Management by Statistics – Adding to Another Computer

If your network has any of the incorrect examples below, we will guarantee that operations will fail. Debugging network mis-configurations is time consuming and is not included in the reasonable price we charge for the software. We will offer advice to IT persons, when they request it.

The incorrect examples below are real mis-configurations we have found on customer networks.

1. The server must be on the same network as the computers used by employees that access the data.

Computers and server are on the same private network.

Your employees will not be able to connect to a server that is on a different private network.

Laptops connected to the wrong wireless network will not be able find the server, thus they will not be able to connect to it. Be sure your employees are connecting their laptops to your company's wireless and not some other wireless network.

2. The computers on your network must be able to find the server computer with the database installed on it.

A Domain Name Service (or DNS) is like a phone book in that it contains a list of computers with their name and address. There are DNS services running all over the Internet. Internet based DNS services help you find websites. When you type the name of a website, the browser looks up the address of that site, then directs your request to that address. But DNS services running on the Internet do not know the addresses of computers on your internal network.

Computers on the same network can find each other by name.

If your computers use an internet DNS service instead of one on your network, they'll only be able to find the addresses of websites, not a computer in the next room.

3. There should only be one router assigning IP Addresses to the computers on your network.

Only one router on a network should be issuing IP Addresses to computers on that network.

One way to extend a network's range is to use what is called an Access Point. Access points can support wired and wireless networks.

Having multiple routers issuing IP Addresses on the same network effectively creates two networks running over the same wires and will prevent computers from finding each other and establishing a connection. In the example below, computers attached to the blue network will be able to find other computers on the blue network, but not those on the red network.

4. The server should not be a laptop or other computer that can leave the office unexpectedly. If this occurs your employees will no longer be able to connect to their data. If you want to access your data from outside your office, use the Cloud feature in the software.

Databases installed on laptops can leave the office unexpectedly preventing access to the data.

5. Your local network should be a private network, not a public network in Windows.

A correct local network is a private network in Windows. When you connect your computer to a network for the first time, Windows asks you if the network is public or private. Your internal network is private.

When a network is set to public in Windows, Windows will automatically deny all incoming connection attempts and there is no way to allow connections. If you have set up your internal network as a public network, all connection requests to any of your computers will be rejected.

The public network option should only be used when you are connecting to a public insecure network, such as in a coffee house. Your own internal network is a private network.

6. If you have a 3rd party firewall installed on your server or computers these must be configured to allow connections. The Database Manager automatically works with the Windows built-in firewall to correctly configure it, but not other security software.

A properly configured 3rd party security software will allow connections to and from software the administrator has specifically allowed. This requires someone trained in configuring it and is beyond what our tech support staff do.

3rd party security software must be properly configured. If it isn't, connections can be blocked even when everything else is properly configured. If you have other security software or equipement installed on your network, you must have the IT Professional who installed it configure it. There are many 3rd party security products on the market and our tech support staff are not trained to configured them, so we will not attempt to do so. We can only refer you to the person who installed the equipment.