In order to use Apporto, all you need is a browser and an internet connection.
Google Chrome is the recommended browser for Apporto. You may download the latest version of Chrome here:
Internet Connection
A reliable internet connection is very important for optimal performance in Apporto.
If you have a poor network connection, you may notice slowness or a lag in response and images may appear pixelated. If your network connection is interrupted you may even lose unsaved work.
The quality of your network connection has two parts: bandwidth and latency. Bandwidth is typically not an issue for Apporto. Latency is the more important factor. You want latency to be as low [ie. fast] as possible.
Latency is the amount of time it takes for data to travel from one point to another. In our case, we care about the time it takes for data to travel from your browser to the data center where Apporto is running. Every time you click in Apporto, data is sent across the internet to a server running in an AWS or Azure data center. Then, a response is sent back across the internet and rendered in your browser.
This information travels via fiber optic cables at the speed of light, so it is very fast. But, if you are located in another part of the world or have a poor network connection, the delay can be noticeable. Lateny of < 100 ms is ideal for good performance in Apporto.
Recommended network speed
Network speed is more important for certain types of applications.
If you are using an application like Microsoft Word to write a report, a slower network will be sufficient. If you are using applications like Adobe Photoshop, SolidWorks, or Premiere to edit images or video, a faster network is important.
- For most applications, like Excel, SPSS, etc., Apporto performance is good over wifi if latency is less than 100ms. Bandwidth is typically not a limiting factor.
- For graphics-intensive applications, like Photoshop and SolidWorks, we recommend bandwidth of 1 Mbps or greater and latency less than 50ms.
- For video editing applications, like Premiere, we recommend bandwidth of 3 Mbps for regular video [or 5 Mbps for HD] and latency less than 30ms. We also recommend using a hard wired “cabled” internet connection instead of wifi.
Use of personal hotspots is not recommended. Latency is higher since data has to travel through the cellular network before reaching the internet.
Using a hard wired network connection can reduce latency by a factor of ten! This is why video gamers prefer wired internet to wifi.
How can I check my network speed?
If you experience slow performance in Apporto, you may test latency using sites like:
- www.azurespeed.com
- www.cloudping.info
Bandwidth is typically not a limiting factor unless you are using a graphics-intensive application or streaming video. To test your bandwidth, you may use sites like Ookla’s Speedtest:
Network indicator
To get a sense of your network quality in real time, you may glance at the network indicator
If you see 5 bars, you have a fast and reliable network connection. If you see one bar, you have a poor connection. It is common for the network to fluctuate a little. If you notice a consistently poor connection, you may try sitting closer to the wifi router, connecting your computer to the router via a cable, or moving to a location with a more reliable internet connection.
Click on the network indicator to see more details about your network latency and bandwidth usage.
When using a remote Windows session, your network’s available bandwidth greatly impacts the quality of your experience. Different applications and display resolutions require different network configurations, so it’s important to make sure your network is configured to meet your needs. For example using WVD for a Office worker type of usage Microsoft recomments 3 Mbsp per user. Here is Microsoft's official recomendations page. //docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-desktop/bandwidth-recommendations
- WVD, Office 365, Bandwidth Recomendations, Remote Desktop
- 2 Users Found This Useful
Deciding how much bandwidth is required for your virtual desktop implementation requires a review of your general communication infrastructure. There are several things that can influence how much bandwidth you will need.
The most significant factor we have found in using Cloud Hosted Virtual Desktops involves the number of employees who will be sharing the connection. Don’t count remote or home office workers when calculating. Generally, we would recommend about 100kbps for each of the first 10 users or about a T1 line. As you get above 10 users, you will start to gain some efficiency since not everyone will be logged on at the same time and you have more capacity for spikes in usage. After the first 10 users, we recommend planning for about 64k per user. Here is a quick chart of some standard bandwidth configurations and the number of users they support.
| T1 Line [1.5mbps] | 10 Users |
| Bonded T1 Lines [3mbps] | 20-25 Users |
| 10 mbps [EVPLS] | 50-75 Users |
| 100 mbps [EVPLS, Ethernet, etc.] | 100+ Users |
Click here for a full description of the various types of internet connections.
What type of connection do you need for Hosted Desktops?
For most companies, general internet connectivity will be fine. All of your data will be encrypted and secured between your employees [wherever they are] and the Cloudworks Hosting facilities. For some clients who want a completely private connection, we can deploy an MPLS or EVPLS type solution and lock down routers and firewalls at your work place so that they can only talk to the Ongoing Operations hosting facility. Either scenario is acceptable.
What other services are running over your Bandwidth?
The chart above assumes that all you are running over your bandwidth is Virtual Desktops. It you have other solutions and requirements that leverage that same connection, you will need to consider the impact. For example, if you use Hosted VOIP or Virtual PBX than each phone will place some requirement on the connection like the virtual desktops. If that is your scenario, than you will need to plan for additional bandwidth for hosted phones. You may also want to do some offsite data vaulting or something else that consumes your local bandwidth. Ongoing Operations is happy to help evaluate and review what traffic is currently on your connection as part of your Virtual Desktop evaluation.
Quality of the connection
Sadly, all internet is not created equal and can greatly impact your success in using the cloud or Hosted Virtual Desktops. In general, if an internet connection is being used for browsing the web, the quality can be pretty low since a few millisecond delay is not really noticeable to humans or the performance. In Virtual Desktops however, that same millisecond delay can be very frustrating. Hosted Virtual Desktops require your local screen to be refreshed from the cloud very frequently. Any delay results in a screen flash or pause. For the vast majority of our clients, this is a non-issue and the benefits far outweigh the occasional flash. For those with poor internet connections, it is a terrible experience. As part of your evaluation we can look at your existing connectivity provider and determine how much latency [or delay] there is and if there is any packet loss on the connection. If either the latency or packet loss is high, we may recommend a different carrier or solution to ensure a positive Hosted Virtual Desktop experience.
Monitoring
We highly recommend monitoring your connectivity before and after you implement hosted virtual desktops. Tying your network into the Cloudworks monitoring tool is relatively easy. Once done, we will provide alerts and notifications if you start hitting 80% utilization or we see increased latency or packet loss. We aim to be proactive in this regard to make sure your Hosted Virtual Desktops continue to work well into the future.
Do you have questions about which applications work well in Virtual Desktops? Are you concerned about the implementation requirements of Hosted Virtual Desktop? Please fill out this quick form if you want a bit more information.