Performance of SQL db via the Internet?

Does anybody have experience connecting directly (ie, not via a web server) to a SQL database over the Internet via TCP/IP?

How reliable is the connection? How did/do you connect to it (ie, ISDN, modem/speed etc.)? I'm aware of the internet's congestion at times; however, I'm looking for some opinions on connection stability, lost packets, performance in general.

What is the performance like (please provide an example)? Is it reasonable to expect that in 6-12 months time, using the Internet as a network backbone will be a viable alternative to leased lines, frame-relay etc in a scenario where 50-100 users a connected to an SQL server via the Internet.

Thanks for your opinion.

Steven Hill Received on Tue Feb 11 1997 - 00:00:00 CST