob Williams
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I'll try these and see if anything works. Thanks
Thanks maharlika. Good luck.
--Rob