Remote Connection Help

[justin_jore]

Wondering if anyone has a solution.  I'm not super tech savvy so I will try to explain as best as I can.  I work from home two days out of week.  Landscape arch here so I do a lot of work in AutoCAD.  Lots of times my coworkers and I have problems with AutoCAD working remotely.  Its slow and we get the spinning blue ball a lot.  We remote into the server at our work.  Not the where we work on a computer at home thats connecting to a computer at work and its actually the computer at work that we're working on (i figure we wouldn't have this problem if we did).  Does anyone know how to get around this problem or is it just the way it is since its connecting to our server?  Its really frustrating.  Yes, some files I save to my local hard drive and then save them back to server at end of day.  This helps but there still is a lag.  Like AutoCAD the software itself is still making a connection to our work server and updating or something every once and awhile.   I can't use the save to my local hard drive all the time, for example when working in sheet set manager, which is a lot.  I'm someone is a Jedi about this and can save us a lot of hair pulling with a quick tip.  Thanks all

[RSomppi]

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@justin_jore wrote:

Does anyone know how to get around this problem or is it just the way it is since its connecting to our server?

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You should get together with your IT people as this most likely could be the issue.

[justin_jore]

I mean we thought about it but we're afraid if we bring it up as such a big problem and they can't find a way around it they will end up saying "well maybe you guys should just work in the office everyday". 🤣

Is there other people who work remotely, connecting to server like us and never have this issue?

[RSomppi]

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@justin_jore wrote:

I mean we thought about it but we're afraid if we bring it up as such a big problem and they can't find a way around it they will end up saying "well maybe you guys should just work in the office everyday". 🤣

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If they would actually say that, you might want to hire a new IT staff.

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@justin_jore wrote:

Is there other people who work remotely, connecting to server like us and never have this issue?

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Yes and no. Remoting in via VPN and remote desktop can be a bit laggy or extremely so but there are people that work fully remote well enough to get by.

[justin_jore]

Unfortunately I work gov job and hiring and firing people is tricky from my understanding.

Well, I guess we just have to deal with it for now.  I appreciate your advice.

[RSomppi]

That sucks not feeling comfortable about asking IT about IT issues. 

[paullimapa]

If you're actually remoting into your computer in the office then it should function exactly like you're sitting in the office. I assume you're not seeing that spinning ball when you're accessing your server while working from inside the office.

Also there should not be a reason for you to have any files on your home computer. All files should be either in your office computer or office server where everything can be backed up.

At the last office where I worked remotely, we would leave our office computers on all the time with Chrome Remote Desktop installed and running. Then from the home computer also with Chrome Remote Desktop installed (as long as there's internet access) I can remote into the office computer and run all the programs from my office computer as if I'm actually sitting there. My home computer would then just be acting like a terminal. The speed of office server access then no longer depends on the speed of my internet connection from home. 

You can read more on the Chrome Remote Desktop setup here:
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1649523?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop

But definitely speak to your employer about this problem. If not Chrome Remote Desktop, your IT staff should provide another efficient way for you to access your office as if you're actually working there and not away.

[RSomppi]

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@paullimapa wrote:

If you're actually remoting into your computer in the office then it should function exactly like you're sitting in the office.

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That's not entirely true. I've worked at several offices and while most programs showed now signs of lag, AutoCAD always exhibited a lag while working in the drawing area. The lag disappeared as soon as the cursor exited the drawing area. It may not be perceptible to some but it is there, IME.

[justin_jore]

unfortunately thats not how we remote in.  We don't remote in from our home computer to our office computer.  We bring our office labtop home and remote into the office server.  While i know the former way has no issues really, as thats how we remoted at my last job, I don't think we could switch here.  Its a state job and it would require them to purchase for each of us a work and home labtop or require us to have a personal one at home.  Which I don't.  Its just so expensive to live in CA on one's own that I barely get by on a good salary.  No extra money to purchase a labtop.

@justin_jore - this post has been edited due to Community Rules & Etiquette violation.

[paullimapa]

Yes, there could still be a slight delay when seeing the graphics update on the screen. This depends on the speed of your internet access as well as the distance between home and office. But I assume when you remote in the only time you would see a spinning ball (as described by OP) is when you would also see the same spinning ball while actually working in the office.

[paullimapa]

Then you will continue to experience the spinning ball when you open & save because you are actually copying the drawings (including the xrefs if any) back & forth from the server into the laptop which you are now using from home. The only way you may speed the process up even a bit is to increase your home's internet bandwidth for both uploading and downloading.

[jreidKVSUZ]

Good day.

I recommend using SharePoint. This works great anywhere you are. One of the main setups you need to do is make sure your Main Company’s folder is set to “Always Keep on this Device”. Find your Main Company's folder and do a right click and pick "Always Keep on this Device". By doing this, all my short-cut folders turn to a Green Dot with a check mark inside. No lag ever. (if you have Windows 11, do a right click the pick Show More Options (at the bottom of your right click).

Hope this helps!

Thanks, JRR.

[justin_jore]

I already did it.  Got the best internet I could.  Still a problem.  Guess I'm stuck with it.  Have a deadline end of day so I waved the white flag over an hour ago and came to office to work.

[justin_jore]

Yes, we have share point and we were trying to switch over to saving our projects there but then admin told us we need to keep them on the server.  Can't remember why.  Sharepoint does work a lot better from home, the thing I don't like about it is I have to get  permission from the creator of a file if i need to do something.

[paullimapa]

Could be that your employer prefers for you to work in the office rather than away.

[TheCADnoob]

From the sounds of things, you are going to be stuck. If you are working for the state, my guess is that you will also be working with some pretty extensive security restrictions. If those are not a problem have you looked into using ACC? in particular Docs?

Remoteing into a network is always gonna be slow (relative to other options). In addition to being slow, you will also likely be dealing with an increase in the potential of corrupted files. 

We have worked with similar situations and the only way to help is to download files locally, but then you lose the benefits of working collaboratively on the network. 

One big thing to check is how you are connecting to the internet at home. If you are on WIFI, you need to get a hard-wired connection. 

[Moshe-A]

@justin_jore  hi,

please can you explain,

Are you using checkpoint vpn or fortigate vpn? (something else?)

if IT let you use an network drive (from office server) on the office laptop

then why they does not let you to control your office desktop?

isn't that not the same from security point of view?

Moshe

[CodeDing]

@justin_jore ,

Our company uses these firewall devices which would be slightly faster than your VPN connection.

https://www.corporatearmor.com/product/fortinet-fg40f-next-generation-firewall/ 

...but they are not simply plug & play. You have to get a dedicated IP from internet provider at your house, then the company has to give that IP direct access to the server. Probably the easiest way to think about it is that they are both "VPN", however your current setup would be like using WIFI, and the firewall would be like a wired connection ( a really-really long wired connection to the office).

So as far as speed goes, it would look like:

1) In-Office

2) Firewall Connection

3) VPN over internet (your current setup)

So it's possible, but would require some commitment & leg work from IT / company.

Best,

~DD

[CGBenner]

@justin_jore 

Hello, do you still need help with this question?