>>>Hi All -
>>>
>>>I've read most of the recent threads on Citrix & VFP. We're running a VFP application that contains pageframes and grids over Citrix. The remote offices (3 remote offices, average of 5 users at each remote office) are accessing the Citrix server at 56K. The performance is too slow. My question is, based on your experience, what is the minimum bandwidth we should have for acceptable performance of a VFP application with pageframes and grids?
>>>
>>>Thanks for your help.
>>>
>>>Steph
>>
>>Steph,
>>
>>What is the Citrix Server. I think your problems may be in the Server rather than the line. A fast enough server should work acceptably over phone lines.
>>
>>Rod Lewis
>
>The problem is not the server, but rather Fox as one UT member informed me. We utilize Citrix WinFrame effectively for DOS apps, GroupWise, and in-house developed Delphi application for Managed Care. We have had a similar problem with a small VFP application developed in house.
>
>WinFrame provides a thin-client by sending only screen refreshes and print jobs to the client workstations. Think of it as high powered multi-user version of PC AnyWhere or LapLink. As the one UT member informed me, VFP treats the forms as bitmaps, meaning any slight change to the form, even a label, would cause the entire form to undergo a refresh on the client workstation. Evidently, in the more mainstream Windows apps, the complete form does NOT refresh on the client side, only the part that changes. Thus, you cut down considerably on the bandwidth.
>
>Do not dismiss Citrix as a VFP developer. The technology will be incorporated in NT 5.0. Once code named Hydra, MS will utilize the technology to provide thin client computing as an answer to Oracle's NC and others...
>
>Regards,
>Jack Mendenhall
>Reinsurance Management, Inc.

Jack,

I guess it comes down to what is acceptable performance. From my standpoint, if it runs equivelant to the application over a standard network, I would consider it acceptable performance. Even with the whole screen going over the line, the bandwidth is still very small and a 56K line should be quite fast enough and large enough to handle the minimal bandwidth that a 5 user site would incur (unless there is a high volume of additional traffic, but that's a different issue).

We have several large applications running on WinFrame, and our clients have been overall pleased with the performance in spite of the methodology implemented in VFP. One test is to compare the application running over the network to the application running over the Winframe client over the same network wires (eliminate the 56K line at this point). Is it comparable? If not, it may be time to check the Citrix Server and upgrade it with either more memory, a faster processor, or even another processor. There have been several instances where upgrading the hardware allowed the solution to be used and performance to be sustained.

Rod Lewis