Easify V3 is no longer supported.

For continued support and to get the latest features we recommend that you upgrade from V3 to V4 as soon as possible.

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Terminology

Throughout this troubleshooting guide we will refer to the following terms:

Client - The computer on which the Easify client is being installed. 
 
Server - The computer on which the Easify database is installed.


Network Connectivity Problems

General Network Connectivity

First of all make sure that network cables are securely inserted and in good working order. If you are using WiFi make sure it is enabled and connected to your wireless access point. Also ensure that routers and switches are powered up and working properly.

The first thing to check is that the computer you are installing the Easify client on can 'see' the server.

Launch a command prompt and type the command PING <SERVER_NAME> where <SERVER_NAME> is the name of your server.

If the ping command times out, then try the ping command with the IP address of your server - PING <SERVER_IP_ADDRESS> where <SERVER_IP_ADDRESS> is the IP address of your server.

If you find that you can ping your server by IP address but not by name it means that you have a name resolution problem on your network. This can be due to a variety of reasons including local DNS issues or NETBIOS problems on older networks. If you are unable to fix the name resolution problem, you can try to get Easify up and running by entering the IP address of the computer you are trying to connect to instead of its name. Be sure to use a private static IP address on your server in this case, because if you allow your server to obtain its IP address via DHCP the address may change rendering your clients unable to connect.

If you are unable to ping your server from the client by computer name or IP address you will need to troubleshoot your network which is beyond the scope of this guide.


Firewall Settings

If you experience difficulty with getting a networked Easify client to see your Easify database (Server), check the internal firewall settings on the server.

Note: Easify only requires local network access, do not open any public facing firewall ports on your internet facing firewall in an attempt to resolve an issue with Easify connectivity. All references to firewall here are related to the internal Windows (or 3rd party software firewall) on your server.

The server needs to allow the following applications through its internal (Windows) firewall:

SQL Browser Service - typically located at "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Shared\sqlbrowser.exe"

SQL Server (Easify) - typically located at "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Binn\sqlservr.exe"

Note: The paths to these applications may vary depending on your specific computer configuration.

Although Easify uses an SQL server for its database it does not connect on standard SQL ports. Instead the Easify client contacts the SQL Browser Service to obtain a dynamic port to the actual SQL Server (Easify). Hence both applications must be allowed through the firewall on the server, just opening standard SQL ports on the firewall is not guaranteed to work.

Note: Also ensure that the SQL Browser Service is enabled, set to automatic startup and is running on the server.


Anti-Virus Software

Some brands of anti-virus software can interfere with the smooth running of Easify (and indeed other applications).

Easify is an application that was designed for network use, and even if only installed on a single standalone computer still makes use of internal network subsystems to communicate between client and server (even though these are on the same physical computer). Some anti-virus programs can interfere with this network traffic and cause connectivity problems in Easify.

Some Anti-virus software can interfere with files that are required while running Easify. 

For these reasons we suggest that you temporarily disable your anti-virus software while installing Easify. 

If you encounter problems running Easify after installation or encounter problems with connecting a network Easify client to a server, you should investigate whether your anti-virus software is conflicting with Easify. The easiest way to determine whether anti-virus software is conflicting with Easify is to temporarily disable your anti-virus software. However some anti-virus software does not fully disable itself when configured to be disabled and in this case the anti-virus software should be temporarily uninstalled and the computer rebooted before proceeding to troubleshoot Easify.