Improving VPN Performance and Stability
There are always many factors that will impact the VPN server performance and stability. There is never a one size fits all solutions to any problem. There are many pros and cons that need to be considered. Two performance factors are the load balancing and software configuration. (Jain, S., 2006) While two stability factors are computer programs/equipment and location. (randomwire.com, 2010) In load balancing, the performance is as important as redundancy. NLB can be used to run multiple running RRAS servers if you fall short on one single machine. VPN test done by a third party on Windows 2000 show single tunnel packet forwarding at 70 Mbps for PPTP and the max tunnel test at 5000 tunnels. It is a cheaper computing speed and has a better offload card which allows better results. The second performance factor is the software configuration. These encrypt settings, compress software, enable and disable NAT, affect the utilization of the CPU and don’t impact much as they are control path application that only take up the CPU at times. (Jain, S., 2006)
Firewalls and cheap routers often prevent the VPN from reaching maximum stability. Even when the firewall is not blocking the VPN, it may be spending too much time on investigating every packet that infiltrates the network slowing down the network flow. Therefore, it is important to allow the configuration to be unhindered. It is equally important to turn on/off the SPI as this will stop the VPN after a few minutes of use because the SPI isn’t turned on. If you are in doubt use a network cable. (randomwire.com, 2010)
The second stability factor is location. Wi-Fi connections are not as stable as they may often seem. However, most people rarely notice them. This is due to the one to two second pause. It only becomes a problem when it takes longer than that or when it fails to reconnect. A couple of solutions are often trying to move or changing cables temporarily to see if it fixes the problem.
Firewalls and cheap routers often prevent the VPN from reaching maximum stability. Even when the firewall is not blocking the VPN, it may be spending too much time on investigating every packet that infiltrates the network slowing down the network flow. Therefore, it is important to allow the configuration to be unhindered. It is equally important to turn on/off the SPI as this will stop the VPN after a few minutes of use because the SPI isn’t turned on. If you are in doubt use a network cable. (randomwire.com, 2010)
The second stability factor is location. Wi-Fi connections are not as stable as they may often seem. However, most people rarely notice them. This is due to the one to two second pause. It only becomes a problem when it takes longer than that or when it fails to reconnect. A couple of solutions are often trying to move or changing cables temporarily to see if it fixes the problem.
References: "How to Optimize Your VPN Connection." Randomwire. May 25, 2010. Accessed September 10, 2014. http://randomwire.com/how-to-optimize-your-vpn-connection/. Jain, Samir. "Routing and Remote Access Blog." Blogs. June 26, 2006. Accessed September 10, 2014.http://blogs.technet.com/b/rrasblog/archive/2006/06/26/438823.aspx.