To install QuickBooks on SBS or local user??? 1

[wahnula]

Hello,

Thanks to Intuit's brilliant marketing department, our QuickBooks Premier Contractor's Edition 2004 will no longer work for payroll after May 1st. Good job guys.

Originally our old server (NT4.0, PPro 200x2. 10GB SCSI drive, 10Mbps network) ran the server version of QB and we had multi-users (well two really) that then dwindled to one. After complaints about data access speed issues, I relocated QB to the bookkeeper's local machine and updated the PC. It's a P4 2.4 running Win2K SP4, I recently put in a new ATA 100 IDE HDD, wired gigabit LAN and increased the RAM to 1GB. It's a peppy machine for its purposes. We back up the QB data to the server both manually on occasion plus automatically every night (can anyone recognize anal retentive disorder?).

Upon reviewing my options for QB 2007 install one of the options is to place the database on the SBS2003SP2 Premium server and point the bookkeeper's machine to the company file. SBS will not run the app, just host the DB. The server has 3 Raptors in RAID 5 for data and is powered by (2) 1.6GHz Opterons + gigabit LAN.

We might be going to multi-user in the future as part of our inventory/POS overhaul, but for now it's just one machine that needs QB. I personally like the idea of the QB DB residing on the server but worry about the speed issues, the user is a real whiner and if the speed is going to take a major hit I will have to relocate the file to the local machine, not the end of the world but I would like to get it right the first time.

Can anyone give me an idea of the speed difference between local ATA 100 IDE and network LAN transfer from 10K Raptor RAID5 over GBe? Right now I am leaning towards simply upgrading the local machine's QB and leaving the DB on it also. As always all input is welcomed.

Tony

 

[Beowulf005]

Ultimatly you can host the database on any one of your computers on the network use. The idea is to have the fastest computer host the database file. In QB 2007 they have moved the database to a SQL system. Now with SBS2003 allready running SQL for sharepoint it should repond much faster then the old database system.

HTH

When frustrated remember, in the computer world there is almost always a backdoor.

 

[wahnula]

In QB 2007 they have moved the database to a SQL system

Yes I had heard that and it makes perfect sense that my SBS, running Sharepoint as an SQL instance, should be a faster DB. I will give it a try. Worst case I move it to the local machine. Thanks Beowulf005

Tony

 

[wahnula]

UPDATE: I called Intuit and was told that QuickBooks 2007 single-user does NOT use a SQL database, it is a traditional DB. When multi-user is purchased I will then get the server SQL database option, or so they said. He recommended an install to the local machine and a change to the server SQL DB we get when we go multi-user. Does this sound Kosher? Or was he just trying to get me off the phone?

I must add that the support was US-based and only a 10-minute hold time, that part was good.

Tony