Question : Problem: Public folders over VPN lag

I have a problem at hand with speed of Public folders when accessed remotely through a VPN.

Here is a setup:

- Two offices, connected via VPN between Sonicwalls
- Exchange server (2003) is in office #1
- Clients (outlook 2K3) are configured for RPC over HTTP

Symptoms: users from office #2 experience an unbelievable lag time when accessing public folders. Some of our public folders are HUGE, but when accessed from outside of the network or from office #1 lag times are significantly less.

What are my options? I guess I need to tell the clients to go out to exchange server and not through the VPN tunnel. Using hosts doesn't work.

Thank you!

Answer : Problem: Public folders over VPN lag

I denied all traffic to 192 address of the email server hence forcing it to go out and come back in as intended. The real problem is not in the VPN though, but in utilization of Public Folders and improper expectations.  Any large file will take time to download whether it is across the VPN or just over the Internet. This question is now closed.