Network Setup Tutorial

 

This Tutorial will help you step by step set up Studiometry to network between multiple computers.

1. Selecting your server computer
2. Setting up your server
3. Connecting computers to your server
4. Syncing Data between computers
5. Troubleshooting

 

Section 1. Selecting your server computer

The server machine on your Studiometry network will be used as a central database for all other machines to send and receive data with. The server can be any computer that can run Studiometry and connect to your network. A few criterion for selecting a server include:
a. Constant connection to your network is very important. You'll want your server to always be available for clients that are attempting to connect and sync data.
b. Amount of physical memory (RAM) is fairly important. Studiometry runs several processes on the server when syncing between computers, and could use a moderate amount of RAM depending on the size of your Studiometry database.
c. Operating system is fairly important. If you are running an older operating system (Mac OS 10.3, older versions of Windows) you may encounter issues after running Studiometry for long periods of time.

The ideal server would have a constant connection to your network with at least 512mb of RAM and the most recent OS available.

The server machine will run Studiometry exactly the same as other machines, and still allow users to log in and edit information. The only difference is that the server will be running more processes in the background when information is being synchronized. 

 

Section 2. Setting up your server

Once you've selected which machine will be your server, you will need to turn on the server features. While in Studiometry, go to the Preferences Window > Network options. Select "This Computer as Server" and Studiometry will automatically start and set up your server. You now have a Studiometry server running!

The "Require Password" checkbox allows you to deny connections based on user input on the client machines. If you have Multiple Employees turned on in the Employees section of the preferences window, Studiometry will require an Employee's short name and password to log in. If you are not using multiple employees, Studiometry will require the Global Password set in the General section of the Preferences window.

To allow definite access for all client machines, you should now open ports 9090 and 4465 on your firewall by doing the following:
Mac OS 10.6 or newer: Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall. Click "Advanced...". If Studiometry does not appear in the list, click the plus (+) button under the list and choose your Studiometry application file on your machine. Next, make sure Studiometry is set to "Allow incoming connections".
Mac OS 10.5 or older: Go to System Preferences > Sharing > Firewall. Click "New..." and select "Other" from Port Name. Enter the port number 4465 into TCP port and 9090 into UDP port. Enter your description and press OK.
Windows: Click Here for information on opening firewall ports on Windows

 

Section 3. Connecting computers to your server

Now that your server is activated, you can start connecting clients and syncing data. To set up a machine to connect to your server:
1. Open Studiometry and navigate to the Preferences Window > Networking section. 
2. Click the "Always Connect To Server" radio button. 
3. Either type in the server's IP address, or click the down arrow next to the address field to see a pop up list of available local servers. A server will only be displayed in the menu if it is on the same Local Area Network.
4. Click Connect Now. If this is a machine's first time connecting with a specific server, you'll have the option of performing a "Clean Sync". This will remove all data and information from the client machine, and duplicate the server machine's database directly onto the client machine.

If Studiometry remains at the "Connecting to Server" stage for more than 5 seconds, this most likely means it will not connect. Perhaps the address has been entered incorrectly, you still need to open firewall ports 9090 and 4465 on the server machine or client machine, or you are not connected to your network. To open firewall ports:
Mac OS 10.6 or newer: Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall. Click "Advanced...". If Studiometry does not appear in the list, click the plus (+) button under the list and choose your Studiometry application file on your machine. Next, make sure Studiometry is set to "Allow incoming connections".
Mac OS 10.5 or older: Go to System Preferences > Sharing > Firewall. Click "New..." and select "Other" from Port Name. Enter the port number 4465 into TCP port and 9090 into UDP port. Enter your description and press OK.
Windows: Click Here for information on opening firewall ports on Windows

If you've tried all of this and still cannot connect, see the Troubleshooting section.

 

Section 4. Syncing Data between computers

When a client machine initially connects to a server, the client will send all of its updated information to the server, and then receive any newer information from the server. If a Contact, for example, has been edited on the server and on a client machine, the one with the most recent modification date will be copied to both machines. This holds true for all data types.

When connected to the server, the syncing of information is automatic and immediate in most cases. The only time data will not be immediately sent is when editing a Project or Client text field in the main window. Studiometry delays data from being sent for 8 seconds from the last keystroke to prevent extreme lag caused by users typing into the field.

If data does not seem to be syncing correctly, first check to make sure you are connected to a server. Use Window Menu > Status Window to bring up the Studiometry status window. This will show server connection status or, if you're on a server, the list of connected client machines. If you are connected and information seems incorrect, use the Network Menu > Sync Now command. This will force Studiometry to send all data from your machine into the network to be checked by the server and broadcasted onto all machines. Using the Sync Now menu item on a server will broadcast all information to all client machines, which will be more processor intensive than the client machine's Sync Now function.