The 'server' is the computer that runs the MySQL server program and stores the files. It is usually the same computer as the office server but does not have to be. See the section on networks for information on different types of networks.
The server can have an Intel or Macintosh processor, and can be running Windows Server 2000, Server 2003, Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000, MacOS-X(not tested), or Linux(not tested by us, but working for other users). You can not use Windows98 or WindowsMe as the server. WinXP-Home is acceptable, be be aware that it will only work for up to 5 computers.
The server needs to be able to host the MySQL server and the image files, but does not need to be able to run Pract-Eze Dental itself. The workstations must be running Windows for now, although we are hoping to make Pract-Eze Dental available on Mac and Linux as soon as possible. The monitors used must be at least a 17" standard or a 15" flat panel. That means a resolution of 1024 x 768. Pract-Eze Dental will not run on a standard 15" monitor with a resolution of 800 x 600. Pract-Eze Dental is optimized for higher resolution because smaller screens are so inefficient and outdated. A 17" monitor costs less than $150, and the resulting increase in performance is tremendous. Flat LCDs are very reasonable right now and are strongly recommended if considering a monitor purchase.
Pract-Eze Dental uses approximately 50 MB of memory. If you run more programs than you have memory, then your system will run very slow because it is transferring memory back and forth to the hard drive which takes forever. 256 MB of memory is recommended, although you can get by with 128 MB.
The speed of the computer, the memory, the video capability, and the hard drive capacity all affect the performance of the program. An older computer slower than 250 to 300MHz will probably not be able to run Windows. Also a computer that old will probably be deficient in memory, video, and hard drive. Memory for older computers is significantly more expensive, and it is usually more cost effective to buy a new $500 computer than to put a few hundred dollars into an older computer to upgrade it.