Before you begin:

  • During these procedures we assume you already have a working computer network in place and have read the Installation Instructions.
  • If you or your company do not have a fully functional network in place, please get one. Dr. Dispatch staff can not help you set up a computer network or troubleshoot hardware and/or networking issues outside of the Dr. Dispatch software suite.
  • The computer you chose as a server in the Installing Dr Dispatch section MUST HAVE A STATIC IP ADDRESS.

Firewall Note - Dr Dispatch recommends the use of spyware/malware/antivirus protection as well as a properly configured firewall. Improperly configured firewalls and anti-virus/spyware protection software can prevent legitimate software such as Dr Dispatch from running properly.

Please ensure DrDisp.exe and nxServer.exe (on your data server) are allowed inbound/outbound on your LAN. Consult your firewall or other security software's manual for instructions on configuring your specific security suite.

Networking

The computers you install Dr Dispatch as a client will produce the following screen on the first start up.

  • You may also see this screen after a local network failure, such as after a power outage.
  • You can also access this screen at any time by going to the System > Change Database menu option.


1. Dr Dispatch is asking your network for a list of the IP addresses of advertising Dr Dispatch servers. Click on the desired IP address for your server to select it.

  • In the above example one server is responding. 
  • Seeing more than one server/IP indicates a possible misconfiguration during the installation of a DRD client. 
  • Empty server lists indicate there is either no Dr Dispatch server or a firewall/malware protection program is blocking nxServer.exe on the server and/or DrDisp.exe on the client/server.

2. The "Database Alias" list will populate with the names of each database available on the selected server. Click on the name of your database to select it. 

  • Most users will see two database names: "drd5" and "drd5_backup" by default. 
  • Users with multiple databases will most likely have aliases named after each of their companies.

3. Click the Open button to connect Dr Dispatch to your alias.