> However, for my test app returning 35 records in less than 2 seconds
> with NO Blobs and 32 seconds with blobs conataing a total 3,209 plain
> text characters does not make sense?? Especially, when all get
> returned very fast on a local connection.
>
> Does anyone have any ideas??

how 'asymetric' is your wan connection at the weakest point. i didn't get
the expected performance benefit moving from varchar to blob (this was pre
firebird 1.5 which now has over the wire compression for varchar) and i'm
pretty sure it was due to the increase in packet handshaking required to get
a blob (they will be so many people on this list better able to comment on
this but i think that a record is returned containing the id of the blob and
then the client goes and requests the actual blob using the id). if you have
a slow upstream link this would slow down the data download because
presumably each blob has to be requested.

just an idea.....

pete