Factors That Impact Laptop Users Using Tour de Force

Purpose

The purpose of this technical bulletin is to outline the factors that impact the performance and speed when working in Tour de Force using a portable or laptop in different environments.

This bulletin contains the following sections:

 

1. Overview
2. Working on a Local Area Network (LAN)
3. Working on a Fast Wide Area Network (WAN)
4. Working on a Slower Wide Area Network (WAN)
5. Working on a Fast Remote, Internet Connection
6. Working on a Slow Remote, Internet Connection
7. Working on a Remote, Internet Connection That Does Not Support VPN (Virtual Private Network)
8. Working Offline With No Internet Access

 

Overview

Understanding the factors that may impact the performance of Tour de Force is important for every user who uses a laptop. In most cases, the greatest concern of users is the speed associated with getting connected, opening Microsoft Outlook with Tour de Force, performing work in Tour de Force, and synchronizing information to work offline or remotely.  

 

In order to address this concern understanding the different environments that are available for working with Tour de Force is important.

 

• Wireless LAN Connection – A Wireless LAN connection refers to the use of a wireless network within a home or an office environment. When using a Wireless LAN, the computer is not connected to an Ethernet cable.  A Wireless router is used to gain access to the local area network in a home or office, which provides a connection to the internet or servers directly.

 

• Wireless Broadband Connection – A Wireless Broadband Connection is most commonly referred to as using an “Air Card” within a laptop. Wireless Broadband utilizes the radio waves that are used by cellular phones to transmit data.

 

• Local Area Network (LAN) – A Local Area Network refers to any network that is contained within a single physical location such as an office or within a home. A cabled Ethernet connection is typically used when working on the LAN.

 

• Wide Area Network (WAN) – A Wide Area Network is referred to when two or more Local Area Networks are connected together using the Internet. Typical examples of a WAN are a branch office that utilizes a network connection to establish a secure internet connection to join the corporate LAN in order to access network resources. When working on a WAN, connection speeds are limited by the available bandwidth connecting the two locations.

 

• Network Latency - Network Latency is the term used to describe the bottlenecks in a network connection. In most cases, a connection between a laptop and the actual server that is providing the data has many devices such as hubs, switches, and routers that a connection must utilize to establish a connection to a server. The speed limitations of any of these devices can cause Latency, or degradation in speed, when accessing the server.

 

Although using a Wireless LAN connection or a Wireless Broadband connection to access the network or to access the Internet is convenient, a Wireless connection is more susceptible to interruptions in service.  Since Wireless technology operates on radio waves, Wireless connections can receive interference and even temporary outages due to electrical interference or other transmitting devices like cordless telephones.  Also, the advertised speed on a wireless device is not a guarantee, but rather a best case possibility. In most cases, the actual connection speeds for uploading and downloading information are 40-50% below the advertised bandwidth.

 

For users interested in testing their connection speed, this link provides a simple test that can be used to test the current connections speed and bandwidth:

 

http://www.tourdeforcesupport.com/default.asp?referringPage=%2FDefault%2Easp%3F

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A.        Working on a Local Area Network (LAN)

Bandwidth Connection Speed:

• 56 Megabyte (Wireless LAN) through 1 Gigabyte per second connection speeds.

 

Locations that apply:

• At the Corporate Office.

 

Expectation of speed and performance when using Tour de Force in this environment:

• Fast

 

Factors that impact the performance of Tour de Force:

• Speed and Performance of the laptop computer.
• Size of the Microsoft Outlook Inbox; having a lot of mail in the Inbox impacts speed.
• Connection Method (Ethernet is the best, wireless is acceptable).
• Speed and Performance of the server where Microsoft SQL Server is installed.

 

Method of Connection Used:

• Working on a Wireless LAN connection within the company network and in the same location as the servers.
• Working on an Ethernet LAN connection within the company network and in the same location as the servers.

 

Recommended Method to open Microsoft Outlook:

1. Confirm that a connection has been established to the company network.
2. Open Microsoft Outlook and select to CONNECT to the Microsoft Exchange Server when prompted.
3. When prompted for the Tour de Force connection state, select to Work ONLINE.

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2. Working on a Fast Wide Area Network (WAN)

Bandwidth Connection Speed:

• 2 Megabyte up to 56 Megabyte per second connection speeds.

 

Locations that apply:

• At a branch, regional, or satellite office.

 

Expectation of speed and performance when using Tour de Force in this environment:

• Reasonably fast, but dependent on the network Bandwidth and Latency.

 

Factors that impact the performance of Tour de Force:

• Connection Method (Ethernet is the best, wireless is acceptable).
• Speed and Performance of the laptop computer.
• Size of the Microsoft Outlook Inbox; having a lot of mail in the Inbox impacts speed.
• Method used to connect branch location to corporate office (Broadband, T1 with VPN, Point to Point T1).
• Speed and Performance of the server where Microsoft SQL Server is installed.

 

Method of Connection Used:

• Working on a Wireless LAN connection at a branch or remote office then utilizing a WAN to connect to the corporate network, but NOT working in the same location as the servers.
• Working on an Ethernet connection at a branch or remote office then utilizing a WAN to connect to the corporate network, but NOT working in the same location as the servers.

 

Recommended Method to open Microsoft Outlook:

1. Confirm that a connection has been established to the company network.
2. Open Microsoft Outlook and select to CONNECT to the Microsoft Exchange Server when prompted.
3. When prompted for the Tour de Force connection state, select to Work ONLINE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3. Working on a Slower Wide Area Network (WAN)

Bandwidth Connection Speed:

• 128 Kilobyte up to 2 Megabyte per second connection speeds.

 

Locations that apply:

• At a branch, regional, or satellite office.

 

Expectation of speed and performance when using Tour de Force in this environment:

• Reasonably fast.

 

Factors that impact the performance of Tour de Force:

• Connection Method (Ethernet is the best, wireless is acceptable).
• Speed and Performance of the laptop computer.
• Size of the Microsoft Outlook Inbox; having a lot of mail in the Inbox impacts speed.
• Method used to connect branch location to corporate office (Broadband, T1 with VPN, Point to Point T1).
• Speed and Performance of the server where Microsoft SQL Server is installed.

 

Method of Connection Used:

• Working on a Wireless connection at a branch or remote office within the company network, but NOT in the same location as the servers.
• Working on an Ethernet connection at a branch or remote office within the company network but NOT in the same location as the servers.

 

Recommended Method to open Microsoft Outlook:

1. Confirm that a connection has been established to the company network.
2. Open Microsoft Outlook and select to CONNECT to the Microsoft Exchange Server when prompted.
3. When prompted for the Tour de Force connection state, select to Work OFFLINE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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4. Working on a Fast Remote, Internet Connection

Bandwidth Connection Speed:

• 2 Megabyte up to 10 Megabyte per second connection speeds.

 

Locations that apply:

• Hotel, home office, internet café, or any location with internet access.

 

Expectation of speed and performance when using Tour de Force in this environment:

• Moderately fast, but much slower than advertised.

 

Note:  In public locations, the advertised bandwidth is typically much higher than the actual bandwidth, and many more bottlenecks typically exist that create significant latency in connection speeds.

 

Factors that impact the performance of Tour de Force:

• Connection Method (Ethernet is the best, wireless is acceptable).
• Speed and Performance of the laptop computer.
• Size of Microsoft Outlook Inbox; having a lot of mail in the Inbox impacts speed.
• Internet connection bandwidth and the latency on the connection to corporate servers.
• Speed and Performance of the server where Microsoft SQL Server is installed.

 

Method of Connection:

• Working on a wireless connection to the internet from a remote location where access to the company’s network is established using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection.
• Working on an Ethernet connection to the internet from a remote location where access to the company’s network is established using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection.

 

Recommended Method to open Microsoft Outlook:

1. Establish a connection to the internet.
2. Initiate a VPN connection to the company network, and then allow 10-15 seconds before proceeding to Step 3.
3. Open Microsoft Outlook and select to CONNECT to the Microsoft Exchange Server when prompted.
4. When prompted for the Tour de Force connection state, select to Work ONLINE.
5. If this method of connection does not produce the speed results expected, try working as described in Section E.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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5. Working on a Slow Remote, Internet Connection

Bandwidth Connection Speed:

• 128 Kilobyte up to 2 Megabyte per second connection speeds.

 

Locations that apply:

• At home, in a hotel, through a wireless broadband card, or any other location that has a slow internet connection or is sharing a connection with many users.

 

Expectation of speed and performance when using Tour de Force in this environment:

• Very fast when using Tour de Force, but sending and receiving email has a delayed response.

 

Factors that impact the performance of Tour de Force:

• Connection Method (Ethernet is the best, wireless is acceptable).
• Speed or Performance of the laptop computer
• Size of Microsoft Outlook Inbox, having a lot of mail in the Inbox impacts speed.

 

Method of Connection:

• Working on a wireless connection to the internet from a remote location where access to the company’s network is established using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection, but the connection is VERY slow.
• Working on an Ethernet connection to the internet from a remote location where access to the company’s network is established using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection, but the connection is VERY slow.

 

Recommended Method to open Microsoft Outlook:

1. Establish a connection to the internet.
2. Initiate a VPN connection to the company network, and then allow 10-15 seconds before proceeding to Step 3.
3. Open Microsoft Outlook and select to WORK OFFLINE.
4. When prompted for the Tour de Force connection state, select to Work OFFLINE.
5. While working offline with Microsoft Outlook, the F9 key on the keyboard can be used to perform a manual Send and Receive for email purposes only. When performing the Send and Receive function, Microsoft Outlook may temporarily pause while a connection to the Microsoft Exchange Server is established and performs the Send and Receive function.
6. To synchronize changes made in Tour de Force while working offline, click the Sync button in the Tour de Force toolbar and then click the Sync to Work Online button. This process runs very fast and only pushes the changes made from the offline database to the server.

 

Note: To synchronize the changes made offline to the server and also update the offline database, click the Sync to Work Offline button.

 

 

 

 

 

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6. Working on a Remote, Internet Connection That Does Not Support VPN

Bandwidth Connection Speed

• 128 Kilobyte up to 10 Megabyte per second connection speeds.

 

Locations that apply:

• At a customer location, hotel or internet café.

 

Expectation of speed and performance when using Tour de Force in this environment:

• Very fast when using Tour de Force, but sending and receiving email may have a delayed response.

 

Factors that impact the performance of Tour de Force:

• Speed and Performance of the laptop computer.
• Size of Microsoft Outlook Inbox; having a lot of mail in the Inbox impacts speed.

 

Method of Connection:

• Working on a Wireless connection to the internet, but a VPN connection cannot be established.
• Working on an Ethernet connection to the internet, but a VPN connection cannot be established.

 

Recommended Method to open Microsoft Outlook:

1. Establish a connection to the internet.
2. Open Microsoft Outlook and select to WORK OFFLINE.
3. When prompted for the Tour de Force connection state, select to Work OFFLINE.
4. While working offline with Microsoft Outlook, the F9 key on the keyboard can be used to perform a manual Send and Receive for email purposes only, as long as an internet connection is available.
5. When finished working, changes made while working offline do not automatically synchronize to Tour de Force on the server.  Connecting Tour de Force to the company servers requires a VPN connection.
6. Changes made while working offline are updated to the server the next time Microsoft Outlook is accessed after establishing a VPN connection, and then selecting to Work ONLINE with Tour de Force.
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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7. Working Offline With No Internet Access

Locations that apply:

• At a customer location, on a plane, in the car, or at the airport.

 

Expectation of speed and performance when using Tour de Force in this environment:

• Very fast.

 

Factors that impact the performance of Tour de Force:

• Speed and Performance of the laptop computer
• Size of Outlook Inbox; having a lot of email in the Inbox impacts speed.

 

Method of Connection:

• Does not apply since no internet connection is available.

 

Recommended Method to open Outlook:

1. Open Microsoft Outlook and select to WORK OFFLINE.
2. When prompted for the Tour de Force connection state, select to Work OFFLINE.
3. When finished working, changes made while working offline do not automatically synchronize to Tour de Force on the server. Connecting Tour de Force to the company servers requires a VPN connection.
4. Changes made while working offline are updated to the server the next time Microsoft Outlook is accessed after establishing a VPN connection, and then selecting to work ONLINE.