A:  Bandwidth and display quality

The first, and most influential, factor is bandwidth. Bandwidth is the potential amount of data that can move across the Internet connection. Internet connections can be purchased from ISPs for amounts from 28.8 Kbps to 10Mbps. As with RAM or CPU speed, more is always better.

Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) has the ability to fine tune the servers to accommodate a lack or abundance of bandwidth. In the RDC application under the "Experience" tab, are settings from the most limited connections (Modem 28.8Kbps) to the highest available (LAN 10Mbps or higher).

In our tests we have found that most connections operate optimally at the Modem 56Kbps setting. Choosing a lower setting doesn't limit the connection speed, only the experience. In fact, the lower the experience setting, the faster the ASP server will seem to react and run, as it has to move less data over the Internet connection for any given task.

While it is possible to connect to the server via a 28.8 or 56 Kbps Modem, we have found that at least a 128 Kbps connection is needed for real-time interaction.

To optimize the connection, start off with the most basic settings possible, and gradually increase them until the server's reaction seems to slow down, then move back down to the previous setting. A good starting point is to set the connection speed to Modem 28.8 Kbps.