VPN slows down local browsing

[Danny Sanders]

A Dr. here is a member of this domain. He need access to his files on
another domain. Cisco VPN has been set up between his computer and their
domain.

After logging in he can use any of our domain resources as normal.
Connecting the VPN and trying to access files from the other domain results
in a *long* delay, after which browsing speed is pretty much normal.
Accessing resources on our domain while the VPN is open results in a *long*
delay.
He needs to be able to switch between resources on our domain and their
domain (via VPN) on a constant basis.

How/What can I do to prevent these long delays when accessing resources in
the remote domain, then accessing resources in the local domain?


TIA
DDS

 

[Bill Grant]

There isn't any easy way around that. Browsing uses broadcasts (and WINS)
and the NT-style computer browser service, using Netbios names. Multihomed
machines have always had problems with this, and your client is multihomed
as soon as it makes a VPN connection. This means it has two IP addresses for
its Netbios name, which confuses the browser.

The only real solution is to disable Netbios over TCP/IP on the WAN
interface and use DNS-style names to access resources on the remote domain
rather than relying on the browser service. The browser service always takes
a while to settle down after a change, even on a LAN. (See KB 188001).