configuration of c/s application

This is our project in a nutshell - Visual Basic-developed applications on
a Win 95/NT client, possibly downloaded from a file server, pointing to an
AS/400 via Client Access and TCP/IP and accessing databases via ODBC.  Our
group is now thinking about the network architecture and they are asking me
questions.  Some think we load Client Access on an NT file server and have
all clients "funnel" through that connection to the AS/400.  This can be
done, I'm sure, but I wonder if it is the most efficient method, especially
because users may number in the hundreds.  Should the VB application reside
on the PC instead, communicating directly with the AS/400?  If so, how best
to communicate with the AS/400 across the WAN?  Is it good to have Client
Access on dozens or hundreds of PCs talking to one AS/400?

My real question is, how do we size client server applications and how do
we best deploy them?  Where do we go for information on this subject?  I
realize that this is an open-ended question, but I must start somewhere.


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