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iPhone 8 and Google Pixel Phone Support Adventures

February 12, 2018, 6:10 pm
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Owning a Google Pixel (or any Android) can be a blessing or a straight up curse for individuals coming from the iPhone lifestyle and use to things just working.  We will help you navigate through this mess to feel a bit more comfortable going with one phone or another.  I have no favorites here just favorite features of each phone.  Let’s start out with the highlights and low-lights before we get crazy with the details.

Yay Pixel!

The AI – Artificial Intelligence for “ok Google” vs “Siri” is hands down, way better for Google.  Basic queries are a nightmare with Siri.  You will end up hitting another car or worst, a pedestrian if you ever try to perform voice to text conversations, query someone’s name to call, or ask Siri to instruct you to drive to a specific restaurant you had in mind or some place of business while driving.  Siri straight up cannot take your Spotify playlist requests or random Google queries.  Siri is as functional as a party goer the day after Fat Tuesday in NOLA.  OK Google is everything you expect out of a modern personal assistant listening device.

ProTip! Add a shortcut to this page on your Android or Google Pixel to quickly scroll down and grab my favorite default apps.

Why get a Pixel?

  • The camera! Evenings pictures are amazing!
  • AI – “Ok Google” is five years ahead of “Siri”
  • Talking to your phone is actually fun!
  • Charging is extremely fast and the battery is efficient***Disclaimer:  This statement is thrown out the window for any phone if you are on a bogged down network and you are trying to upload a ton of Snaps all day or you are in a foreign town with Google Maps on all day.

Things that have been Fixed over the past year…

  • Emojis!  They are very clean looking now.  Similar to iPhone.
  • The App slow downs…  So aggravating but for the most part, they are gone.
  • App Updates and Fixes…  A lot less bugs that would create moments of rage such as the Bluetooth not working for several weeks until a new update wash pushed

Things that still continue to annoy me to this day…

  • App crashes.  They still happen with a fair amount of frequency.  This never happens with a decent iPhone.
  • Photo Albums are cut off and or photos are missing from Google Photo
  • Auto Correct sucks!!
  • Typing is more difficult
  • USB C charging.  Be prepared!  There are not that many friends or businesses with USB C chargers considering Google sells Pixels in a year is equivalent to what Apple sells in iPhones in a day.

Why get an iPhone 8?

  • The transition to an Android can drive people crazy. It’s lighter and cheaper than iPhone X.
  • Texting is a breeze. People won’t judge you on your green texts.
  • File Management is not confusing.
  • Backup is very intuitive until you have exceeded your space. Look into the Synology NAS for space alternatives.  Especially for pictures of your children
  • It just works.  It took six to nine for me to form an emotional bond with my Pixel and even still I want to disown it for the reasons mentioned above.

 

Phone Apps – iPhone

There are things you must have on the iPhone that I know are better now coming from a Pixel background.  Download the “Google” app for iPhone to help alleviate the issues voice interactions on your phone but there’s definite issues on Google app for iPhone too…  It’s just not as bad as Siri.  Also, download the “TV Cast” app so you easily utilize Chromecast from your iPhone.

Evening Pics

The evening photography is absolutely amazing for Google Pixel vs iPhone.

RSS – The Deal Breaker

The Google Pixel keyboard in particular is really bad for my wrist.  This particular keyboard exasperates my RSS symptoms.   I was able to keep it at bay for like 9 months until I started talking or texting some lovely girl I met who unfortunately lives on the east coast.  Then I found myself texting way too much and the pain of RSS would not go away until a month later after getting an iPhone 8.  RSS is no joke, it causes all sorts of nerve pain up and down your body not to mention wrist issues.  So, was it the fact the phone is slightly largely or just that typing and the touch sensitivity is a wee bit off from what I am use to with the iPhone?  I am not sure but I feel like texting on the iPhone is a breeze but slightly more difficult with all the clutter they now jam into the keyboard interface; especially in horizontal mode.  Needless to say, we stopped talking.

 

Prepping for Android – Google Pixel

Go to http://contacts.google.com and purge all unnecessary contacts and turn off create contact automatically feature in Gmail.   Do this and you will avoid a mountain of clutter in your phone’s address book or contacts.   Basically, you have accrued random emails that automatically generate Google Contacts in your Gmail since the inception of your Gmail account.

 

Android Adventures

Straight out of the box, Pixel greets with an option to copy your data from an iPhone or fresh new start.  My iPhone contacts became an unmanageable nightmare and I opted to start from fresh.  I get very OCD during these new setup because I want to fully understand the ramifications of my decisions.  Anyway, I was very glad I did this because your phone becomes much more easy to work with after some house keeping of contacts.

 

Add your Google Account

I did want to include every Gmail account to my phone because that adds more clutter as in contacts.  I defaulted to my business account or G Suite account as my primary and only account on the phone.

ProTip!  – The Android OS will add the additional Google account whether using Google Chrome, Gmail, Maps, or any Google app for that matter.  Use Firefox or some other browser to avoid adding more Google accounts if these issues of excessive accounts and all the clutter that comes with it annoys you.  ie You will have two contacts in the phone “contacts” if you add both gmail accounts to a Google application.

Phone Backup

I am not a fan of mixing personal and professional.  I don’t believe there’s an option to turn off backup of the photos in Google Drive Backp.  It’s all being backed up or nothing unlike iPhone Cloud Backup.  Recently, I stumbled upon Acronis True Image:  Mobile.   Apparently, it advertises the same features of Icloud backup but to your Synology NAS.

 

Notifications – Distractions

Pop up notifications are all or nothing.  Like the iPhone, I turn the majority of the notifications off.  The great thing is you don’t know how the number of missed messages per app…  Like 7 unread texts.  You may seem disappointed by this feature at first but being free of distractions to gain some deep thinking time is essential for growth for you as a person.  You miss a message?  So be it.  I’m sure the world won’t end and you can always scroll down later

 

Google Voice

I use Google Voice to mask my cell number with a Google Voice number for business calls.  Installing the app can cause a lot of problems if you are not careful.  It’s especially problematic when using Google Fi as your service provider.  Google Fi hijacked my business number and would not give it back unless you switched carriers.  I was so annoyed I ended up switching back and staying with Tmobile.  Plus, Google Fi uses some pretty terrible networks like Sprint.

File Manager – Photo Albums

The damn Pixel phone does not have a very visible file manager.  And it’s a pain in the but when you try to access something like your saved SnapChat story.  It appears to be a bug that Google won’t fix.  The latest claim is the Google Photo Album does not support saved Snaps even though it worked twice before after a wipe of the phone.  Anyway, I highly recommend downloading a file manager to get more comfortable with where and where not to store your data.  Here’s a view of the file manager before a ton of crap is downloaded to it.

File Manger – SD Card

I’ll list some of the important partitions:

  • /system – 2.3 GiB (ext4 filesystem): This is the “ROM” of the device. It basically contains the Android OS and is the bulk of what’s updated when you get software updates. It is mounted as read-only and can only be officially written to by an update that is cryptographically signed by Motorola (unless you “unlock” your bootloader).
  • /cache – 256 MiB (ext4 filesystem): This, as the name implies, is a partition used to store temporary files. Note that this is different from cache files stored by apps, however. When you look in your storage break down in the settings screen of Android, the cache used by applications is not this partition. That lives in the /data partition. /cache is not even readable by applications. I suspect it’s used by the system for its own purposes. Would appreciate any explanations you guys can offer for this one.
  • /data – 11.9 GiB (Flash Friendly filesystem): The is the userdata partition. It’s what the user can mainly manipulate. It contains your user-installed apps (and the updates to the system apps) and almost all your app data. I’ll get to that almost part in a bit. Data that an app stores inside your /data is guaranteed by the OS to remain private, in the sense that no other app or the user can access it on an unmodified device (disregarding the ADB backup/restore feature for apps and data). See appendix I regarding all the stuff inside /data. The part important for this guide is that there is just one folder – /data/media/0 – that is exposed to the user and apps as the “usb storage” or “internal storage” or “internal sd card”. It’s the root of the folders we’ve come to know and love like DCIM, Music, Downloads, etc… Files stored by the system under /data that are not under /data/media are not visible to users. You can only reclaim that space by a factory reset. I’m still looking at what kinds of logs might be stored under /data and how quickly they grow, consuming precious internal storage.

ProTip!

Without root access, Android users only have access to the data partition and that’s what you’ll be looking at when connecting your phone up to your PC or browsing via a file manager. Your microSD card, if applicable, will also appear mounted under this user accessible data partition, which you can also access via PC or a file app.

 

The Data Folder – /storage/emulated/0

 

Even if you don’t have many apps installed, by default this user data partition “/storage/emulated/0” will contain a number of folders used for storing your contacts, picture, music, etc. Here’s a breakdown of the most common folders that you’ll find here, which don’t belong to a third party app.

  • Android – This is the default location used for app cache and saved data. Not recommended to delete unless you don’t mind losing your app data; doing so might cause some apps to malfunction.
  • Alarms, Ringtones, Notifications – This folder stores custom audio files for alarms, ringtones, and notifications that can be used by some default and third party apps.
  • Cardboard – This is another self-explanatory folder, which contains data for some virtual reality apps, but will otherwise be empty.
  • DCIM – Pictures taken by your main camera app are saved in here. You’ll find this folder created on your microSD card if you opt to save pictures there, too.
  • Downloads – Anything that you download from a web browser, such as Chrome or Firefox, will appear here.
  • Pictures, Music, Movies, Video – These are all default folders used by various apps for your media needs. Some apps will allow you to specify other locations, but most media players will search these directories by default. Screenshots are often saved in the pictures folder.
  • Podcasts – This folder is used by some apps to separate postcast files from the rest of your music. Will be empty if you don’t use a podcast app.

 

Data or Cloud Syncing

The following apps behave pretty similarly on each phone except for Synology DS Cloud.

  • Microsoft One Drive
    • Comes with Office 365! It’s pretty nice but they will shake you down for money at some point if you don’t have O365
  • DropBox
    • A must have cloud data app to work with everyone who is on it. It costs money after 2 gigs.
  • Box
    • Geared for businesses. It again costs money after 2 gigs.
  • Synology DS Cloud
    • Hybrid Cloud Solution. Gear towards business who don’t want to spend $5 or $10 x amount of users and can hopefully manage their own environment; and want the flexibility of doing so much more with this NAS you purchase.  Stay away from this.  Synology becomes much more appealing if you buy into their whole eco system of services.

Ear Buds – In Line Controls

Don’t waste your money on Amazon.  Go Straight to the source of quality ear buds   for avoiding in-line controls issues and terrible audio.   Most Amazon items do not have the correct features for you to skip tracks and turn up volume for Android devices.  And the iphone ear buds will destroy your hearing.  Anyway, Google Urban Ears or use the link above for a quality pair of ear buds.

Phone Providers

I am a huge fan of TMobile but I understand it is not for everyone.  Sprint is the worst.  Verizon is the most expensive.  ATT is a terrible corporation.  Google Fi needs work but I like where their head is at.

The Google Pixel Apps

The apps crash frequently compared to iphone 8 but here’s my list of apps I use.

ProTip! Make sure you don’t pay for any apps through your phone provider.  Try to get the subscription through the app developer’s site.  Otherwise, the app will be problematic if you switch from one OS to the other.  Also, figure out the best way to sort apps.  Activities, Business, News, Travel, Bank, Jive and Jams, Utils, and Social.

 

iPhone 8, Android, RSS, and Google Pixel Phone Support Adventures Summary

I yelled at the Google Pixel for like the first six months but now having the iPhone I miss the luxuries of OK Google and picture taking.  I ended up using both because I really enjoy taking pictures.  I tote a little SIM card popper on my key chain and swap the sim card out after I disable iMessage on the Iphone.  It’s not the most ideal situation especially since I miss some iMessages along the way but it seems to work for me.

 

 

The post iPhone 8 and Google Pixel Phone Support Adventures appeared first on Network Antics.

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File Sharing Services

February 23, 2018, 5:59 pm
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File sharing services have exploded in popularity for cloud usage since DropBox came around.  The struggles of communicating via email in a 5 meg or 10 meg world are real.  CAD files, Adobe files, and a lot of digital media place a real constraint on what you can share.  FTP just wasn’t cutting it.  Subscription services alleviate these issues but this solution quickly adds in the cost per user over infinite years of having the service.  The best subscription services are as follows:

File Server Sharing with a Local Server

Host Your Own Cloud File Sharing – Synology CloudStation

Pay a little more up front and hooked in the Synology eco system offering a large suite of IT offerings to solve daily issues for your organization.

Login to the DSM:

You can use http://find.synology.com on the LAN to discover the Synology DiskStation Manager if you don’t know the credentials.

Active Directory Login:

User Name: administrator@ad.domain_name.com

Workgroup Login:

User Name:  AdminLoginUserName\password

ProTip!

Please do not use the admin login unless absolutely necessary.  Admin logins always create the opportunity for disaster.  Limited or standard access does not have the destructive capability as the admin login does.

File Sharing Services

Shared Links

Copy the “shared link” into an email to share with the client or hyperlink some keywords to make the email more clean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

File Sharing Services

Website Login to Share Files is Messy – Windows or Mac Alternative

Setup Synology CloudStation then.  You will need it configured on the DSM and on the Windows or Mac client.  Once configured, you can simply open Windows File Explore, select CloudStation folder, the same folder/file, and right click to share.

 

 

 

File Sharing Services

Issues with this Setup

You or your organization is the host of this setup.  This requires some firewall hole poking to work.  This also means you will need a certificate from like GoDaddy to avoid scary messages like what is displayed below or simply tell your client to skip the message and proceed to the Synology DiskStation Manager login page.

 

 

 

File Sharing Services

 

Click “more information” and go to the web page.  This page is for Internet Explore.  Firefox, Edge, and Chrome all have their own versions of scary messages.

 

 

 

File Sharing Support Summary

FTP was the original gangster but file sharing has become a lot more robust and simplified since then.

The post File Sharing Services appeared first on Network Antics.

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Modern Day FTP Setup

March 19, 2018, 7:21 pm
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Not too long ago, the only way to submit large files was through FTP.  Now there are all sorts of options.  Some free, some not so free.  Today we will introduce you to the Synology DiskStation Manager interface.  The DSM can be used for all sorts of IT related services.   In this exercise, we make it a friendly way for your clients or customers to upload and interact with your internal network at the office.  First items to check off before proceeding.

Fun Extras

Creating Users and Providing File and Folder Permissions

In our example, we have a slew of shared folders.  We created a “test” share and under the “test” share would be client share folder called “Acme”.  We do not want “Acme” to see the “test” share and vice versa.  This requires you to “Hide sub-folder and files from users without permissions” and utilize the permission editor to define specific read and write settings beyond that.

Share Folder Settings

If you already have the permissions set the way that you want them to be, then there is a setting you can enable to hide sub-folders and files from users without permissions in Control Panel > Shared Folder > Edit selected share.

FTP Setup

If the issue is that you are unsure where to properly configure the permissions, then you can do that in Control Panel > Shared Folder > Edit selected shared > Permissions > select the Custom field to bring up the Permissions Editor. In the Apply to field you will see that it is defaulted to All if you uncheck everything but This folder then the permissions you set for the Shared folder will only apply to the root Shared Folder. This means that the sub-folder you create inside will no longer inherent the permissions of the root Shared Folder. You can then go to each sub-folder and give customize their permissions individually.

FTP Setup

 

 

Modern Day FTP Setup Summary

Clients already have a lot on their plate.  Confusing them with convoluted FTP setups or another software to download will further increase the complexities of their lives.   Hopefully, this little Synology solution will help decrease the stress and increase production for everyone involved.

The post Modern Day FTP Setup appeared first on Network Antics.

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Dell PC Reviews for Business

April 9, 2018, 2:26 pm
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Choosing standard business PC hardware comes down to a couple options these days if you are not performing AutoCAD or some robust graphics design work.  We have broken these items down so you don’t have to.  Our laptop research is posted here.Dell PC

The basic PC and Monitor –

Dell OptiPlex 5050

  • Micro – 1 x Core i5 7500T / 2.7 GHz
  • RAM 8 GB – HDD 500 GB
  • GigE
  • WLAN: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
  • Bluetooth 4.2
  • Win 10 Pro 64-bit
  • HD Graphics 630
    • ProTip!  Make sure your monitor is compatible with the computer.  Does it have a VGA port?  HDMI? DVI?  Display Port?

Dell E2417H LED monitor

  • 23.8″ (23.8″ viewable)
  • 1920 x 1080 Full HD (1080p)
  • VGA
  • DisplayPort
  • black

Summary

The two line items above are the base packages quoted out to me from a third party vendor.   Be careful of purchasing a Micro unit vs Small Form Factor vs a Tower.  A 24” monitor is the very least size I would purchase.  30” is ideal.  Hard Disk Drives AKA HDD are slower, cheaper, and contain larger storage capacities than SSD drives for a desktop but they are terrible for a laptop.   It most situations, I would sacrifice disk space for speed and spend the extra $50 on a SSD desktop.  We did our own competitive pricing below and found some more ideal products for sale.  Regular towers are better suited for dusty industries, include even retail because the lint can easily burn out the fans.

ProTip!  All PCs should come with a three-year warranty by default.  You shouldn’t have to pay more.

 

ASUS VE278Q 27′ Full HD 1920×1080 2ms Displ… by Asus for $178.39 

LG 32MP58HQ-P 32-Inch IPS Monitor with Scre… by LG for $206.99

Dell PC Reviews

The All in One PC and Monitor –

 

 

Dell OptiPlex 7450 All-in-one

  • 1 x Core i5 7500 / 3.4 GHz
  • RAM 8 GB
  • SSD 256 GB
  • DVD-Writer
  • HD Graphics 630
  • GigE
  • WLAN: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
  • Bluetooth 4.2
  • Win 10 Pro 64-bit
  • Built-in monitor: LED 23″ 1920 x 1080 (Full HD)

$1220 new

Summary

This integrated all in one hardware is great for mounting on the wall at medical practices or simply placing at the front desk.  The size in these specs are ideal for the monitor and the SSD hard drive.

 

Dell Precision – Better Computer Performance and Redundancy

Precisions can be found usually in CAD and graphics design environments.  In this particular situation, the user expressed interest in a server that is also a workstation for hosting and using Quickbooks.

 

Dell Precision 3620 – $2600

  • Tower – Xeon E3-1240 v6 (Quad Core 3.7GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo, 8 meg)
  • RAM 32 GB – SSD 512 GB x2
    • Do you need solid state drives?  Do you need redundancy?
  • Integrated NIC
  • Win 10 Pro 64-bit
  • Nvidia Quadro P2000, 5GB, 4 Display Ports
    • ProTip!  Make sure your monitor is compatible with the computer.  Does it have a VGA port?  HDMI? DVI?  Display Port?
  • Integrated SATA Controller

Dell Precision 3420 – $1300

 

Replacing or Adding Cards on the Motherboard

Make sure you get a compatible card when you order something like a video card or RAID card.  Grab the manual of the Precision tower or whatever model you are working on to confirm the specs.

ProTip!  Triple check with the sales rep the system components being shipped are indeed what is referenced in the manual you are looking at.

Dell PC Reviews for Business

Dell PC Reviews for Business Summary

There are plenty of options out there.  We hoped to narrow down the confusion just a bit for you to make an informed decision.

The post Dell PC Reviews for Business appeared first on Network Antics.

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PBX Phone System Migration Tips

April 11, 2018, 5:48 pm
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PBX phone systems can be a nightmare if you don’t having a proper guiding light.  Migrating from a legacy PBX phone system to a managed service provider like Megapath, Telepacific, or Airespring can be a headache if the right questions aren’t asked up front.  The most important question is are these providers a good fit for your organization.  These carriers offer a holistic solution that is not married to one behind the scenes service provide like ATT, Comcast, Time Warner, and ATT.  They can white label themselves but the reality is one of these large telecom or cable provider carriers are behind the scenes.  This can be great if you are a large organize with many satellite offices or retail locations.  This can reduce the billing nightmare significantly because all services are provided under one umbrella.

Voice and Data Combo

The other aspect these carriers sell you on is their support leverage they have when you choose to use to have voice and data under one suite of services.  This is a huge sticking point for organizations that have had issues in the past where their data carrier is fighting with the voice carrier over who fault is it for having terrible voice or VoIP connection.

Dreams Meet Reality

Finger pointing over whether the problem lies with VoIP services provide and your ISP becomes less and less with the internet infrastructure in many metropolitan areas being upgraded to fiber.  The fiber is now closer than to the premise or building you work at.  It is more likely to do with noise or chatter being broadcasted on your own LAN than any voice or data provider’s fault.  Also, these combo package carriers charge large premiums and an extremely legal tight 3 year minimum contracts for not so great customer service.

“I’m already stuck in one of these long-term agreements”

Make sure they don’t auto renew your services because they will.  Send a letter to prevent auto renewal of your old internet and PBX phone system services. Contact the billing department to get exact words to cancel or prevent services from auto renewing.  You can also try out one of these cheaper “pipes” internet data options while in the contract to run a parallel (most likely) faster service.  Then utilize the terrible ISP service or pipe as a redundant backup line.

“I’m confused on PBX vs VoIP…  Do I have a PBX with VoIP?”

“Private Branch Exchange or PBX is mentioned a lot when discussing traditional PBX systems.  The traditional PBX illustrated in our featured image up top.  Brown runs on PBX phone wiring.  Green is on the Ethernet network that computers and printers connect to.  Skype on your PC or Mac runs on VoIP.  The green also illustrates VoIP phones.  You will need a quality data or internet connection or pipe to run VoIP services.PBX phone system

Traditional PBX 

Makes connections among the internal telephones of a private organization and also makes a connection  to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) via trunk lines, typically a T1 line.

ProTip! Most current PBX phone systems support VoIP PBX, also known as an IP-PBX.

 

 

 

 

What to do for new or replacement internet service and phones?

Option 1

Go with one of the Managed Service Providers mentioned above.  You want to avoid the finger pointing between providers? Go with those providers mentioned above.  Here are some proactive tips for this solution.

  • Signing the agreement. Try to avoid long term contracts.  3 years is an eternity
  • Figure out the SLA. You want zero down time with those expensive packages
  • Know what speeds you are getting and what medium you are getting it on. Seriously, read the agreement again and again.  You want the speeds the ISP advertises.  Find out if they can deliver less and still be within the terms of the agreement.  What is less?
    • This is huge. Some people just want the bare minimum speed 20 megs and 2 megs upload or maybe worse, this is the only service available.  This more than likely means they will bring you an Asymetric circuit called DSL or fancy name for the same thing called Copper over Ethernet.
      • ProTip! Don’t do this package unless they bring a person to do a site assessment, figure out how far away you away from the MPOE, and whether you have to run a new drop from your first floor MPOE to whatever level you are on. Read more here.  YOU DON’T WANT SPEEDS ANY LESS THAN 20/2.  THAT MUST BE GUARANTEED.
    • The PBX Phone System itself is no longer hosted locally. It comes as a subscription service in the cloud.
      • Do you have sufficient network drops to facilitate the type of voice services you are now receiving?

 

“I got the Speeds.  Where are the PBX Phone System Migration Tips?”

Figure out who the players are before going in to the project.  They should be separated into at least three separate tickets or email threads to maintain your insanity.  Also, the timelines should be spaced out appropriately.

  • Data (internet) Connection and Network Devices Equipment
    • Hopefully, you have most of this resolved already with a fabulous internet connection. However, there’s a Cisco Managed Switch that you either pay for or lease from a VoIP services company.  Hopefully, you own the phones out right.   10 VoIP phones are $1000, give or take a couple hundred dollars.  Will they setup these phones and add drops where necessary?  DO NOT PORT NUMBERS UNLESS YOU ARE CONFIDENT IN YOUR INTERNET SPEEDS, LATENCY, AND RELIABILTY.   Read VOIP Support Services and scroll down to Jive View for testing these variables for their network.
  • Training
    • You get this new phone system. Who’s going to train you?  Is there an appropriate timeline of establishing a data or internet connection first before having the training?
  • Phone System Work Flow
    • This is very important to work with a customer friendly individual to figure out the phone main greeting or call script, how the calls rotate, what extensions do they ring out to for each department, etc.

 

Option 2

Go with phone VoIP system and data (internet) carrier you can count on.  I can only speak for California on this topic.  ATT is the dominant carrier in our neighborhood but their infrastructure is lagging behind to the cable companies.
Test and Monitor your VoIP connection once you are pretty confident on your internet connection to support your voice.  Read more about the testing here.  Search for Jive View.  Anyway, deploy the VoIP Phone system after extensive network LAN testing.

Option 3

Here’s a quote for retaining but upgrading the PBX.   It’s not a VoIP subscription service.  The PBX is locally hosted in house.  TWC – Spectrum will be replacement option to legacy bonded T1 from someone like Telepacific.  They will hand off to the PBX on-site.  The problem with is it’s a lot up front ($6400) for installation.  It will be cheaper long term.  The illustration below displays all these service options.  Here’s the monthly gist for a bare bones solution…

TWC Spectrum,100 x 10 (1 Year) $80
TWC PBX Handoff
PRI 12 call paths is the minimum 15
SIP IP PBX – 8 Call Paths Minimum 0
PRI 5000 Minutes 15
Guess on taxes
Total Tax and Regulated Surcharges 28.5
Total Regulatory Recovery Surcharge (9% of total MSRP) 49.52

 

PBX Phone System Migration Tips Summary

There are plenty of bumps along the road towards navigating to a new PBX phone system.  We hopefully made it less bumpy.

 

 

The post PBX Phone System Migration Tips appeared first on Network Antics.

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A guide to SAN and Network Attached Storage (NAS)

April 22, 2018, 5:43 pm
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SAN and Network Attached Storage (NAS) hardware sounds incredibly sophisticated and busy with acronyms but we will help break down network storage concepts into bite size chunks.  We will start with the basics, everyone knows but probably doesn’t know the acronym.

DAS

Everyone uses the DAS.  DAS is Direct Attached Storage or better known as an external hard drive or thumb drive.  Below are the most common types DAS used in a modern work place environment.  People them like because they add storage to your computer and they are fast but fail as a reliable backup disaster/recovery device.

  • USB 3.0
  • Thunderbolt

Speed Chart:

 

NAS – Backup

A 1 GbE connection I the NIC connection speed from your computer to a network storage device or NAS.  This may not be the best decision if you are not collaborating with other individuals on your video editing.  The NAS still may be a good option for backing up locally and then find another cloud-based solution for backing up off-site.  It’s a definite bottleneck for a 1 Gbps connection (NAS) when there are USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt are five to ten times faster.

NAS hardware like Synology plugs in to a LAN (your house or business network) and follows standard protocols (like HTTP, TCP/IP, NFS, etc.) that works over regular Ethernet.

To recap, you’ll need a NAS if you:

  • Need only some of your computers to share the same data.
  • Need to move that box around for some reason.
  • Can live with 1 GbE speeds and weird file systems.
  • Can afford a 10 GbE NAS if you need Thunderbolt-like speed.
  • Backup that is not easily accessible and not subscription based.

 

NAS Hardware Starter Kit

 

ProTip!  It may be best to use a DAS until it gets to impractical.  The backup to the cloud is still essential.  You can connect the DAS to you workstation or laptop.  Then disconnect the DAS and connect it to the NAS USB port for copy and later backup.  It also could be used for distribution of files over the LAN and WAN later too.

 

‘SAN

SAN is definitely not used in small environments unless it’s an editing studio of like five users or more.    A SAN is expected to stay put in a facility, and many computers access them at once, speed is of the essence.  For this reason, you’ll find many SANs using Fiber Channel over protocols like SCSI, etc.

SAN is built for speed and reliability.  To make the SAN behave like your hard drive, you’ll have to eliminate the middle man, the Operating System – File System.  A SAN allows you access the files of a hard drive directly. The technical word for this is: having block-level access – the ability to read files directly in blocks (many at a time) to get the fastest data transfer possible.

Note: The file system isn’t eliminated, of course. You always need a file system.

A project will require multiple computers working or collaborating to get editing, color grading, effects, audio, a few render nodes, etc to get the project the done.  A SAN makes sense with so much data moving around but the price will deter many for smaller shops.

A SAN will:

  • Help you scale.
  • Get you critical support and updates as and when required.
  • Give you speed per node, with a reliable infrastructure to back that 24/7.
  • Keep things compact and neat.
  • Help you work without needing servers. You can use your computers to directly interface with the SAN.
  • Churn out work as fast as you can using a DAS on one computer.
  • Take away the pain of troubleshooting.

 

Questions for Current or Existing Setups:

  • What connection is used: Fiber Channel, Ethernet, etc.
  • How would you get that on your computer?
  • How much data do you handle?
  • How many people work with the same data?
  • How many computers will be used simultaneously?
  • Do all the computers have the same connections as your SAN or NAS?
  • Do you use Macs, PCs or both?
  • How much money and time do you have?
  • How much space do you have?
  • If it fails, how much downtime can you suffer?
  • What’s your backup strategy?

 

Typical Scenario:

Acme Editing Studios has 40 TB on the NAS.   They need a newer NAS, a better NAS, it just works, and is quick.

  • Scoping out 60 to 120 TB NAS
  • Need Backup Solution
  • Currently have:
    • A couple DAS
    • 2 bay Synology NAS
  • File Consumption:
    • 1 TB per month
  • Largest File Upload
    • 600 GB
    • Avg file upload more 300 GB a month
  • Concerns:
    • Protect against hacking
    • High Transfer speed
    • File Collaborating over the internet

We first viewed some options using the Synology configurator and built out a spreadsheet to weigh our NAS options.  We tried to do an Apples to Apples comparison of actual data stored but included some expansion bays for future scaleability.

Spreadsheet summary:

I’ll put in my standard disclaimer here:

I’m uncomfortable doing RAID 5 or 6 at anything over 2 TB, I strongly recommend doing RAID 10 instead. Having said that, the RAID10 options will cost about 50% more that the RAID6 options (because of the increase in drive quantity AND the increased bays needed).

Suggestion:

Go with the DS1817+ and do a RAID 6 with 7 drives. If they need more space they have the option of adding on up to 2 DX517 external expansion bays for an additional 10 more drives. The expansion bays are $500 each w/o drives.
It comes with 2 GB RAM, which is probably sufficient, but there is the option to add more (up to 16GB Total – $80 for the 8GB kit)

Depending on the size of the files, it might make sense to add a M2D17 adapter and 2 M.2 SATA SSD cards to have an SSD cache (if the files are massive and by that I mean over 50 GB, then an SSD cache may be a waste of space) ($130 for the adapter + $500 for the 2 SSD)

DS1817+ , 7 drives, RAM upgrade, SSD cache = ~ $4,800

For comparison, an RS2818RP+ 16 bay unit with 60 TB in RAID10 would be ~$7,500

For the switch, something like Ubiquiti 16 port gig switch – US-16-150W – $300

 

SAN Options will come later as we continue to build out this spreadsheet.

 

SAN and Network Attached Storage (NAS) Summary

SAN and NAS equipment becomes a lot easier topic to absorb if you dealing with your organization is dealing with it’s own personal struggle with storage.  Hopefully, we made it a bit easier for you to work with your own situation.  I highly recommend this site if you are a videographer.

The post A guide to SAN and Network Attached Storage (NAS) appeared first on Network Antics.

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Search Our Blog Posts

April 22, 2018, 6:17 pm
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We mixed together popular search terms plus easy to understand IT descriptions.  Utilize “Ctrl F” to find what you are looking for.

 

New Computer Setup

https://www.networkantics.com/new-computer-setup/

 

Synology NAS 101 – File Server and Backup Server

https://www.networkantics.com/synology-it-support/

 

VoIP and PBX Phone Systems

The Cost of upgrading a traditional PBX or the questions for migrating to VoIP Subscription services

Options for VoIP service providers

Understanding Traditional Phone and Internet Infrastructure

Recommending Phone Systems

 

Cable Management – Running Network Cable Drops – Network Setup – Telco

 

Home Entertainment and Plex

https://www.networkantics.com/home-entertainment-budget/

 

Surveillance Cameras 101

 

 

Understanding Power and Backup Power

https://www.networkantics.com/power-consumption-ups-battery-backup-support/

 

Email Support

 

Server Hardware 101

 

 

Implementing a Server

 

 

WiFi Support

https://www.networkantics.com/wifi-support-in-san-diego/

 

Microsoft Volume Licenses

https://www.networkantics.com/microsoft-volume-license-support-office-365-windows-10-activation/

 

 

File Sharing – Share Drives – Mapped Drives

 

File Server

 

Server Backup Platforms and Tips

 

Server Data Migration

 

Eclinicalworks

 

Printer, Scanners, and MFP Troubleshooting

 

Restaurants – Point of Sales Systems

 

AutoCAD – Architects

 

Phones and Phone Service Providers

 

Educating Your Staff on Phishing, Penetration Tests, Viruses, and Ransomware

 

Active Directory – Workgroup Upgrades

 

HIPAA  Compliance 101

 

Health Care

 

Quickbooks

 

Mac Support

ArcGIS IT Troubleshooting Support

https://www.networkantics.com/arcgis-it-support-troubleshooting/

Understanding Managed IT (needs update)

https://www.networkantics.com/managed-it-services-in-san-diego/

Internet Marketing

Time Clock Software

https://www.networkantics.com/punch-clock-support-it/

 

File Sharing Over the Internet and the Legacy of FTP

File Sharing Links

 

Switches, Routers, and Sonicwalls

Basic Sonicwall Setup and Registration

Port Forwarding Setup for Sonicwall

 

 

 

 

 

The post Search Our Blog Posts appeared first on Network Antics.

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Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

July 11, 2018, 7:41 pm
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The Fujitsu N7100 – PA03706-B205 has the ability to send scan images (PDF or Tif files) of paper documents via it’s touch screen and choose between one of six workstations individual share folders per menu.  In a medical organization, this will allow individuals, medical assistants, and Physician Assistants to grab data off their computer’s shared folder and add the scanned PDF to a patient chart.  In an eclinicalworks environment, this will allow the healthcare employees to scan to their computer and attach documents to patient records within eCW.  You cannot however initiate the scan remotely using this particular network scanner.  It does offer other fancy features such FTP to a remote desktop session and sharepoint uploading but these features are used less frequently by the public.

 

Document Setup

The Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support is only as good as your documentation.  It’s critical to have the part number, serial number, support number, static IP address, and other pertinent information recorded in your password database file and info sheet for you to support your Fujitsu N7100 in the future.

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fujitsu N7100 Installation Wizard

 Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

Select all options except Scanner Central Admin Server for a pretty basic environments.  A large provider group like a hospital may be the only situation where you would select the Scanner Central Admin Server.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workgroup or Domain

Domain is preferred.  However, you may not be a domain or you may be on Microsoft Azure AD; and that’s wimpy Active Directory domain rather than full blown Windows AD hosted locally.

 

 

 

Login Settings

  • LDAP to local
  • Auto Login is turned off until the end of this setup
    • Default is good.
  • Enable “guest account”
  • Logout = Never

 

Create or utilize a service account for the network scanner to authenticate with a share folder on someone’s workstation or server.

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

Static IP Address

Find out the DHCP scope, scan, and ping network for free IP addresses.  Then resolve to your local DNS.  The local DNS settings can be found through the command prompt “ipconfig /all”.   Save all your setting to complete the first stage of network setup.   Finally, take a moment to document on your password manager and info sheet.

Network Scanner Setup

In order to setup a network scanner, you need the hostname of the computer you are going to send scan to.

Domain Environment

Figure out the service account name for the scanner to authenticate with each workstation.  We used the service account called “nurse” from the illustration above.   You may have to create a service account in your AD environment or ask your IT administrator if we already one.   You will need the same user/password to authenticate to if you are in a workgroup environment.  Make sure the share folder is set to set to full control check marked for “everyone” on the folder.  See below.  Then secure the NTFS permissions.  The default settings should work

ProTip!  Spelling is critical.  Proofread the share name for access remotely.  \\computername\scans

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

 

 

 

 

Test share with your computer first then configure the network scanner after you are able to write to the share folder.

 

 

Workgroup Environment (Ignore this step if you are in a domain environment)

Ask your IT administrator what is the service account if you are in a workgroup environment.   Make sure it is an administrator account.  Typically, we place the shared scan folder on the Documents\scans location on the staff profile.

Make you place full control on the share folder. Lock permission down at the “security” level.

 

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

 

Test the share from another computer.  Then have someone run a scan on the network computer if you already configured the Fujitsu or Kyocera for sending to the share.  For first time setup, please proceed to the next step of the nework scanner setup process.

 

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

 

 

 

 

Fujitsu Scanning 2nd Phase Setup and Failures – FI Scanner Admin Tool Interace

The send feature will not work until you use IE to remote the devices IP, download the admin software tool, and configure for scanner setup.  The Scanner Admin Tool will also help confirm scanner settings when a scanner error occurs and the page does not scan to the share folder.  Most connectivity problems are permissions issues or simply misconfigured the button for the wrong workstation.  Make sure the scanner is logged out before proceed with the admin tool software.  Again, please use Internet Explorer and enable compatible mode for continuing the configuration of your Fujitsu Network Scanner.  Download the “Network Scanner Admin Tool” if you haven’t already done so.  It is recommended to install it on the dedicated IT console computer if you have one and or one main computer that is constantly using the Network Scanner.

 

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

See the password database management file for additional notes.  Use notes below for first time setup and additional troubleshooting.

 

Sending Network Scans –  Setup

This network scan device is similar to a MFP setup but it’s designed to be a superfast dedicated scanner.  For more detailed instructions, load the Network Scanner Admin Tool, and download the operators guide.  Then select section 4.13 – Setting Folders for Saving Scanned Data.

 

Step 1 – Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

Scroll through the left hand field until you arrive at the “save” section.  Select the “network folder” and create the “scans” share and authenticate with the nurse service account.  Repeat step 1 for the remaining network folders to add to the list.

ProTip!  The alias is a friendly name for you to associate shares once you get to the “Job Menu Settings”

 

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

default admin\password

Step 1 – Fi-6010 Network Document Scanner

To add network folder for new machine:

 

 

 

  • “scanner settings”  (top column)
  • “network Settings”(second column)
  • “network folder”  (left pane)

**Delete button for new network path***

Add new button, do not try to edit except if it’s a button name change

Step 2 – Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support (similar setup on Fi-6010) – Job Menu Settings

Setting up “scanner settings”  under “Job Menu Settings”

 

Note:  Before you start creating job buttons, make sure you have your destinations already set up.

Ex:  Share folders, printers, SMPT for email etc.

  1. Create your Job Sequences (Job buttons):a.

    Click on “Job Menu Settings” next to “Scanner Settings”.
    b. Click on the “Job Sequences” tab.
    c. Click “New”

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

 

 

 

 

Real-world “job name” example illustrated below.  Use the hostname of the computer.

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Supportd.  Enter a Job Name. ie NureStation1

e.  Set any of your “common settings”. ***Skip this typically***
f. Set any of your “Scan Settings”.

  1. Skip “scan settings” unless changing the file format to TIF. I highly recommend you do for better performance.
  2. g. Select a Job Item from the list. Example:  Save:
    1. Click Browse.
    2. Choose a share folder.
    3. Click “OK”.
    4. If you want to force the authentication, enter User name and Password. Note that User Name may require the domain as follows:
      1. If the Domain is “FCPA” and User is JSmith with a password of “Password”, use the following:
        User name:    FCPA\JSmith

Password:       Password

h. If you have another job item for this button, select another job item. Note that most job buttons only use a single job item.  ***Typically, “save” is the only “job item”

i. Click “OK”.

j. If you have multiple job buttons, create a sequence for each through step 1.

  1. Add the Job Sequence to a Job Menu:

 Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

Click on the “Job Menus” tab.

a. Create a new or edit a Job Menu. Each Job Menu can hold up to 6 Job Sequences (buttons).
b. If you are “Creating” a Job Menu, enter a Job Menu Name.
c. Select an empty job button slot (1-6) and click “Edit”.
d. Enter a job button name. This is the name that the Job button will show on the screen.
e. You can change the Pixmap (color) of the button.
f. Click on the Job Name (Sequence) that you are adding.
g. Click ‘OK’.
h. You will now see the Job button in the list of six possible buttons. You can add up to six Job Buttons to any one Job Menu.
i. You can use the arrows to change the order of the Job Buttons.
j. Click on OK to Save the Job Menu.

 

 

 

 Real World “Job Menu List” illustrated below.  More details discussed below.

 Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Assign who can see the Job Menu in “Job Groups”:
    1. Real world illustration below this picture. Typically, you only tweak the setup of the default “job Group”

 

 Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Supporta. Click on the “Job Groups” tab.
b. Note: The Job Group named “Default Group” is only for the Guest account.  You cannot make this Group visible to LDAP or Local accounts. Currently only the N1800 supports Local accounts.
c. Click on “New”.
d. Enter a name for the Job Group Name
e. Under “Assign the Following Job Menu”, click “Select…”

Select the “Job Menu” from the list for this “Job Group”.
Click “OK”

h. Decide if the User will be able to see the Multi-Function screen or not. The Multi-Function screen is the one with the default scanning buttons such as ‘Save’, ‘Email’, ‘Print’ etc…
If you want the user to only see the Job butons, select “Job Only”.
If you want the user to see both, select which one is the default screen, the “Multi-Function Menu” or the “Job Menu”.

Group Member Settings: If you do not select anything in this group, the Job menu will not show up for any user logging in. Select the users you want to access the Job Menu:

Check “Include Guest account as a member” to have this menu show up for the “Guest” account.
Check “Include all Local accounts as a member” to have this menu show up for all Local Accounts (Currently N1800 only).
Check “Include all LDAP accounts as a member” to have this menu show up for all LDAP users.
To limit the users by LDAP, do not enable any of the check boxes and click on the “Edit” button. Here an admin can limit access to the Job Menu to  specific LDAP users or groups..
-Click on the “OK” button to save the Job Group.
-Create a Job Group for each Job Menu.

 

Real-World Job Group List:

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

Once all Job Sequences, Menus and Groups are created, a user should be able to log in to the scanner and scroll through all assigned job menus for that account by clicking on the arrow icon on the top left corner of the screen.

ProTip! We don’t think user authentication is necessary to scan paper.  Setup guest\guest for default authentication into the scanner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finishing Touches

 

Adjust the login settings and backup your configuration.  Update the firmware if there are any issues with your setup.

Here is the downloads page for additional Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support and Drivers

– http://imagescanner.fujitsu.com/global/dl/win-10-n7100.html

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3 – Clinicalworks Document Scanning and Attachment Setup

Go to Documents in eCW, Patient Documents, and view the big window for “Document Category”

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support

 

*Delete the documents after attaching to Patient or Staff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support Summary

The information provided here in this post should be sufficient for setup and on-going troubleshooting support.  Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support phone number for reaching their help desk is as follows:

Support # 800-626-4686

tsupport@us.fujitsu.com

 

Ask for tier 2 support if you are not getting anywhere with the level one support team.

The post Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner Support appeared first on Network Antics.

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Search

New Computer Domain Setup

July 12, 2018, 4:32 pm
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Initial Boot – New Computer Domain Setup

The setup constantly changes in Windows 10 but it is definitely getting easier.  Cortana now guides you through the process …

1) Select your WiFi network to connect to the network if you do not have an ethernet cable plugged in.  This message will not show if you already are connected to the network.

2) How would you like to setup?

  • Choose “setup for an organization” to proceed with domain setup.

New Computer Domain Setup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) “sign in with Microsoft”

Choose “domain join instead”

New Computer Domain Setup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Who’s going to use this PC?

New Computer Domain Setup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5)Skip the next to sections that are usually related to Dell workstation setups.

  1. a) “Create a Super Memorable Password” and select “next” to move forward.  I’m pretty sure you don’t do not need an illustration for this step.  This password is typically always the same password on every machine for a local admin account.

 

New Computer Domain Setup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Computer Domain Setup

7)  Options may vary at the point:

  1. a)  Make Cortana your personal assistant (no)
  2. b)  Lenovo computer’ prompt with “protect your device”.   I advice you select “skip” and maybe come back later.  It’s not that important to the new computer setup.

8) Choose privacy settings for your device. (selected defaults are ok)

8) “your pc has an update waiting”  Please select “not now” to get the show on the road and update windows later.  There will be plenty of opportune moments later.

Support and Protection  (this prompt may come up for Dell)
– Hit  “next” to skip ahead

9) Log into user new admin user account

10) Log into your email account and we can take care of remote control assistance from this  forward.

Official Domain Setup

 

The workstation or computer has not completed the domain joining until they follow domain joining steps.

 

 

Remaining Links to Complete Setup:

  • Resume setup of downloading new applications on the computer using your business personal documentation.

:

  • Recommended Default Applications
    • LogMeIn Setup
      • Go through the Logmein setup guide
      • Browsers
        • Firefox
        • Chrome
      • Reader
        • Foxit Reader
      • Office Suite
        • Do they have a 2010 retail suite or newer?
        • Pin to start Menu not taskbar.
        • Configure Outlook if they have it to their email
      • Keepass
      • Lightshot
      • eClincialworks (For eClinicalworks only medical practices and groups)
        • eCW setup document should be in the client’s folder.
        • Make sure the client calls in for the support team to schedule the install of eCW when you are finishing up the customization of Windows 10.
          • Make sure they add the “faxserver” accessibility in eCW. Otherwise, you need to set it up yourself.
        • Desktop Customization
          • The default look is awful and not functional. Please follow this post to customize it.
          • Pin eCW, Reader, and other commonly used apps to the Start Menu.
        • Printer Setup
          • This should be automatically setup when the user authenticates to the domain.
        • Network Scanner Setup

 

New Computer Domain Setup Summary

The post New Computer Domain Setup appeared first on Network Antics.

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Troubleshooting Support for Dymo Label Maker

July 24, 2018, 5:42 pm
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Dymo Label Writer setup for eClinicalworks is used once a lab specimen is collected and the nurse needs to label the container to track the patient’s data.  There are plenty of steps or stumbling blocks along the way prior to producing that printed Dymo label.  We document troubleshooting Support for Dymo Label Maker so you don’t have to.

To load label roll

1) Place the label roll on the spindle so that the labels feed from underneath and the left edge of the label roll is firmly against the side of the spool.

2) Press the spool guide tightly against the side of the label roll, leaving no gap between the roll and the spool.

3) Insert the label spool into the slot in the cover with the labels extending from underneath the roll.

4) Align the left edge of the label with the left edge of the label feed slot and insert the label into the slot.

5) The printer automatically feeds the label, stopping at the beginning of the first label.

6) Slide label guide against labels.

 

Downloading DYMO Label Software and Asset Recording

 

  • Download the latest version of DYMO Label software from http://support.dymo.com
  • Record the Model number and serial number; and insert into your password manager
  • Help Desk # 1877 724-8324 (2 year warranty to replace and repair)

 

Configuring the Print Server

When you first install the print server, the server is automatically assigned an IP address. Every time the software is launched, the IP address is displayed next to the server name in the Control Center window.

By default, the server is configured to automatically get an IP address. If you are using the print server on a small office or home network, we recommend that you configure the server to use a static IP address. This will ensure that the computers connected to your network will always be able to locate the print server.

 

Adding a Printer

In order to print to the LabelWriter printer that is connected to the print server, you must first add the printer to your computer. You can add the printer to any or all of the computers connected to your network. You must have the LabelWriter printer drivers installed on your local computer to add a printer. The printer drivers are included in the DYMO Label Software installation. Note Because the LabelWriter Duo printer is actually two printers in one, you need to add both the label printer and the tape printer to your computer. These two printers show up separately in the printer list. This chapter describes how to add a printer in Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac, and Linux.

 

Adding a Printer in Windows Vista

This section describes how to add a LabelWriter printer in Windows.

When adding a LabelWriter Duo printer, you will need to create separate ports for the Label printer and the Tape printer. Each port must have a unique name.

To add a LabelWriter printer

1 Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

2 Under Hardware and Sound, click Printer.

3 Click Add a Printer. The Add Printer dialog box appears.

Dymo Label Writer setup for eClinicalworks

 

Dymo Label Writer setup for eClinicalworks Dymo Label Writer setup for eClinicalworks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 Click Add a local printer.

5 On the Choose a printer port page, do the following:

  1. Select Create a new port.
  2. Choose Standard TCP/ IP Port from the Type of port list.
  3. Click Next.

6 On the Type a printer hostname or IP address page, do the following:

a. Enter the IP address that you obtained when configuring the print server in the Hostname or IP Address field. The port name is filled in automatically.
b. (Optional) Enter a new name for the port in the Port name field. When adding a LabelWriter Duo printer, you must give the Label printer port and the Tape printer port different names.
Dymo Label Writer setup for eClinicalworks

 

 

 

 

 

 

c. Click Next. Adding a Printer 12

7 On the Additional Port Information Required page, select Custom, and then click Settings.

8 In the Configure Standard TCP/IP Port Monitor dialog box, do the following:

  1. Under Protocol, select Raw.Dymo Label Writer setup for eClinicalworks
  2. Under Raw Settings, make sure the Port Number is 9100. This is the default value.
  3. . Click OK.
    Dymo Label Writer setup for eClinicalworks

9 On the Additional Port Information Required page, click Next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 On the Install the printer driver page, do the following:

Troubleshooting Support for Dymo Label Maker

  1. Choose DYMO from the Manufacturer list.
  2. Choose the LabelWriter printer that you are adding from the Printers list. To add the LabelWriter 450 Turbo, choose DYMO LabelWriter 450 Turbo
  3. Click Next. Adding a Printer in Windows Vista 13

11 On the Type a printer name page, do the following:

  1. Enter a name for your printer in the Printer name field.
  2. Select whether or not you want to use this printer as the default printer.
  3. Click Next. 12 To print a test label, click Print a test page.

Share if on a Print Server

 

Troubleshooting Support for Dymo Label Maker

13 Click Finish. The printer is now available in the printer list. For the LabelWriter Duo, you now need to add the tape portion of the printer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Policy or Scripts

The best practice for adding printers throughout the network is applying a GPO.  Scripts were used back in the day but you have the ability to apply a GPO, go for it.

 

Select Default Printer and Test Your Printer

Troubleshooting Support for Dymo Label Maker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eclinicalworks eCW Setup

 

Download DL8Setup.8.7.2 or later from the Dymo website for Dymo 450 Turbo Label Maker on to any workstation that needs Label Maker access for eClinicalworks.  Whatever you choose in “Local Settings” within Eclinicalworks will dictate what label looks like when you print.

Troubleshooting Support for Dymo Label Maker

 

Default eCW setup

C:\program files (x86)\eclinicalworks\dymo\templates\addres with barcode

C:\program files (x86)\eclinicalworks\dymo\templates\speciman

C:\program files (x86)\eclinicalworks\dymo\templates\Specican with barcode

 

Customized no barcode setup

C:\program files (x86)\eclinicalworks\dymo\templates\1x2L

C:\program files (x86)\eclinicalworks\dymo\templates\1x2L

C:\program files (x86)\eclinicalworks\dymo\templates\1x2L

 

How to Test Print Labels

  • Patient Lookup -> Test
  • “print labels”
  • Choose printer and select default

 

  • Log out and log in before testing

Troubleshooting Support for Dymo Label Maker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dymo Label Writer setup for eClinicalworks Summary

The post Troubleshooting Support for Dymo Label Maker appeared first on Network Antics.

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There is no internet connection

July 25, 2018, 5:52 pm
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There is no internet connection is the infamous message that appears across all computers using Google Chrome web browser.  We created steps on how to troubleshoot internet when there your browser is claiming there is no internet connection.   It’s more difficult troubleshoot the internet connection as the business scales in size but hey, that never stopped us from having a good time.  The majority of the troubleshooting your internet centers around the ping tool.  Ping in windows can be brought up through searching for “cmd”   The alternative on mac can be found in the terminal under finder, select “go”, and click utilities.

Always run a ping 4.2.2.2 -t  in the background as you perform these test.  Your running “ping” test should like this…..

there is no internet connection

Ping the Verizon DNS server located at 4.2.2.2.

 

Wired vs Wireless Ping Results

Wired should be way more consistent than wireless as laptop or wireless computer is further and further away from the access point.

Small Network or Workgroup Environment

Make sure you run your tests from multiple within the same vicinity of the router and access point.  Please remember wired connection is how you troubleshoot your internet initially.

More Intense Troubleshooting of “there is no internet connection”

 

  • Start with a direct “wired” connection test from cable modem to laptop
    • Sometimes the easiest way to see where the problem lies is to capture internet results from the first point of entry known as your modem or testing the circuit.
  • Review your pings to see if your connection improves
    • They are tools out there to log your result. Otherwise, purchase the likes of a Sonicwall Router to help manage the logging of your ping results.
  • Make sure your laptop you are using or the user’s machine is not the culprit.
    • Check CPU utilization and memory to make sure they are not sucking up resources. Reboot the computer and or try testing from multiple computers within the same vicinity of each other.
    • ProTip! Restart your computer to rid your computer of possible resources corrupting the results of your tests.
  • Run speedtest.net
    • This should be the first and last test you run now that you know how to run a simple ping test. Make sure your internet provider is actually providing the speeds you purchased from a wired connection.
  • Call your cable or phone provider.
    • Regardless of what you do here, you may have determined through various troubleshooting steps here that problem lies with your internet service provider. Give them a shout!
  • But my ping replies are good, no timeout, and no latency… ie low latency
    • Ask someone if they dust off an old but reliable Linksys or Netgear for a week and see how it plays in your network environment.
  • There is no internet connection on my browser but the ping test say the internet is active.
    • Maybe it needs five minutes to jive if you reset your modem and router, or maybe it’s your DNS setting acting up?
  • I think it’s my computer’s wifi adapter.
    • Buy another USB wifi nub.  They are like $30
  • What hardware do you recommend if it’s the router?
  • What hardware do your recommend if it’s the access point?
    • We created a list below of preferred network devices. ProTip!  Please make sure the hardware vendor has warranty support for Amazon products or contact us; and we can direct you where to purchase.
Recommended Network Devices
Cisco SG200-26 Gigabit Ethernet Smart Switch  24 Port – Cisco – POE Switch 270 1 270
SonicWall TZ300 Network Security/Firewall Appliance Router 340 1 340
Ruckus Wireless ZoneFlex R500 Wireless Access Point 350 1 350

 

There is no internet Summary

Congrats! You know the basics on how to troubleshoot your internet. For more intense summary or education, pick up a starter book called JumpStart TCP/IP or just call us.

The post There is no internet connection appeared first on Network Antics.

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Setup OneDrive Client for Business

July 28, 2018, 7:28 pm
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Setup OneDrive Client for Business is pretty easy once you understand what exactly each service does and where you go to set each workstation client.  SharePoint and OneDrive for Business combined give you unlimited amount of communal storage when subscribed to Microsoft Office 365 Business Essentials.  Here’s the gist of features:

  • OneDrive for Business
    • Allows you to store personal data in the cloud and access from anywhere. DropBox was the first to come out with Cloud Storage.  OneDrive is its competitor.
      Setup OneDrive Client for Business

WARNING:  One Drive for Business does not sync your desktop and photos by default.  The OneDrive for Business settings requires adjustment on the user’s computer for this to happen.  Right click OneDrive for Business to view and adjust settings.  Select the Auto save tab, update folders, and manage protection of important folders.

 

 

 

 

 

Setup OneDrive Client for Business

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What if I want to share files among the members of my team or organization?

Microsoft created Sharepoint as a place to collaborate with other team members.  “Sites” are created for the team to not only share files and post intranet (a website internal to your organization) web page updates but also as a place access and update files and folders in one central location

Setup OneDrive Client for Business 

SharePoint Drive – Cloud File Server Storage

  • Is installed when you install OneDrive for Business.  It’s a communal storage space.  You can have multiple sharepoint “sites” for storage.   Each user can permissions to certain specific “sites”

 

How do I know what sites were setup for my organization?

 

Group Permissions – I want all my users within my organization to have access to “KindHealthGroupTeamSharing” site.

 

Return to the “Microsoft 365 Admin Center”  to add more users to the “KindHealthGroupTeamSharing” Office 365 group.  Select “groups” in the left pane for adding more users to the group in question.

Direct link to Microsoft 365 Admin Center

ProTip!  Sometimes it takes Microsoft 365 up to eight hours to process the new user added to the group.  Send an invite to the user via email for the user to have quicker access to the group.

 

How do you setup a new employee for OneDrive and Sharepoint?

 

Setup OneDrive Client for Business

 

1) Open up Internet Explorer and log into portal.office.com with the user’s account.

2) Click on the OneDrive icon.

3) Click on the Sync icon. It should prompt you to install OneDrive for Business.

4) Once this is installed you will have a folder in the Windows File Explorer that says “OneDrive – The Plaza”. This will have the synced folder contents for that user’s OneDrive for Business account.

 

SharePoint setup

As you now know, setup OneDrive Client for Business also features team access.  The sharepoint site can be configured and access once you setup OneDrive for Business.

1) To get the SharePoint link, go to the Office apps and click on SharePoint.

2) Click on the “Sandbox” group link.

3) In the upper left have corner open the menu drop down and choose “documents”.

4) Hit the “Sync” button to sync your Sharepoint folder with your PC. This will create a SharePoint folder in Windows File Explorer called “The Plaza”

 

OneDrive for Business Fun File Sharing Extras

Sharepoint OneDrive IT Support

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below are the results of sharing your document to a third party.

Sharepoint OneDrive IT Support

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Setup OneDrive Client for Business Summary

These instructions are for existing users and existing Sharepoint and OneDrive for Business setup.   Follow the link below if you wish setup a Sharepoint site from scratch.

https://www.networkantics.com/sharepoint-onedrive-it-support/

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How to setup and log in Windows 10 to Azure AD

July 28, 2018, 10:00 pm
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Have you never used Windows 10 with Azure AD?  We break down how to add users to Azure Active Directory, check if the computer is joined to Azure AD, and how to authenticate the new created user to Azure AD. Get your party hat on, this is going to be fun!!!

Contoso Company Example – User Account Setup

We used a fictitious company called Contoso to help you under Windows 10 and Azure Active Directory.  It’s important to collect as much information as possible regarding the new user for us to being setup Windows 10 with Azure AD.

Time Saving Questions for IT Admin email related work

  • Full Name
  • Email Address
  • Role
  • Name existing user account who’s role is similar to the new employee
  • Any user accounts that need to be disabled and perhaps their license can be recycled?
  • Where or what is their main computer they utilize at the office?

Copy User – Questions Answered

ProTip! AzureAD does not offer “copy user” feature like a Microsoft Active Directory Domain environment.  You will have to manually setup permissions

  • Name:  John Doe
  • Email Address:  john@contoso.com\same password as everyone else but different initials
  • Role:  Medical Assistant – Clinical
  • Name existing user account who’s role is similar to the new employee:  Jane Doe
  • Front Desk

Contoso Company may or may not have already created the email account.

Defer to Microsoft Hosted Office 365 if the mailbox was not created if you are not familiar with all the hosted Microsoft 365 hosting options.

Otherwise, head directly over to http://portal.office.com if you already know what you are doing for creating an email account AKA mailbox.

Great! The user is already created on Microsoft 365.  What now?

Any user with an email setup through the Microsoft Admin Center can authenticate to any Windows 10 computer on the network.  The authentication works as follows:

  • Click “Other user”
  • Type work email address and password
  • Correct sign in options if you are not able to login

Warning: Users will not able to authenticate to the Windows 10 computer if the computer is not joined to Azure AD

 

How do I know if my computer is joined to Azure AD?

There are several methods of authenticating or troubleshooting whether your users are a part of or joined to Azure AD.  The easiest is simply trying other users can authenticate with their email address at the Windows 10 login Screen.

Can a user be logged into Windows 10 without authenticating to Azure AD?

Yes, some user accounts could have created a local account during the new computer setup.  NetworkAntics recommends creating our personalized “localcontrol” administrator account and not the employees user name during the initial new computer setup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do I confirm I’m joined to Azure AD if one of employees is already logged in to the computer?

 

  • open elevated cmd on machine and run below command to check the status
    “dsregcmd /status”

 

 

  • Alternatively, go to start menu type “Settings” and open it.  Find accounts and  you should see under “Access work or school” the admin account authenticating to Azure AD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Admin account for Azure AD is also listed under “other people”  Otherwise, you need to join Azure AD if you do not see any of these illustrations connected to Azure AD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have Azure AD and the user account email address is authenticated or logged on to the Windows 10 desktop.  What now?

 

Front Desk Applications:
Outlook
8×8
Aesthetics Pro
Kerio
Brilliant Distinctions
Allergan
Foxit Reader

 

Document As You Go

  • Keepass User and Email
  • Info Sheet

 

 

 

A Brief Nerding Out Session.  (most people can skip ahead) Azure AD Resources:

 

Azure AD is *not* a domain.   Azure AD is fundamentally different than a domain environment.

Azure AD accounts use the user@dns-name.com naming format.  But it should not be mistaken as an email address.  A user *may* have the same email, but it isn’t necessary.  If you create an Azure AD tenant, and create an Azure AD user in the portal, that account can be used to log into a windows 10 that is joined to the same Azure AD tenant using the user@dns-name.com account format even if no email is associated with that account.

With that said, no there are no other formats (such as the old-school NetBIOS\username format of old) that works.  In Azure AD, it will always be user@tenant.tld

 

Windows 10 Azure AD Summary

 

There you go!   You have Azure AD IT administrator experience.  This is a nice foundation piece for you to add on to more IT related administrator stuff later.

 

The post How to setup and log in Windows 10 to Azure AD appeared first on Network Antics.

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Abacus Law support

August 16, 2018, 1:44 pm
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Abacus Law support can be reached at their paid support number 800-488-3334 from 6a – 5p.  They require the law firm’s office phone number or for user to login to Abacus and grab their Abacus ID for Abacus Law support.    As for the Abacus Law software, it has a lot of built in functionality.  Though, it may be looking a wee bit tired of an interface with the advent of cloud companies deploying subscription software.  There software is broken up into three core parts of their suite.

Abacus Law – Case Management

Abacus Accounting – Billing

Abacus TimeSlips –  Internal Messaging System

New startups like RocketMatters are encroaching on Abacus’s turf with their fresh looking SaaS software.  For those who still require Abacus law support but just the basics for setup and deployment, continue below.

 

Abacus Law Application Server

The Abacus application server doesn’t require much to run.  However, it would place the legal world in peril if that server decided to die tomorrow.  With that said, we have a page dedicated to a couple specialty PCs for installing the Abacus Law application server on for very small law practices.   Please consider the following workstations acting as a server from that blog post.

Optiplex 5000 –  Mini Tower.  Note:  There’s no redundant hard drive so when the drive dies, so does Abacus.

Dell Precision 3420 – Better performance hardware with third party RAID add-on.

Abacus Law Workstation Setup

It is time to deploy Abacus Law client for the workstation.  We will take you through the drive mapping followed by initiating the executable for installation law and doing this yourself instead of calling Abcaus Law Support Team.  It best to utilize the service account if Abacus is not acting as a file server, managing multiple user accounts, and does not have Active Directory support.

Abacus Law support

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Install Abacus on this workstation

Abacus Law support

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Message Slips?  It’s advisable to install everything unless told otherwise, you can always disable later.

 

 

Abacus Law support

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abacus Law support

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abacus Law support Summary

 

The software is an integral part of the majority law firm lives.  Hopefully, we made it a little bit easier to understand the IT aspect of things.

The post Abacus Law support appeared first on Network Antics.

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Synology Photo Station Setup and Photo Backup

August 29, 2018, 2:43 pm
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Synology Photo Station Setup and Photo Backup can be a pretty cumbersome process for anyone not familiar with the quirks operating the Synology Diskstation Manager.   We put together a series of Synology Photo Station Setup and Photo Backup steps so you don’t have to.

Photo Station is ideal for individuals who consume a lot of space on the smart phone with photos and media and need a place to archive it. Photographers and families come to mind when using this. However, basic phone users may struggle this application. Contact for Synology file server support. The alternative iPhone app is buying more iCloud storage or tethering a cable to computer and making a local back up to your computer. With that said, here’s a quick note for a Synology Diskstation Photo Station Setup and LogMeIn

  1. Photo Station Setup

• Initiate Photo Station Service within Disk Station Manager.
• Enable user accounts that need photo station access

Photo Station Setup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Log into the accounts that need Photo Sharing Service.

Please login into the personal user account and go to the far right corner of the screen > Option >  Personal > Photo station and make sure that the personal photo station has been enabled. This allows the user to have it’s own photo station basically.

* Make sure you activate the user home service first before enable personal photo station service. Home Service creates Home Folders for each user account.

Additional features in “PhotoStation” not “photostation – admin” that need to be enabled under the administrator DSM account are listed below.

 synology photo station

 Double user name

DS Photo App Troubleshooting

You must login with the user account not the admin account for viewing your personal photos in DS Photo that are backed up in the Synology.
When you are on the login page, there will be a blue (see pic right below) arrow pointing up. On the right side of the username field.
Tap this to expand another text field. Here, you can specify the personal PhotoStation account to log into.

NOTE:  I was reintroduced to the problem and I forgot the fix.

The error received was  “connection status: upload suspended” and I could not backup or browse my backed up photos.  Two things I recommend after checking all the settings above:

  • my cached history (second pic)  was pointed to some bad credentials.  I selected the diskstation url/~Michael to authenticate correctly.  Basically, you are not only authenticating to the Synology DSM but the program DS Photo.  It’s a little wonky but it works fine after that.
  • Enable your WiFi on your phone.  Backing up by default is done over WiFi not your cell phone data plan.

DS Photo Connection Error

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synology Photo Station Setup and Photo Backup Summary

Make sure your Synology is setup for port forwarding.  Otherwise, the rest of this guide won’t work.

 

The post Synology Photo Station Setup and Photo Backup appeared first on Network Antics.

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How to gain Remote Access to a Synology File Server

August 29, 2018, 2:46 pm
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Synology File Server is more than just a server. It has a lot of built in remote access functionality. These remote services include mobile phone photo backup, surveillance camera footage, and access to files stored on the server and workstations of your network using Cloud Station Sync or DiskStation File.

Synology’s Quick Connect allows easy to setup access to these services. However, Quick Connect is less secure for passing sensitive data over the internet and therefore dismissed by our team as a secure way to conduct business. Application specific ports must be open on your firewall and dynamic DNS services need to be enabled for locating your workstation remotely through the preferred method of accessing the file server remotely. Document your Disk Station Manager URL and place it on your desktop:

https://NameOfSynology.synology.me:5001

 

  1. Port Forwarding

Below are the default ports for Synology services. Please note: It is always recommended to change the default ports. Also, the less ports you have to open on your firewall, the more secure your organization is.

Firewall Remote Access Ports

Remote Access Support

You can bypass port forwarding setup on your router if you proceed with Synology’s Quick Connect. Otherwise, consider what services you need open from the list above. We are steadily building a list of remotely accessible port forwarding setup instructions.

Ports can be test if you enabled the server service and poke the hole in the firewall by using the following website:

canyouseeme.org

The following are the most common remote access support applications within a small business or home office network:

 

  • Remote Desktop:  VNC, ShowMyPC, Join.me, Logmein Central, Microsoft RDC
  • File Sharing:  Synology Diskstation, Box, Dropbox
  • Photo Sharing:  DS Photo.  This is great for photographers and job sites in the construction industry

Remote Access to a Synology File Server Summary

While mapped drive access or network shares is available for workstations and laptop when connected to the local LAN, setting up the CloudStation service allows remote access to a Synology File Server.  Alternatively, the more clumsy or clunky approach is to use DSM AKA Synology Disk Station Manager.  We enabled DSM as you can see from our table above.    Once the Synology services are setup, you can then access https://NameOfSynology.synology.me:5001

 

The post How to gain Remote Access to a Synology File Server appeared first on Network Antics.

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What is a Document Management System and How to Implement it

October 10, 2018, 7:47 pm
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A Document Management System for business environments on all levels can be a disappointment.  Individuals buy the hardware expecting it to resolve one thing but they soon discover the hardware and software is deficient for their needs in several way.   These deficiencies can include the ease of use of the hardware, software; or simply struggling to organize an intuitive way for document scanning and retrieval.  Purchasing the software and support for one of these scanning systems for creating a paperless environment can be very expensive. The industry term for this niche area of scanning documents and organizing them is called a Document Management Systems.  We provide some tips for utilizing our favorite document management software, old and new.  We also consult on what Printer – Scanner (MFP – Multifunction Printers) hardware manufactures you may want to focus your energy on.  Pay attention (illustrated below) to how we have one scans folder for several solutions on a network share.  We don’t recommend this but folder organization or document management should evolve as you implement new processes such as the Dewey Decimal System.

Using the example below, a question can be posed, what do 100.00 and 200.00 buy you, as opposed to a hierarchical folder structure like:

Insurance>

Accident and Health
Accidental Death
Long Term Care
Whole Life

Maybe the client likes the flat based folder structure?  These are all questions you must ask yourself when planning out your phone structure.

Document Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some hardware MFP examples:

 

  • Canon MX Series – Multifunction Printers (New $100 to $200 ink jet printers)
    • Again, the MX series is Twain compatible. Here’s a quote from a Canon MX manual.  “You can scan an image from a WIA-compliant application and use the image in that application. … Scan documents from a TWAIN-compliant application to specify advanced settings for scanning.”   This allows for greater flexibility with all Document Management software
    • Buy Paperport Standard if not connecting to file server or network share.
      • Note: Paperport 14 Pro is the only version that supports shared network folders
    • The MFP may be cheap but the ink gets expensive.
  • Brother MFC-9340CDW (New $400 – $500 Twain compatible color toner with WiFi and wired connections)
    • Brother bundles Paperport Standard Edition with their MFP hardware.
    • Great for small and medium size businesses
      • Note: Possible AD connectivity issues for sending scans to network shares.
    • The MFP hardware may be a bit outside your budget but the toner will give you a lot more bang for your buck than ink. Plus, it doesn’t scream cheap when you play around with the hardware.
  • Brother MFC-8900CDW (Newer version of the Brother MFC-9340 $400 – $500 Twain compatible color toner with WiFi and wired connections)
    • Brother bundles Paperport Standard Edition with their MFP hardware.
    • Great for small and medium size businesses
      • Note: Possible AD connectivity issues for sending scans to network shares.
    • The MFP hardware may be a bit outside your budget but the toner will give you a lot more bang for your buck than ink. Plus, it doesn’t scream cheap when you play around with the hardware.
    • Additional specs: Comes w 3000 page black toner cartridge and 1800 for color.  It mentions 6500 high yield replacement cartridge so that sounds appealing.  250 – 500 sheet capacity between trays and I guess you can optional trays that increase capacity to 1300
  • Fujitsu Fi-Series

 

Types of Scanning and Sharing of Files Capabilities on a computer network:

 

  • Scan to share folder
    • This is great for collaborating with other users or if you are utilizing more than on machine.
  • Scan to email
    • This is great option for plopping pages down in the feeder and setting up some favorite employees or partners to email the attachment directly to them. There is no summary or explanation email just the attachment.

 

Paperport software scanner compatibility and other document management hardware and software.

 

If the scanner hardware is working and it has ISIS, TWAIN, and/or WIA/WIA2 scanning drivers that work with your version of Windows (including bit level), then other document management/imaging products are very likely to work with it, including PaperPort, Power PDF, and many others.

 

ProTip!  Almost all scanners these days are TWAIN and WIA compatible, with the notable exception of the Fujitsu ScanSnap series (the entire ScanSnap series does not have any industry standard scanning drivers, i.e., its scanning driver is proprietary to Fujitsu and you must use the ScanSnap Manager to scan). Other than the ScanSnap series, most scanners are TWAIN and WIA compliant.  Same goes for the Fujitsu N7100 Network Scanner.  I love this device.  It has a big touch screen display to shoot out documents to each workstation but it may not work for your needs.

 

What does the software prompt look like for using TWAIN, WIA, and other scanner resources?

 

Document Management System Support

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Scanners and Multifunction Printer Options

 

  • Fujitsu
    • The entire Scansnap series drivers are proprietary. They do not use industry standard drivers.  You must use Scansnap Manager to scan.
    • Fi Series is completely compatible with most document management systems out there because they utilize ISIS and Twain.
    • The Fujitsu N7100 and other network document scanners although has some very cool workflow functionality may not accomplish what you need for document management.
  • Kyocera

 

Scanner Software for Small Business

  • Canon MP Navigator – Document Management software for the Canon MX series printer – MFP (old) – How to Setup/Troubleshoot link
    • This is available or packaged with an older Canon MX series printer.
    • The MX series is Twain compatible. Here’s a quote from a Canon MX manual.  “You can scan an image from a WIA-compliant application and use the image in that application. … Scan documents from a TWAIN-compliant application to specify advanced settings for scanning.”   This allows for greater flexibility with all Document Management software

 

Canon MFP Software – MP Navigator

 

While not as feature rich as a true document management system like Nuance Paperport, it does the job for many micro businesses.  It’s unfortunate the software was discontinued on newer models.

 

How to Setup/Troubleshoot link

 

 Brother MFP Software – Control Center 4

 

While not as feature rich as a true document management system like Nuance Paperport, it does the job for many micro businesses.

 

Document Management System

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Document Management Software – Paperport Pro 14
Document Management: Duh.  It has that.
PC Compatible: Not for Mac.   Maybe try PDFClerkPro from SintraWorks ($50)

 

Why Pro?  Better for network features and support.

 

Paperport Quick Summary

 

Paperport is a very reasonable software solution for businesses that really want to start attacking box loads of paper and the software helps you strategize the best method (by creating a sample folder structure) for you to move forward with creating a full solution for electronic records.

 

Document Management System

Bonus Paperport Features (not utilized much)

The Nuance Cloud Connector application: Now you can gain access to a number of cloud services, including Microsoft Live SkyDrive, Google Docs, Box.net, and many more. Plus, files are accessed in the PaperPort folder directory, so you can scan, stack, or unstack PDF files, and create PDF files directly in the cloud.

Evernote “Send To” Connector: Drag-and-drop files to the Evernote Send To Connector, create a new note or add the document to an existing note.  You can also right click on the Evernote connector and get files attached to any note so they are copied to the PaperPort desktop.

 

MFP Troubleshooting Resources:

 

Brother MFP Troubleshooting and Setup Scan to Email PDFs

 

We will use Gmail mailbox for this example since it is the most common mailbox to scan from.

 

 

smtp.gmail.com

port 587
smtp-auth
TLS
uncheck verify server certificate.

 

You may have to “allow less secure apps” in order for gmail to allow the Brother machine to communicate. Since this does make the account a little less secure, many customer setup a new gmail dedicated to this purpose.

Be signed into the account you want to use in your web browser when you go to the following link

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255?hl=en

 

Document Management System Support Summary

While every business is unique in their workflow, there are a lot of similarities in achieving office data organization.  Hopefully, we helped get you one step closer to a paperless office.

 

 

The post What is a Document Management System and How to Implement it appeared first on Network Antics.

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Dragon IT Support – Versions & Licensing

November 4, 2018, 7:38 pm
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Basic Dragon IT Support consist of simply knowing the versions out there on the network, what software is new vs what is old, and who are the key players for contacting when things aren’t.  Basically, it comes down to (once again) documentation or Dragon IT support documentation.  Your team can spend 15 minutes compiling a basic spreadsheet of information for investigating any issues with Dragon versions and licenses.  Please create a spreadsheet if one does not exist and organize in similar fashion as to the spreadsheet below.

 

Dragon Versions Speech Engine Version Serial Key Notes Machines Installed On:
Dragon Medical Practice Edition Version 4 Speech Engine is Version 13 Latest Version
Dragon Medical Practice Edition Version 2 A709A-X00-xxxx-xxxx-xx Call Nuance for media
Jane Doe
Dragon Medical Practice Edition Version 12 A709A-X00-xxxx-xxxx-xx We have this media stored on the server and CD
Micheal old computer
John Smith

 

 

Point Of Contact – Reseller

You may have a reseller that works with Nuance directly for you.  Regardless, it up to the practice to retain all serial keys.   Serial key come with the CD media and can be extracted off of existing installations using Belark Advisor

Customer Service: 800 654-1187

Nuance Dragon IT Support: 770 702-6014

Media replacement:  877 805-5902

 

Dragon IT Support Summary

We will improve this blog post as we gather more information.  Bottom line, make sure someone is recording your licenses and saving your media.

The post Dragon IT Support – Versions & Licensing appeared first on Network Antics.

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IT Support Help Desk Ticket Optimization

November 8, 2018, 12:14 pm
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Time Saving Questions for your IT Support Help Desk Team

Feel free to copy, paste, and fill in fields below in your email:

  • Full Name
  • Email Address
  • Role
  • Name existing user account who’s role is similar to the new employee
  • Any user accounts that need to be disabled and perhaps their license can be recycled?
  • Where or what is their main computer they utilize at the office?
  • Distribution Lists:

IT Support Help Desk – Ticket Creation Workflow

Good vs Bad Subject lines:  The more information you give us the better we can help you!

Example 1 –

Bad Subject Line:  Computer Down!

  • What computer? What exactly isn’t working?

Good Subject Line:  Jane’s Front desk HP Computer Failing

Email Body:  Be as detailed as possible.

Example 2 –

Bad Subject Line:  New employee

  • What’s their name?
  • What’s their location and or function

Good Subject Line:  New User – Front Office

Email Body:  Be as detailed as possible.

 

Refer to the  Client support cheat sheet  for more details.

The post IT Support Help Desk Ticket Optimization appeared first on Network Antics.

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How to create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

November 12, 2018, 4:46 pm
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This guide not only helps prunes down licenses and helps with the termination of users but also helps with the creation of additional users or employees to Azure AD and or Office 365.  We also created a Microsoft 365 break down for individuals needing more background to Microsoft’s modern IT product suite offerings.  This includes more high level information on Azure AD.

 

Time Saving Questions for new or terminated employees

https://www.networkantics.com/it-support-help-desk/

Please apply responses to your password database.  Then proceed with the Azure AD account setup.

 

Azure AD free account

Create basic Azure AD account at https://portal.azure.com   once data gathered on new user.  Click on Azure Active Directory and inputting the new users will create users in Office 365 and Azure AD.

 

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

Group Memberships

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

 

Click “select” at bottom before proceeding to the next step.

 

Directory Role

Default user unless told otherwise

 

Password

Show password and store temporary password in your password database along with other basic information before proceeding.

First phase complete

You  have learned how to create users in Office 365 and Azure AD but you have not actually visited the Office 365 admin portal to customize the user’s experience.

 

Office 365 – Product Licenses

Log into the following URL to add product licenses to the already established or created users.

https://admin.microsoft.com

We also want to remove any unnecessary subscription licenses.  These answers should have been returned from the client.

 

Time Saving Questions for new or terminated employees

https://www.networkantics.com/it-support-help-desk/

 

 

Product Licenses

The users with longest tenure probably contain the maximum product licenses features.

 

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

You can downgrade or remove their features If they are no longer with the company.  Make sure you get things clarified from the client by utilizing the “time saving questions for new or terminated employees” before proceeding with clicking off features.

ProTip!  Block sign on if you don’t have the answers just to be safe if you request for more complete answers on the former employees status has not been fulfilled.

 

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

Group Membership

 

Make sure the following groups were added to the user’s profile.

 

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

Questions for disabling, removing licenses, and or deleting the entire account

Make sure you get things clarified from the client by utilizing the “time saving questions for new or terminated employees” before proceeding with clicking off features.

 

  • Block sign on is a first step
  • Refer to Time Saving Questions for User Setup and ticket responses from client on how best to proceed.
  • Depending how important the user’s mailbox data, you most likely start with “convert to shared mailbox” under the mail settings of the terminated user.  The conversion process takes up to 24 hours.  DO NOT REMOVE PRODUCT LICENSES BEFORE THEN.

 

Warning:  Deleting the user mailbox removes the converted “shared mailbox”  Make sure no user needs their email.

 

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

 

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

 

Add the member who will be viewing the now converted “shared mailbox” from the terminated user.

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STOP!  After 24 hours, remove the license from the user.

Forwarding Emails

Do not delete terminated user if you want their shared mailbox to still be accessible to certain individuals.  Also, forwarding should be enabled so other individuals receive their email still.

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

Remove Product Licenses After 24 Hours

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

 

The removal of licenses takes time for Office 365 to process.   It is recommended that you delete the mailbox user account after 24 hours if you aren’t converting the mailbox into a share.  Otherwise, note the conversion and maintain the mailbox with no product licenses indefinitely.

Apply Product licenses to New User

The user should have already been added via Azure AD along with its associated memberships.  Apply the product license and missing memberships.

  • Apply Essentials and E3
  • Add memberships

Microsoft 365 Subscriptions

Multiple subscriptions are listed here.  It’s the administrator’s job to maintain these license so the organization is not incurring some unwanted costs.  Warning:  Licenses take up to 24 hours to populate correctly under billing, subscriptions.  Review the fields for “purchased” vs “assigned”  Then remove or add licenses accordingly.

  • E3
  • Office 365 Essentials
  • Office 365 Premium

create users in Office 365 and Azure AD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Computer Setup

You are now ready to proceed to the actual computer profile setup.

How to create users in Office 365 and Azure AD Summary

Azure AD:

Hosted O365 Resources:

Exchange or Mail Locally Hosted On-Site Resources:

Hosted or Local Hosted Links:

Additional Resources:

You cannot get 6y log retention within Office 365/Azure AD. For that long a period, you will either have to export/store the logs in your own database, or use one of the third-party tools that offer this.

The post How to create users in Office 365 and Azure AD appeared first on Network Antics.

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