Networking QuickBooks Enterprise 2016

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A little less than a year ago I wrote a series of articles on networking for QuickBooks 2015, in part because Intuit had removed what had been known as 'Alternate Hosting mode'.  Almost everyone who has been 'doing QuickBooks' (desktop) for any length of time recognizes the proper ways to set-up the software to run on a local area network.  What you may not be aware of is the significant increase in 'operational requirements' (minimum system requirements) that were adopted in the 2016 product line, especially for QuickBooks Enterprise (QBES v16.0) over the requirements for prior years.

As more and more people are transitioning into the 2016 products, having awaited release updates subsequent to the initial release, to resolve a myriad of issues, they are encountering issues in the form of degraded efficiency and performance. We will look at networking practices coupled with system requirements in this article to help overcome such issues.

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Local Windows Networks

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To permit multiple users to work on QuickBooks at the same time, QuickBooks a dedicated computer must run the QuickBooks Database Server and store ‘host’ the Company file. QuickBooks is designed for either Client-Server (Dedicated Server hosting QuickBooks) network configurations or Peer-to-peer network configurations in which one workstation hosts QuickBooks. Clearly a Client-Server network is the 'best practice', but many installations will still necessitate use of the Peer-to-peer configuration.

All local area networks should be running at a minimum of 1000 mbps this means at the very minimum 1000 mbps switches/hubs, 1000 mbps ethernet cards in each computer, and Category 5e cables.  [Best practice: Ethernet Category 6 cabling for true 1000 mbps bi-sync networking, with appropriate Category 6 connectivity equipment.] No wireless network is acceptable for actual QuickBooks operation. Internet connectivity across your network should be either via Cable or DSL at a minimum. 

Workstation Operating Systems Supported - per Intuit's official 'system requirements' for QuickBooks Enterprise 2016t (for Database Servers consult the Server Network section of this article)

  • Windows 8.1, all editions including 64-bit, natively installed 
  • Windows 7, all editions including 64-bit, natively installed 
  • Windows Vista (SP2 or later), all editions including 64-bit, natively installed 

A note about Windows 10 - QuickBooks 2016 products will run under Windows 10, and Intuit appears to be supporting users with QuickBooks 2016 and Windows 10. There are 'tweaks' that maybe required including a workaround for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 and disabling Microsoft Edge and enabling Internet Explorer 11, to name a few.

Network Security and Firewalls - QuickBooks Enterprise 16.0 was tested by Intuit with the following firewall and antivirus products. With many of these product it may be necessary to adjust settings within the products to ensure performance with QuickBooks.

  • Windows Server Firewall (all editions)
  • Windows 8 and 8.1 Firewall (all editions)
  • Windows 7 Firewall (all editions)
  • Windows Vista Firewall (all editions)
  • Microsoft Security Essentials
  • Avast
  • Windows Defender
  • AVG
  • Symantec
  • ESET
  • Avira
  • Kaspersky
  • McAfee
  • Bitdefender
  • Norton

On all networked computers running QuickBooks Enterprise 2016 you will need to configure the Windows Firewall for Windows 7, Windows 7, Server 2003, Server 2008, and Server 2012. Make sure TCP is selected and type in the following ports for your year of QuickBooks: (if you have multiple years of QuickBooks installed or will be using, you will need to add these ports for QuickBooks Enterprise 2016: 8019, 56726, 55368-55372.  You will also need to insure that these same ports are open through any proprietary 3rd Party AntiVirus/Firewall programs. It may also be necessary to add the following executables to firewall exceptions: 

  • AutoBackupExe.exe located in C:\Program Files\Intuit\YOUR QUICKBOOKS YEAR
  • Dbmlsync.exe located in C:\Program Files\Intuit\YOUR QUICKBOOKS YEAR
  • DBManagerExe.exe located in C:\Program Files\Intuit\YOUR QUICKBOOKS YEAR
  • FileManagement.exe located in C:\Program Files\Intuit\YOUR QUICKBOOKS YEAR
  • FileMovementExe.exe located in C:\Program Files\Intuit\YOUR QUICKBOOKS YEAR
  • IntuitSyncManager.exe located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intuit\Sync
  • QBCFMonitorService.exe located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intuit\QuickBooks
  • QBDBMgrN.exe located in C:\Program Files\Intuit\YOUR QUICKBOOKS YEAR
  • QBGDSPlugin.exe located in C:\Program Files\Intuit\YOUR QUICKBOOKS YEAR
  • QBLaunch.exe located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intuit\QuickBooks
  • QBServerUtilityMgr.exe located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intuit\QuickBooks
  • QBW32.exe located in C:\Program Files\Intuit\YOUR QUICKBOOKS YEAR
  • QBUpdate.exe located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intuit\QuickBooks\QBUpdate
  • QuickBooksMessaging.exe located in C:\Program Files\Intuit\YOUR QUICKBOOKS YEAR
  • OnlineBackup.exe located in C:\Program Files\QuickBooks Online Backup

(Note: Always consult information from your 3rd party AntiVirus/Firewall software publisher for specific instructions regarding the setting of firewall port or executable exceptions.)

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Peer-to-Peer Networks

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Many small businesses don't have networks using Domain or File Servers, they simply have several workstations all connected together over what is known as a Peer-to-peer network.  While NOT a Best Practice, QuickBooks Enterprise will run in such an environment, and in these cases one of the workstations will act as the ‘host’ for QuickBooks; this means that it will store the Company file and also run the QuickBooks Database Server application.  As such this workstation must have the necessary computing capabilities (most RAM, biggest hard drive, and best processor) should act as the host. 

Peer 'Hosting' Workstation – the peer to peer server is a workstation computer in the network that acts as the QuickBooks host. In other words, physically stores the QuickBooks company files. Because this workstation is acting as the both the QuickBooks server, and a QuickBooks Client, it actually should be equipped with more computer resources than if the computer were working as either a Client or Server alone. The minimum requirements for QuickBooks Enterprise 2016 in this configuration are 8 Gigs of RAM. [Best Practice would call for 12 Gigs of RAM, with 16 Gigs preferred.] This also assumes that no more than 4 other computers will be accessing QuickBooks on this Peer-to-peer 'Host'.

The computer should have a 2.4 GHz processor at a minimum. Hard drive capacity according to Intuit is a minimum of 2.5 GB of disk space plus additional space for data files.  In reality this computer should be running a 1 TB Hard Drive at a minimum, and it should never exceed 50% of capacity. In addition, the 'faster the drive' in terms of revolutions per minute, the better performance.  While it is doubtful that such a workstation in a peer-to-peer network would be running a RAID drive configuration, I will just take this moment to recite Intuit's official stand regarding RAID..."QuickBooks will work with systems running RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) but this is not recommended because performance issues may cause QuickBooks to operate slowly."

If Intuit Data Protect will be used from this hosting workstation, an additional 2 Gig of RAM is required (according to Intuit specifications) and sufficient disk space should be allocated such that free space is equal to twice the size of the largest file set to back-up to Intuit Data Protect.

[Best Practice: Networks running more than 5 total computers on QuickBooks should never, in this author's opinion, be operated under a Peer-to-peer Network.]

Other 'Peer' Workstations - all other workstations on the 'peer network' should be configured with ONLY the QuickBooks Application running as a client, they should NOT be installed with hosting capabilities. These computers make use of the QuickBooks application, but the Company file is located on the hosting workstation. At no time should any of these other workstations have ‘hosting’ turned on.  

These workstations should be running a minimum of 4 GB of RAM [Best Practice: 8 or more GB of RAM.] Each workstation should have a 2.4 GHz processor (minimum), and a minimum of 500 GB hard drive with 250 GB of free disk space.

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Client-Server (Dedicated Server) Networks

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The Server - Typically a domain or file server in larger networks upon which either the QuickBooks Application and/or just the QuickBooks Database Server has been installed.  [Best Practice is to install the full QuickBooks Application and Hosting on a dedicated server, this permits essential file functions like back-up, verify, and rebuild to be performed directly on the server. These file functions should never be performed ‘across a network’, as such, it is necessary to copy the Company file to a workstation to perform these functions unless the full application has been installed on the dedicated ‘hosting’ server.]

Server Operating Systems supported:

  • Windows Server 2012, Windows Small Business Server 2011, Small Business Server 2008
  • Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003 (SP2)*, including 64-bit, natively installed
  • Windows Home Server Edition is NOT supported
  • Linux: When using the QuickBooks Enterprise Database Server for Linus only: OpenSuse 13.1, Fedora 20, Red Hat 6.5

The minimum requirements (according to Intuit specifications) for QuickBooks Enterprise 2016 in this configuration are 8 Gigs of RAM for a network supporting up to 5 users, 12 Gigs of RAM for 10 users, 16 Gigs of RAM for 15 users, and 20 Gigs of RAM for 20 users. [Best Practice would call for 12 Gigs of RAM minimum for 5 users, , 20 Gigs of RAM for 10 users, 32 Gigs of RAM for 15 users, 48 Gigs of RAM for 20 users, and 64 Gigs of RAM (or more) for 30 users.]

The computer should have a 2.4 GHz processor at a minimum. Hard drive capacity of 1 TB at a minimum, and it should never exceed 50% of capacity. This author always recommends 10,000 revolutions per minute hard drives for server performance.

If Intuit Data Protect will be used from this server, an additional 2 Gig of RAM is required (according to Intuit specifications) and sufficient disk space should be allocated such that free space is equal to twice the size of the largest file set to back-up to Intuit Data Protect.

Client Workstations - all other workstations on a 'Client-Server network' should be configured with ONLY the QuickBooks Application running as a client, they should NOT be installed with hosting capabilities. These computers make use of the QuickBooks application, but the Company file is located on the network's server acting as the host for QuickBooks. At no time should any of these other workstations have ‘hosting’ turned on.  

These workstations should be running a minimum of 4 GB of RAM [Best Practice: 8 or more GB of RAM.] Each workstation should have a 2.4 GHz processor (minimum), and a minimum of 500 GB hard drive with 250 GB of free disk space.

Intuit's Disclosure regarding System Requirements: If the individual product requirements do not specifically state that an operating system, hardware, software, firewall or antivirus is supported, it has not been tested. Intuit cannot promise that your experience will be trouble-free. If you experience problems outside of the supported environment, technical support will be limited to standard troubleshooting. If unresolved, the program should be returned to a supported environment for additional support.

Notes & Disclosures regarding this article: All references in this article are to U.S. versions of all 'named' software, all such software should be set to 'regional settings' of English (United States).  Administrator rights are required for the proper installation and operation of servers, recommended for workstations. Natively installed means it was installed on a particular system or environment that it was designed for. This also means that it doesn't need to run in a virtual environment or emulation software. Not all hardware and associated (adjunctive) software has been discussed in this article regardless of any requirement or lack.