Advantage Micro Corporation

These issues are the most common QuickBooks network connection and speed issues when working with a QuickBooks Multiuser network configuration 1) In multiuser mode, the QuickBooks Database Server Manager must be installed on the server, and activated to scan the data directory of the server. I recommend that this directory be named “QBData” 2) The server should have a fixed IP address, and all workstations should have a network drive mapping to using the server IP address, with directory QBData to drive Q: 3) The QuickBooks Connection Diagnostic Tool should be run on all workstations, to have the required ports open. http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/Networking/Nettool.aspx 4) QuickBooks should be run on a Gigabit network (all NICs and switches) 5) Current versions of QuickBooks run really well on systems with at least 2 CPUs and enough RAM (2GB for XP, 3GB for Windows 7) If the system is out of RAM, then the hard disk becomes the additional RAM. RAM is measured in nanoseconds, hard disks are measured in milliseconds. There is a 1 million times factor difference here! 6) Firewall issues have been known to rear their ugly headc creating QuickBooks network issues, so during testing we will turn off all firewalls if required for testing. 7) DNS issues can cause all types of weird anomalies. Verify the DNS settings. Usually action #2 above will aleviate DNS issues with your QuickBooks server. 8) Reboot all switches and routers to clear corrupted router tables. 9) All versions of QuickBooks must be exactly the same revision. It is possible to corrupt the QuickBooks data file if this is not followed to the tee. In a network environment, we have found that not all workstations will update at the same time. When the first user gets an update notification, we will notify all users to update the next moring before opening any QuickBooks company data files. The IT manager should have QuickBooks set to automatically backup everytime QuickBooks is closed. It is recommended to backup to their local hard disk “C:\QBBU” in addition to some type of an offsite backup, like Carbonite. Always have current backups before the update process occurs. These issues above are the most common QuickBooks network connection and speed issues. However, we have assumed good hardware, no static electricity (such as those generic chair mats) and bad power. Dirty computer power has a tendency to bleed down the ground circuit in the network cabling, and will cause intermittant network connectivity and corrupted QuickBooks database. See J.R. for more information on detection and correction of these types of issues.