Quantcast
How can I host Quickbooks outside my network? - Beyond.ca - Car Forums
Results 1 to 17 of 17

Thread: How can I host Quickbooks outside my network?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Calgary, Alberta
    My Ride
    2015 Hyundai Veloster
    Posts
    1,958
    Rep Power
    22

    Default How can I host Quickbooks outside my network?

    Some people in the company are trying to access Quickbooks from outside the network and they refuse to use Quickbooks Online so I'm experimenting with the idea of hosting Quickbooks off site somewhere since I don't want to mess with opening ports and educating users on how to use a VPN. Here are some solutions and the problems I've come up with:

    1. Host Quickbooks on an Amazon EC2 or Lightsail server
    This is a great idea and I actually spun up a virtual machine yesterday to try it but then I realized users need to map a drive to the location of the files so they can open them on their client machines. I can't really set up mapped drives to cloud machines unless I use Cloudberry or something like that, which comes with a subscription cost.

    2. Put the files on a storage service like Amazon S3
    Great idea except I actually have to install Quickbooks on the computer to act as a host. Therefore I need an actual machine (or virtual machine) to install the application and host the files.

    3. Use an Intuit hosting partner to host it for me.
    This is $50 per user, per month. No thank you.

    I'm also aware of Remote Desktop into a remote machine but my users aren't going to go for that neither, we have 7 Quickbooks licenses here, being accessed from inside and outside the network and they're going to want to use the Quickbooks Desktop program on their machines.
    Originally posted by Go4Long
    or else what? you'll turn on the caps lock?
    you do realize this is the internet right? lol
    Originally posted by rob the knob
    mar, you are good guy at heart
    you must realize your limitations
    then you will be happy if you fine place in live
    Originally posted by blitz
    Jesus man, I know you like Transformers, but you need to get out more. No one should get this upset over a movie based on children's toys.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Calgary
    My Ride
    Axis powers
    Posts
    2,486
    Rep Power
    24

    Default

    How is option 1 different than a Remote Desktop server?

    It sounds like nobody likes any option so something will have to give, the majority of the clients I deal with have a Remote Desktop server for this.. You could try an RDS with published apps, but you're still going to be limited with your licensing requirements

    Are you in IT?
    Sig nuked by mod.

  3. #3
    Thaco's Avatar
    Thaco is offline sucks off little boys (ya, don't fuck with rage2 bitch!!!)
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Calgary
    My Ride
    Rage2
    Posts
    3,868
    Rep Power
    29

    Default

    without an encrypted connection its liekly not going to work, its gonna be VPN or RDP.... RDP is probably the easiest because then they can access the machine from any machine, and you can create a simple desktop shortcut to automatically connect (with credentials)
    User title molested by Rage2.

    Quote Originally Posted by rage2 View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    It's not the size that matters, it's the taste it leaves in your mouth.

    Quote Originally Posted by JRSC00LUDE
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    I say stupid shit all the time.
    ^^ Fact Checked


    Quote Originally Posted by Misterman View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    No logic, thought, input, etc from cult member...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Upstairs
    My Ride
    Natural Gas.
    Posts
    13,332
    Rep Power
    100

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by adam c View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Are you in IT?
    You'd think not, but yes.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    calgary
    My Ride
    CLK 55 / 2g Eclipse / EP3
    Posts
    4,422
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    I have a cheap client who is in the same situation with their 2012 QB Contractor edition. They refuse to upgrade and are site-limited to 5 licenses in multi user mode.

    Like many software providers, QB has gone to a monthly licensing process, which just makes them gobs of cash.

    The reality is that you will have to setup static IPs or DDNS for eg. Unless the business has this already from their ISP its going to cost monthly (though not very much) to maintain an external net like that.

    For multi user, without a server, VPN is probably the simplest solution but they will have to have the Windows systems also equipped to support this.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska
    My Ride
    Model S
    Posts
    2,034
    Rep Power
    26

    Default

    This is just asking to get your financial data stolen. Don't put it on the internet. Ever. VPN or nothing.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Calgary, AB
    My Ride
    2015 CLS63s AMG Coupe
    Posts
    676
    Rep Power
    16

    Default

    Just my POV (I manage multiple environments for different customers for multi-user access from remote office or branch office sites with Quickbooks)

    1) Do not use a VPN with Quickbooks - While Quickbooks has been around forever, they still use a mixture of SMB (file share), and the Quickbooks Server for datafile access. Intuit highly recommends against using VPN access because it can cause corruption of the datafile. The only time I'd ever use QB over VPN is if I had a symmetrical 100Mbps low-latency connections between both sites with no packet loss and an SLA (even then I wouldn't do it unless the customer commanded me to), and it was a Site-to-Site VPN connection.

    *I've been called in to companies that suffered datafile corruption because their existing IT provider set it up over VPN which caused the corruption. When corruption occurs, it can happen slowly over time (without anyone knowing), until that one day where someone modifies or accesses the corrupt record, in which case the datafile will start spitting out crazy errors and simply not function. I've seen cases where a datafile became corrupt 6 months prior, but continued to function, however when we got called in to replace their provider, it turns out they only could go back up to a month with their backups (these cases turned out to be very expensive repair jobs that Intuit had to complete).

    2) Typically remote environments for QB on-prem are configured either RDP (for very small environments or low budget environments), or via RDS/TS for larger environments (this is before they hit the point where they need QB enterprise). In a normal business environment you should have a TS Gateway configured for remote access, where users can RDP in to their machines (and run Quickbooks), this way the software client has direct access to the QB Server. Or in larger environments you may have a TS/RDS server.

    Site note: If you're using TS/RDS, you can just push the app using RemoteApp. This way it "appears" to be running locally on the remote computer, but is actually running over RDS. Users often have no idea (but do require internet access). This way they don't have to deal with dual desktops.


    Edit/Addition: You can do TS/RDS over VPN... You just don't want to have the native QB client accessing the datafile over a slow/lossy connection such as the internet. Main target is to have the QB clients on the same network as the QB server.
    Sig was pwned by Moderator!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Calgary, Alberta
    My Ride
    2015 Hyundai Veloster
    Posts
    1,958
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by adam c View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    How is option 1 different than a Remote Desktop server?
    A remote server would mean they log into it through a remote desktop application and work inside the virtual environment. My option 1 allows them to work in Quickbooks on their local machine and just have it map to the files on the remote machine. That's how it's currently set up except the remote machine is inside our network and I'm having issues connecting on a specific subnet, plus there's no availability outside the network.
    Quote Originally Posted by adam c View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Are you in IT?
    Software development manager. Unfortunately that also means anything even remotely computer related comes to my team.
    Originally posted by Go4Long
    or else what? you'll turn on the caps lock?
    you do realize this is the internet right? lol
    Originally posted by rob the knob
    mar, you are good guy at heart
    you must realize your limitations
    then you will be happy if you fine place in live
    Originally posted by blitz
    Jesus man, I know you like Transformers, but you need to get out more. No one should get this upset over a movie based on children's toys.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    calgary
    My Ride
    CLK 55 / 2g Eclipse / EP3
    Posts
    4,422
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Zhariak View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Just my POV (I manage multiple environments for different customers for multi-user access from remote office or branch office sites with Quickbooks)

    1) Do not use a VPN with Quickbooks - While Quickbooks has been around forever, they still use a mixture of SMB (file share), and the Quickbooks Server for datafile access. Intuit highly recommends against using VPN access because it can cause corruption of the datafile. The only time I'd ever use QB over VPN is if I had a symmetrical 100Mbps low-latency connections between both sites with no packet loss and an SLA (even then I wouldn't do it unless the customer commanded me to), and it was a Site-to-Site VPN connection.

    *I've been called in to companies that suffered datafile corruption because their existing IT provider set it up over VPN which caused the corruption. When corruption occurs, it can happen slowly over time (without anyone knowing), until that one day where someone modifies or accesses the corrupt record, in which case the datafile will start spitting out crazy errors and simply not function. I've seen cases where a datafile became corrupt 6 months prior, but continued to function, however when we got called in to replace their provider, it turns out they only could go back up to a month with their backups (these cases turned out to be very expensive repair jobs that Intuit had to complete).

    2) Typically remote environments for QB on-prem are configured either RDP (for very small environments or low budget environments), or via RDS/TS for larger environments (this is before they hit the point where they need QB enterprise). In a normal business environment you should have a TS Gateway configured for remote access, where users can RDP in to their machines (and run Quickbooks), this way the software client has direct access to the QB Server. Or in larger environments you may have a TS/RDS server.

    Site note: If you're using TS/RDS, you can just push the app using RemoteApp. This way it "appears" to be running locally on the remote computer, but is actually running over RDS. Users often have no idea (but do require internet access). This way they don't have to deal with dual desktops.


    Edit/Addition: You can do TS/RDS over VPN... You just don't want to have the native QB client accessing the datafile over a slow/lossy connection such as the internet. Main target is to have the QB clients on the same network as the QB server.
    This is how a PROPER setup would go - but dealing with cheap clients, they will baulk at these, common sense, but costly ideas with the idea "we'll deal with it if it happens" (corruption). LOL

    I had a QB DB go bad last week - just on a LAN - and their auto backups weren't even setup for QB..... and they were thinking of remote access as well.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Calgary, Alberta
    My Ride
    2015 Hyundai Veloster
    Posts
    1,958
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Zhariak View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Just my POV (I manage multiple environments for different customers for multi-user access from remote office or branch office sites with Quickbooks)

    1) Do not use a VPN with Quickbooks - While Quickbooks has been around forever, they still use a mixture of SMB (file share), and the Quickbooks Server for datafile access. Intuit highly recommends against using VPN access because it can cause corruption of the datafile. The only time I'd ever use QB over VPN is if I had a symmetrical 100Mbps low-latency connections between both sites with no packet loss and an SLA (even then I wouldn't do it unless the customer commanded me to), and it was a Site-to-Site VPN connection.

    *I've been called in to companies that suffered datafile corruption because their existing IT provider set it up over VPN which caused the corruption. When corruption occurs, it can happen slowly over time (without anyone knowing), until that one day where someone modifies or accesses the corrupt record, in which case the datafile will start spitting out crazy errors and simply not function. I've seen cases where a datafile became corrupt 6 months prior, but continued to function, however when we got called in to replace their provider, it turns out they only could go back up to a month with their backups (these cases turned out to be very expensive repair jobs that Intuit had to complete).

    2) Typically remote environments for QB on-prem are configured either RDP (for very small environments or low budget environments), or via RDS/TS for larger environments (this is before they hit the point where they need QB enterprise). In a normal business environment you should have a TS Gateway configured for remote access, where users can RDP in to their machines (and run Quickbooks), this way the software client has direct access to the QB Server. Or in larger environments you may have a TS/RDS server.

    Site note: If you're using TS/RDS, you can just push the app using RemoteApp. This way it "appears" to be running locally on the remote computer, but is actually running over RDS. Users often have no idea (but do require internet access). This way they don't have to deal with dual desktops.


    Edit/Addition: You can do TS/RDS over VPN... You just don't want to have the native QB client accessing the datafile over a slow/lossy connection such as the internet. Main target is to have the QB clients on the same network as the QB server.
    I decide how we solve this so I'm looking into terminal services and I can't figure out how it works. Is it like Remote Desktop where users have to log into a remote connection and use the virtual desktop to run the application? Or can they run it locally and it connects to a host on the network as if they were using a VPN? I hadn't heard of terminal services until now.
    Originally posted by Go4Long
    or else what? you'll turn on the caps lock?
    you do realize this is the internet right? lol
    Originally posted by rob the knob
    mar, you are good guy at heart
    you must realize your limitations
    then you will be happy if you fine place in live
    Originally posted by blitz
    Jesus man, I know you like Transformers, but you need to get out more. No one should get this upset over a movie based on children's toys.

  11. #11
    Thaco's Avatar
    Thaco is offline sucks off little boys (ya, don't fuck with rage2 bitch!!!)
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Calgary
    My Ride
    Rage2
    Posts
    3,868
    Rep Power
    29

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mar View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    I decide how we solve this so I'm looking into terminal services and I can't figure out how it works. Is it like Remote Desktop where users have to log into a remote connection and use the virtual desktop to run the application? Or can they run it locally and it connects to a host on the network as if they were using a VPN? I hadn't heard of terminal services until now.
    terminal services is basically a remote desktop server that can handle many concurrent connections.
    User title molested by Rage2.

    Quote Originally Posted by rage2 View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    It's not the size that matters, it's the taste it leaves in your mouth.

    Quote Originally Posted by JRSC00LUDE
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    I say stupid shit all the time.
    ^^ Fact Checked


    Quote Originally Posted by Misterman View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    No logic, thought, input, etc from cult member...

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Calgary, Alberta
    My Ride
    2015 Hyundai Veloster
    Posts
    1,958
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Thaco View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    terminal services is basically a remote desktop server that can handle many concurrent connections.
    Do users need to log into it via Remote Desktop and use the virtual environment?
    Originally posted by Go4Long
    or else what? you'll turn on the caps lock?
    you do realize this is the internet right? lol
    Originally posted by rob the knob
    mar, you are good guy at heart
    you must realize your limitations
    then you will be happy if you fine place in live
    Originally posted by blitz
    Jesus man, I know you like Transformers, but you need to get out more. No one should get this upset over a movie based on children's toys.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Calgary, AB
    My Ride
    2015 CLS63s AMG Coupe
    Posts
    676
    Rep Power
    16

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mar View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    I decide how we solve this so I'm looking into terminal services and I can't figure out how it works. Is it like Remote Desktop where users have to log into a remote connection and use the virtual desktop to run the application? Or can they run it locally and it connects to a host on the network as if they were using a VPN? I hadn't heard of terminal services until now.
    Terminal Services / Remote Desktop Services in the most simplest explanation is a computer running Windows Server, that allows multiple RDP sessions. So if you're used to being able to use RDP to connect to your computer, think of a computer that allows 20, 50, 100s of users to concurrently connect via RDP at the same time, have their own session/desktop, and run applications.

    Intuit technically "doesn't support this type of setup" however this is how it's usually done safely. If you deployed a TS/RDS server, your users would connect to it, and run Quickbooks.

    There is also a component called "RemoteApp", where you can push individual applications, instead of a full desktop. As mentioned in my first post, this gives the visual appearance that it's running locally (since it's only showing a window), however it is actually running on the TS/RDS server.

    Keep in mind, there is costs associated with TS/RDS. You'd need to pickup another server (or light up another VM), license Windows Server, license Windows Server CALs, license and purchase RDS CALs, and setup, manage, and maintain the server.

    (CALs are Client Access Licenses. One is required for Each user or device that accesses the Windows Server, also an RDS CAL is required for each device or user that accesses RDS).


    On your firewall, you'd configure the appropriate ports for RDS (whether it's RemoteApp or TS/RDS), and then deploy either RDP shortcuts, or deploy the RemoteApp shortcuts.
    Sig was pwned by Moderator!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    YYC
    My Ride
    1 x E Class Benz
    Posts
    23,598
    Rep Power
    101

    Default

    Terminal services brings in a host of other issues where applications that aren't TS aware having problems dealing with multiple users using the same application concurrently. Fortunately, QB Enterprise ran fine under it. TS user licenses aren't cheap either. QB Pro was flaky even though it's supposed to be the same damn code.
    Originally posted by SEANBANERJEE
    I have gone above and beyond what I should rightfully have to do to protect my good name

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Your Mom's House
    Posts
    287
    Rep Power
    17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mar View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Some people in the company are trying to access Quickbooks from outside the network and they refuse to use Quickbooks Online so I'm experimenting with the idea of hosting Quickbooks off site somewhere since I don't want to mess with opening ports and educating users on how to use a VPN. Here are some solutions and the problems I've come up with:

    1. Host Quickbooks on an Amazon EC2 or Lightsail server
    This is a great idea and I actually spun up a virtual machine yesterday to try it but then I realized users need to map a drive to the location of the files so they can open them on their client machines. I can't really set up mapped drives to cloud machines unless I use Cloudberry or something like that, which comes with a subscription cost.

    2. Put the files on a storage service like Amazon S3
    Great idea except I actually have to install Quickbooks on the computer to act as a host. Therefore I need an actual machine (or virtual machine) to install the application and host the files.

    3. Use an Intuit hosting partner to host it for me.
    This is $50 per user, per month. No thank you.

    I'm also aware of Remote Desktop into a remote machine but my users aren't going to go for that neither, we have 7 Quickbooks licenses here, being accessed from inside and outside the network and they're going to want to use the Quickbooks Desktop program on their machines.
    We refer clients like you to our competition.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Calgary, Alberta
    My Ride
    2015 Hyundai Veloster
    Posts
    1,958
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    Okay so from what I'm reading, it's a no go for running Quickbooks locally and accessing the data files through a mapped drive over VPN.
    It sounds like it is acceptable to have users log into a remote machine on the network and run Quickbooks on the remote machine, however I have a question about this. Should I put this machine on the DMZ and open it to a public IP or should I put it on the LAN and have the user access the machine through a VPN?
    Originally posted by Go4Long
    or else what? you'll turn on the caps lock?
    you do realize this is the internet right? lol
    Originally posted by rob the knob
    mar, you are good guy at heart
    you must realize your limitations
    then you will be happy if you fine place in live
    Originally posted by blitz
    Jesus man, I know you like Transformers, but you need to get out more. No one should get this upset over a movie based on children's toys.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Calgary
    My Ride
    Axis powers
    Posts
    2,486
    Rep Power
    24

    Default

    SSLVPN... done case closed
    Sig nuked by mod.

Similar Threads

  1. Quickbooks & simply accounting set up

    By imcs2010 in forum General
    Replies: 2
    Latest Threads: 02-24-2011, 08:39 PM
  2. Quickbooks alternatives?

    By AndyL in forum Computers, Consoles, and other Electronics
    Replies: 0
    Latest Threads: 10-18-2010, 08:40 PM
  3. FS: Quickbooks Pro 2009 Brand New

    By Toaster in forum Miscellaneous Buy/Sell/Trade
    Replies: 0
    Latest Threads: 03-09-2009, 09:59 PM
  4. Quickbooks

    By wylderhoads in forum Computers, Consoles, and other Electronics
    Replies: 1
    Latest Threads: 11-19-2007, 10:40 AM
  5. wtb:Quickbooks 2005

    By kohhua in forum Miscellaneous Buy/Sell/Trade
    Replies: 2
    Latest Threads: 06-30-2005, 08:25 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •