System Requirements for DDMS® Business Systems & Software

DDMS® is a very powerful and versatile business system. To get the most out of it, you need computer hardware that can handle the demands you'll place on the system, and give you reliable, efficient performance.

To run DDMS® (General Release Version 8.10.0 or higher), the recommended configurations are below:

• Small DDMS Business System Server Recommendations (for 1–15 concurrent users)
• Medium-Large DDMS Business System Server Recommendations
• Multiple Locations Require Separate Terminal Services Server
• Client Workstations
• Network Topology (the network that connects your DDMS server with its clients)
• Peripherals
  • One dot-matrix printer required
  • Serial printers

Additional products and services have their own requirements:

• Dealer Station® and ECinteractive™ Web Storefront requirements
• AutoComm™ email and fax software requirements
• ApprovalLink™ credit card authorization software requirements
• ECi Private Supply Network (PSN) requirements
• O/PUS PSN and SIMPLE software requirements for the quarterly OPdb® Multi-Vendor Catalog Update

Multiple Locations Require Separate Terminal Services Server

If you have more than one physical location, you need Windows 2000 or 2003 Terminal Services to connect your remote locations to the main location. This software must be set up on a separate server. The Terminal Services 2000 server's requirements and 2003 server's requirements are fairly consistent. However, depending on how many remote users you have, the software makes serious demands on random access memory (RAM).

Windows Terminal Services server for up to 10 users:

• Dual Pentium IV Xeon 2.4 GHz or better
• Microsoft Windows® Server 2000 (SP3 or higher) or 2003 (SP2 with a SNP-Compatible NIC)

Note: DDMS supports the 32-bit platform for the Windows 2003 operating system.

• 1 GB RAM

Windows Terminal Services server for 10–30 users:

• Dual Pentium IV Xeon 2.4 GHz or better
• Microsoft Windows® Server 2000 (SP3 or higher) or 2003 (SP2 with a SNP-Compatible NIC)

  Note: DDMS supports the 32-bit platform for the Windows 2003 operating system.

• 2 GB RAM

If you have more than 30 remote clients, you'll need additional servers.

For networking and communications services, we recommend contacting DDC Networking (ddcnetworking.com) at 888-826-4747. DDC Networking can evaluate the communications options available for your specific locations — whether leased line or VPN or other telecommunications channels — and help you get the best possible value.

Client Workstations

Each client workstation must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Pentium IV 2.0 GHz
• 32-bit Windows Vista™ Business Edition, Microsoft Windows® 2000 (SP3 or higher) and higher or Windows^® XP Professional or higher

Note: Windows Home Editions are NOT considered a business-calibre operating system, and will not run the DDMS Business System Software.
DDMS software will not install on Vista Home editions (neither Basic nor Premium). As a result, DDMS will not be supported on Vista Home.

Note: We recommend installing the latest critical updates and security patches from Microsoft. However, because some Service Packs have introduced conflicts, please check our Windows Platform Notes.

• 1 GB RAM (This should increase if you run other software besides DDMS on the client)
• 60 MB free space available on the hard drive

Network Topology

• Network rated at 100 megabits
• Category 5 cable
• Firewall strongly recommended
• Network anti-virus strongly recommended.

Peripherals

For recommended peripheral hardware including printers, point-of-sale equipment, credit card readers, scanners, terminals, network hubs, and print servers, see our Peripherals page.

One dot-matrix printer required:

You must have at least one dot-matrix printer on your DDMS system. Some system reports can only be printed on dot-matrix printers. read more

Note: The Okidata 2410 dot-matrix printer does not work under Windows.

Serial printers should be connected to a print server:

• DDMS does not support connecting serial printers to Specialix pads. While some customers have made this configuration work, many have experienced reliability problems. Instead of using Specialix pads, we recommend that you network serial printers by connecting them to a print server. This is an inexpensive solution that works well.
• DDMS 8.14 and higher does not support "slave" printer configurations, where a serial printer is connected directly to a dumb terminal workstation and dedicated to only print the tickets, slips, invoices, or labels created at that terminal. Again, we recommend that you network serial printers by connecting them to a print server.

ECinteractive™ or Dealer Station®Web Storefront Requirements

ECi hosts a Web storefront that is more than a simple shopping cart; ECinteractive is fully integrated with your DDMS customer, order entry, inventory catalog, fulfillment, and accounts receivable applications. Your customers get Internet ordering with the business-to-business (B2B) features they need, including customer budget controls and support for requisitions, purchasing authorizations, budget controls, custom pricing, quantity breaks, online payments, and more. You get a rich mix of marketing tools in a customizable interface with user-friendly administration.

To connect your DDMS server to your ECinteractive™ or Dealer Station Web storefront, you must meet the following requirements:

• You will need appropriate communication hardware (a modem, router, etc.) on your DDMSserver.
• Work with your telephone company and an Internet service provider to set up:
  • a dedicated Internet connection
  • a static IP address
• You must have at least one e-mail account to receive customer feedback from the links on your Dealer Station site.
• You will need to contact us to activate your site. While hosting services for your Web storefront are included in your monthly fee, there will be a modest, one-time fee to cover the costs of setting up your new Web site.

For more details, see our e-Commerce FAQs.

AutoComm™ II Email and Fax Software Requirements

• Server running DDMS 8.12.0 or later, TBL 6.21 or later
• Separate AutoComm II server with:
  • Windows® XP Pro or 2003 Server (SP2 with a SNP-Compatible NIC)
  • Fax Services Windows Component enabled
  • Anti-Virus On-Access Scan disabled
  • Internet connection
  • Network or direct serial connection to the DDMS server
  • Compatible analog fax modem & line
• Email account that allows SMTP forwarding

Note on Separate AutoComm II server: We do not recommend running AutoComm II on DDMS servers or clients. However, you can install AutoComm II on the same machine where you have installed AutoComm I or Approval Link credit card processing software, as long as it meets the requirements.

Note on Enabling Fax Component: Windows Fax is a component of Windows XP Pro or Server 2003. It may need to be enabled or installed and configured to work with your modem. Please consult your network administrator. See also Microsoft Knowledge Base Article # 306550: How to enable and configure the Fax service in Windows XP.

Note on TIF file association: Avoid installing additional software (including some browsers, office suites, photo or graphics publishing suites) on the machine where AutoComm II is installed. Other software may overwrite the TIF file association with Windows Picture and Fax Viewer with other programs, preventing AutoComm II from processing faxes.

Note on Disabling Antivirus On Access Scan: If you have an Anti-Virus service running on the machine where AutoComm II is installed, you must disable “on-access scanning.” Rest assured, we are not asking you to disable your scheduled periodic virus scan, nor are we asking you to disable your email virus scanning; keep those in place.

Note on Compatible Analog Fax Modem: If you’re unsure if your existing fax modem is compatible with Windows XP Pro or Windows 2003 Server, see the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/).

Note on Email Account with SMTP Forwarding: If you’re unsure if your existing email account supports SMTP forwarding, please consult your email provider, IT personnel, or Internet service provider. Free Webmail accounts such as AOL, Google Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo may not work as well with AutoComm II as internal or ISP-hosted email servers.

For more details, see our AutoComm Fax and Email FAQs.

ApprovalLink™ Credit Card Authorization Software Requirements

ApprovalLink™ software connects your DDMS business system to POS-partner authorization software for quick, easy processing of procurement and credit card transactions.

Your DDMSserver must have:

• Internet Access via TCP/IP

Dealers in the United States require one of the following:

• Vital® POS-partner credit card authorization software installed on a PC separate from your DDMS server. POS-partner is available from Net1 Payment Services, an ECi-Approved Vendor. Note: It is important to get POS-partner set up successfully as a standalone, manual credit card entry process before implementing Approval Link 2 to connect it to your DDMS business system. For more information, see Setting Up and Using Credit Cards and Approval Link 2.0
• VeriSign™/PayPal® PayFlo Pro® credit card authorization services. For more information, see see Credit Card Processing with Approval Link 3.0 (pdf).
• NET1 Payment Solutions credit card authorization services For more information, see Credit Card Processing with Approval Link 4.0 (pdf).    

Dealers in Canada require:

• An account with Paradata Systems Inc. For more information, see Setting Up and Using Credit Card Processing in Canada.

For more details, see our Approval Link Credit Card Processing FAQs.

ECi Private Supply Network (PSN) Requirements

To transmit purchase orders to your vendors, receive vendor acknowledgements, perform stock and price checks, and receive some vendors' invoices via the ECi Private Supply Network (PSN):

• Microsoft Windows® Server 2003 (SP2 with a SNP-Compatible NIC) as the DDMS server’s operating system.
• Internet access via an always-on, dedicated broadband connection (DSL, cable modem, or other permanent connection, such as a T1 line or frame relay).
• The latest released software. Due to the ever-evolving nature of the PSN and continual enhancements to each vendors' PSN services, we require the latest released version for new installations.
• Activate Your Account.

For more details, see our Private Supply Network documentation.

O/PUS Catalog Updates via PSN Download Requirements

In order for your DDMS server to communicate with the O/PUS PSN, it must have the following:

• Microsoft Windows® Server 2003 (SP2 with a SNP-Compatible NIC) as the DDMS server’s operating system.
• Internet access via an always-on, dedicated broadband connection (DSL, cable modem, or other permanent connection, such as a T1 line or frame relay).
• DDMS Version 7.4.0 or higher (graphical) business system software loaded on the server.
• Activate Your Account, selecting the O/PUS PSN.

If you don't meet the requirements for PSN, and must connect via dial-up modem, contact opus@eci2.com to request a PSN account ID and password.

Note: O/PUS®, the OPdb® multi-vendor database update and OPdb Toolbox, S.I.M.P.L.E., PSNControl, and Super Store Data Update are products or registered trademarks owned by Trade Service Corporation. On behalf of Trade Service Corp, ECi DDMS continues to provide technical support to DDMS customers for the O/PUS products.