With the sudden rise in remote workers, millions more now face the aggravation of accessing centrally-stored files over secure Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). The quick turnaround we were accustomed to back at the office has been replaced by unbearable delays despite fast home WiFi connections. VPN congestion at the main corporate site stands out as the number one factor contributing to the sluggish behavior.
In organizations where central files are distributed over many servers and network attached storage (NAS) devices, the congestion problem is compounded. Every time you look for a document, spreadsheet, presentation or video, you end up bouncing around different locations unclear where you last saved it. Each failed search chews up more network, compute and storage resources, adding to the team’s frustration.
While we cannot magically speed up your corporate network, DataCore can help you use the VPN and file servers more effectively, drastically improving remote productivity.
Let’s break down some of the root causes behind the slowdowns:
- It’s hard to remember which machine holds the file so you have to search several locations. That can take quite a bit of time.
- Various versions of the file may have been inadvertently saved on different machines, so the first one you find may be an older or different version than the ones your colleagues are working on. You may not realize this for days until someone uncovers the errors. Then the blame game starts.
- Each search chews up computing resources in each filer traversing numerous folders to find matching file names. The more searches, the slower those systems become.
- Some servers will be especially overloaded in these unusual times because they had not been sized for these extreme cases. Yet others nearby go underused. Manually rebalancing the file shares remains a daunting, disruptive task no responsible IT person would consider.
A Timely Solution
DataCore vFilO software reduces VPN congestion by creating a single, high speed catalog of all those file servers and NAS devices. It will automatically spread the load by redistributing files among the pool of filers. Building the central catalog of existing directories and files takes place within hours of being installed. Once completed, the following benefits appear:
- No one needs to know which machine the files reside in.
- A single search of the corporate share will reveal duplicate files on different machines, so they can be reconciled without confusion
- The master catalog is optimized for quick search results without loading the filers or their network connections
- All file ownership and permissions remain intact
Bottom line- remote workers can be more productive and the load is intelligently spread across all available servers.
Putting a Price on Improved Productivity
Intuitively we all recognize how ineffective we become when the remote experience bogs down. Buying back even 30 minutes a day using vFilO can prove financially quite substantial for even a midsize organization.
And it goes without saying that the swifter response makes working from home a little more pleasant.
Take Action
If you are responsible for IT, give DataCore a call to see how we can assist.
If you are at home suffering from these delays, forward this blog to your IT helpdesk so they can determine if vFilO could help speed up remote working conditions. I’m sure they are eager for novel new alternatives in such stressful times.
