Board index » delphi » VPNs

2005-06-11 11:32:30 PM
delphi71
Hi dudes,
Recently I have heard about VPNs as an schema to work a distributed system
with remote offices, but someones use this schema to have a monolithic
system (built in VisualFoxPro or VisualBasic and rather than a real
distributed CS system) and their remote offices access to this system
through a shortcuts to the app located in a remote server's shared folder.
And those ones using that schema defend it adducing that is more secure than
web-enabled apps, or CS apps using Sockets or other protocols. My question
is, What's the truth of this? What are the pros and cons of using VPNs with
monolithic apps, against distributed apps using HTTP, Socket protocols
without (or with) VPNs?
I've heard also that apps built in VisualBasic can work with a MySQL Server
installed on Linux, Is it possible? Can Delphi (not Kylix) work with a MySQL
server installed on Linux too?
For your opinions, very grateful
Aragorn
 

Aragorn writes:
Rules Of The House.
2. Do not ever, ever, run a monolithic DB app (like MSAccess or FoxPro etc)
over a WAN link. The performance is horrible. Just think of a query that is
executed on the user's PC - all relevant tables have to be copied over the
WAN and examinated. If it is a complex query (based on other queries, for
instance), you get really bad response times. Do not, I repeat, do not
operate such a beast over a WAN link (VPN or not doesn't even matter).
Depending on the application, a browser-based (and operated via SSL
(https://)) is just as secure as a VPN is. But the queries are executed
locally (where the DB files reside) and the performance is way better.
You may of course use a classic client/server application too, but again,
this is not a VPN issue per se but a "performance of a monolithic DB
application over slow links) issue.
platform-agnostic (ie they don't really care).
My advice: Clean up the "monolithic" issue first before deciding about what
connectivity model you want to use.
--
Ben
 

I am not sure that I understand all parts of your question but I hope
the following will answer some of your questions.
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. The connection is private
because all communication across the VPN is encrypted.
There is no inherent security in Web apps or TCP/IP unless you include
it as part of your application. Even if you have a two tier client
server application where the client and the database server will be at
two different locations and will connect via TCP/IP connecting across a
VPN is a good idea because it provides security.
There are other ways to provide security besides using a VPN. For
example, some database servers provide the option to encrypt the
traffic between the client library and the database server. In this
case you do not need a VPN.
--
Bill Todd (TeamB)
 

"Aragorn" <XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes