[Spyderturbo007]

A friend of mine called me today and asked me a question that I really couldn't answer for him. He is in the process of buying another car lot and wants both locations to share a common server which currently hosts their dealership database software. He wants to link the new location with the current location so everyone can see updates / changes / etc in real time.

My first thought was to have him install 2 VPN endpoints and link them that way, which I know would require a good bit of bandwidth depending on the type of database he's dealing with. Then I started thinking about the VMWare Workstation software I read about awhile ago. If I understand it correctly, which I probably don't, he could install one server that could run multiple virtual machines. Then each location would be able to connect to that server and interact with the virtual machine. Is that correct? I'm thinking of it like having a RDC server where people would connect to it over the internet and run their virtual machine. That would keep everything in one place and decrease the bandwidth needed because you're basically just sending a video stream to the remote location.

Am I way off base on this one?

Edited by Spyderturbo007, 08 December 2010 - 12:48 PM.

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A lot depends on the database. Can it be opened multiple times over? What would happen if somebody at dealer A saved something, then somebody at dealer B saved something? Would dealer A's stuff be lost?
I don't think it's virtual machines you need. You probably might get away with something like PcAnywhere which will allow to control a remote computer. That way you could, for example, have the database at dealer A, a car lot at location B and a car lot at location C and B and C can simply pcAnywhere into dealer A and do whatever. The only issue here would be if both decided to do the same thing at the same time.

[Neil Jones]

A lot depends on the database. Can it be opened multiple times over? What would happen if somebody at dealer A saved something, then somebody at dealer B saved something? Would dealer A's stuff be lost?
I don't think it's virtual machines you need. You probably might get away with something like PcAnywhere which will allow to control a remote computer. That way you could, for example, have the database at dealer A, a car lot at location B and a car lot at location C and B and C can simply pcAnywhere into dealer A and do whatever. The only issue here would be if both decided to do the same thing at the same time.

[Spyderturbo007]

The database does allow multiple concurrent connections, so it wouldn't be a problem if there were multiple people working on it at the same time. It's basically how he does it now. There are 4 workstations and a server at his current location.

I was just interested because I know very little about virtualization and thought it was a neat idea when he told me about it.

Edited by Spyderturbo007, 08 December 2010 - 07:20 PM.

[SpywareDr]

Think "MPLS VPN" - Multiprotocol Label Switching Virtual Private Networks

All of your servers, computers, copy machines, printers, and anything else that's capable of being on a network, as well as telephones can all be on one big, company-wide (multiple locations) network. Dial a 4-digit extension number from your office in New York and it rings an employee's phone in one of your offices in California. There is no additional 'long distance' charge either because everyone in your company is all on the same MPLS VPN network. Access any of your networked equipment from any of your locations ... as if it was in your same building. If it's on your MPLS VPN network, it's accessible from anywhere else on your network.

Ask around or use Google to find a few reputable dealers near you and get some bids.

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For example, Paetec.com > MPLS VPN > Overview
http://www.paetec.co...n/overview.html