What issues must be considered before deploying?

The real beauty of RNA is it's simplicity and it's versatility, making deployment and later management very easy. IT managers should consider these questions in light of their users current work habits.

Question: How many RNA servers are needed?

Finding the Answer: While each RNA server can maintain up to 150 connections, your RAS or VPN servers may limit this number. When evaluating RNA, perform tests that help you estimate the total performance benefits based on your actual files. For example, users who primarily access Word or Excel files see acceleration of 300-400%, while users who primarily access less compressible files may see lower benefits.

Question: Where will the RNA servers reside?

Finding the Answer: RNA server will run on a dedicated server on the network, or, on a workstation connected to the network. If you have a single remote user, a workstation may be better.

Question: Do I need to modify my security policy in any way for RNA?

Answer: No. RNA uses NT-based authentication methods. During installation of the RNA server, an NT user account is created so that the client receives appropriate access to the network drives. (This user account should be used only by RNA and not for other network resources.)

Question: Does RNA provide any load balancing between multiple RNA servers?

Answer: Unfortunately, not automatically. If a client finds his normal server unable to accept a connection, he/she can choose from a list of available servers in the Designate Servers dialog. Or, configure the client to <find on connect> so that he is prompted each time he connects to pick a server.

Question: How do I distribute the client?

Answer: RNA has several options for installing the client. These include

• the Make Diskette utility (uses 3 diskettes)
• installing from the CD
• copying the client folder from the CD (LeClient) to a network share and editing the SCRIPT.TXT file to reflect any customization that you want. Then create a script (not provided by RNA) to run SETUP.EXE from the LeClient folder when the client connects.

Question: What kind of networks and Internet connections does RNA work with?

Answer: RNA will work with wired and wireless (802.11x/GSM/GPRS/CDM) networks. It will also work with any type of Internet connection: dial-up, DSL/broadband, VPN. The only requirement is that the network must use Microsoft's TCP/IP protocol. (Other TCP/IP implementations have not been tested).

Back | Next