Cloud server for dummies - QuickBooks Desktop data files

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#1
Wiles  
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We are considering moving our server to the cloud. Our tech guy was using his tech words to explain to us something about needing a parallel server for our QuickBooks. I kept trying to understand why having your QuickBooks data files on a cloud server is different than having them on an onsite server. We run the QuickBooks application on our workstation desktop and access the data files that are stored on the server.

I'm a dummy, so I think all we are doing is just replacing our ethernet wires to our onsite server with internet 'tubes' to the offsite server.

Can somebody explain in non-tech words why having your QuickBooks data stored remotely makes things different?
 

#2
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This: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/z-workload-scheduler/9.3.0?topic=usage-using-parallel-servers

That said, comparing to mass market hosts for QBD and other accounting software, definitely do not commit without doing a thorough comparison of all for your needs. Intuit has their own solution and can simultaneously host a number of other applications. Sage Networks can, as can SwizzNet. Numerous options exist so explore them all, make sure they provide the storage you need, and can effectively host the number of users you need.
 

#3
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Dumberest, please.
 

#4
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How many users/workstations do you have?
 

#5
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12
 

#6
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What he's saying does not quite make sense to me. I know what parallel servers are, but I do not necessarily understand why he is suggesting it as required for QBD unless it is a matter of semantics, or he does not quite know what he is talking about. I am not sure how to put it in "dumberest" terms.

My suggestion is to reach out to the following to discuss your needs for hosting QBD, they all do it and as far as I can tell, do it well. Price points are different, but so is overall scope of hosting and what is included. These are the four I am contemplating for my own needs of hosting QBD, Lacerte, etc., though I do not not have as many users--but, they are still all scalable to meet your required number of users.

https://www.rightnetworks.com/quickbooks-hosting-plans-add-ons/

https://proconnect.intuit.com/desktop-hosting/pricing/ <--See "Hosting for Quickbooks"

https://www.thesagenext.com/pricing <--they have two options, standard and dedicated, based on needs. Same with TOTAL storage capacity required for ALL users.

https://www.swizznet.com/quickbooks-cloud-hosting/#Accountants

I will say I am leaning towards SwizzNet or Intuit, but Intuit remaining viable is pending their ability to potentially host the TaxDome Desktop Application (same with Sage Next). SwizzNet is the most expensive, but I think they offer the best service set and they cater exclusively to CPAs/accountants/tax preparers.

Right Networks is who Intuit utilizes but they have different hosting structures vs. going directly through Right Networks.
Last edited by CornerstoneCPA on 20-Sep-2021 3:05pm, edited 1 time in total.
 

#7
Wiles  
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I am not asking about hosting QBD. We will continue to run QBD on our workstations and access the data on the cloud server, the same as how we access it now on our onsite server.

Or is this no longer possible when the data file is located on a cloud server?
 

#8
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What else do you need hosted? You said migrate server to a hosted server, which can be very involved or pretty simple. Are you still running your own Exchange Server, for example, instead of utilizing MS365 for Business w/ Cloud Exchange, Intune, Azure, etc.?

You may be putting the cart before the horse. Inventory everything you currently host on your server. Figure out what can efficiently and cost effectively be transitioned to a true cloud service. THEN, consider what needs to be hosted through say, RDP connections. That is the only way you can properly analyze all of this.

QBD has never played well with having data hosted on a "cloud" server while still utilizing local installs. That is why almost every QBD host, for example, moves everything to a host server and you utilize RDP to connect and use QBD (and other applications, as needed).
Last edited by CornerstoneCPA on 20-Sep-2021 3:11pm, edited 1 time in total.
 

#9
Wiles  
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Again, I am a dummy.

We are in need of a new server. It is less expensive for us to have a cloud server at our tech guy's place than to continue using a local server and replacing every 5-7 years.

I simply thought all that means is we are just replacing our ethernet wires to our onsite server with internet 'tubes' to the offsite server.
 

#10
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My suggestion is to again fully inventory everything you are hosting on your physical, on-site server. But also, do not rely on a local IT company's servers or whoever they may outsource to--rely on services that do this routinely, have redundancy, strict security measures in place, sufficient backups, etc.

I would not trust any local IT company with this. Their worlds are very different than ours. Look at hospitals--they have their own IT staff and very rarely involve local companies. Follow their train of thought, which is security, uptime, restoration, etc.
 

#11
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CornerstoneCPA wrote:My suggestion is to again fully inventory everything you are hosting on your physical, on-site server. But also, do not rely on a local IT company's servers or whoever they may outsource to--rely on services that do this routinely, have redundancy, strict security measures in place, sufficient backups, etc.

I would not trust any local IT company with this. Their worlds are very different than ours. Look at hospitals--they have their own IT staff and very rarely involve local companies. Follow their train of thought, which is security, uptime, restoration, etc.


Not to discount anything you’ve said because I know you are much more knowledgeable than me, but there are a number of medical practices that outsource their IT department. The IT company we use is locally owned but involved with hospitals nationwide as well as some business around the country. They have extremely high security standards and are very cognizant of any downtime. If I call them and say we are totally down, I have someone on the phone in less than 10 minutes. I’m relatively good with computer issues but know nothing about servers and other complex backend IT matters, so I like having them in my corner.
 

#12
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Take a look at these options. Your post prompted me to rethink my deployment and I am now looking into moving locally installed apps/data to the so-called Cloud via this approach.

https://geekflare.com/virtual-desktop-h ... platforms/
 

#13
Wiles  
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Does moving your server to the cloud and migrating to virtual desktops go hand in hand?
 

#14
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"I am not asking about hosting QBD. We will continue to run QBD on our workstations and access the data on the cloud server, the same as how we access it now on our onsite server.

Or is this no longer possible when the data file is located on a cloud server?"

As far as I can tell, QBD will not work the way you are asking because updates to the QBD database cannot be done properly. Here is a link to a QB forum where someone tried to access their QB data through OneDrive.

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-sup ... /00/136276

In another thread someone suggested this solution: https://myquickcloud.com/ which is another hosting service with some options.
 

#15
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MyQuickCloud does work with QBD but it has its bugs (or at least it did when I used it). It was 75% reliable relative to what I now view as the already somewhat unstable state of QBD. I may have been the one that suggested it in the first place.

And moving server to cloud and virtual desktops can go hand-in-hand or it can be separate. It depends on who you use and the structure they utilize for providing their services. Some provide a full desktop via RDP, others are more like "open one application and it appears as if it is running on your local machine, except it is not." The latter can be problematic if you need to run multiple apps simultaneously, especially if multi-monitor support does not exist.

I will be looking into all of this A LOT more after 10/15 but more so after 11/15.
 

#16
Wiles  
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Thanks for the link. So, in summary, you cannot open QBD data files on a cloud server the same way as a local server because of blah blah blah Intuit technical reasons blah blah blah.
 

#17
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Wiles wrote:Thanks for the link. So, in summary, you cannot open QBD data files on a cloud server the same way as a local server because of blah blah blah Intuit technical reasons blah blah blah.


It can be done, but it can present stability issues. The best option is to move the data AND application to a cloud server so the data and application open in the same environment, and then have users connect to what is effectively a virtual desktop.

The real issue is QBD has never played well with terminal services or remote data servers (in conjunction with local QBD installs on each workstation). OneDrive was mentioned--a reason QBD data should not be stored on OneDrive, Google Drive, etc., is that the way QBD saves data, those services do not necessarily keep sync and it can result in chronic corruption of QBD data files.

Moving everything to a virtual server is the ultimate answer in my mind. Or, you can have it all hosted by various hosting providers (generally different companies than those that provide virtual servers/desktops), and they may not allow you to host all applications and services currently residing on your local server. That is then where virtual servers come into play, whether shared or dedicated, because they will let you install just about anything you already have on your existing server.
 

#18
Wiles  
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Good info. Thanks
 

#19
Wiles  
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Back to this discussion again.

Our clients use multiple versions of QB. They send us their QB file. We save their file on our local server. We run whatever version of QBD they are using on our workstation to access their data stored on our local server.

We want to get rid of our local server and move to the cloud. As previously discussed, that is impossible. The QBD application needs to run on the cloud server also. No more QBD loaded on workstations.

Our tech person is telling us this "Parallels will require a 2nd server for remote access but only supports one QB program as we had issues with multiple versions."

Is that true? Are we going to need a separate parallel server for each version of QBD?

I am so lost as to why there is no technology that allows us to simply have an offsite file sharing server like we have a local server.
 


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