What hardware do you need for Dentally?

UPDATE: This blog post is now out of date. You can find the most recent and up to date version of our system requirements here.

When it comes to dental software there is a broad spectrum of what the hardware requirements are for each system. Dental software that requires an in-practice server can be costly to purchase and maintain but as Dentally is based in the cloud there is a significant saving. Because no data is stored on the machines, the requirements are at a minimum.

All Dentally requires to run is an internet connection and a computer with the ability to run a web browser - in other words, not much is needed. As Dentally is a cloud-based solution, it is our servers which take on the brunt of the work, rather than your in-practice machines.

Minimum Specifications

As a result of this, our minimum recommended specifications are as follows:

Minimum Operating System: Windows 7/OS X Mavericks 10.9
Recommended OS: Windows 7 or later/Mac OS X El Capitan or later
Recommended Ram: 4GB
Recommended Minimum Monitor Resolution and size: 1920x1080 (19" or greater)

Of course, this has some caveats. If, for example, you are looking to replace a computer that is responsible for taking radiography then you should make sure that the specifications of the new computers are in line with their recommended requirements which can differ from Dentally. Some of the more powerful imaging software on the market has a 8GB recommended level of RAM, so you might need a little more juice if you also require imaging.

What happens if you lose internet?

In the rare case that you lose your connection to the internet in your practice (after all, these days internet really is a utility and rarely goes down), it is still very simple to use Dentally.

One of the most common ways to overcome this minor inconvenience is to set your phone up as a data hotspot, login and use Dentally as normal. If you've never done this before, in essence what it means is that your phone omits a WiFi signal through 3G/4G and you will be able to connect your laptop or computer to the internet through your mobile. Most phones come with the ability to hotspot these days but you might want to check that your providers allow you to do it.

Of course, if hotspotting doesn't sound like your thing and you want more peace of mind we also recommend having a backup router. A backup router can be wired or wireless but the basics of what happens is that if your main router loses access to the internet and stops broadcasting, then the backup router receives a signal that internet is no longer broadcasting and instantly starts it's own signal. This happens so quickly that the user rarely even notices that something has gone wrong. If you choose a wireless router, it works much like a hotspot on your mobile - it runs off a sim card that you insert into the router but with the advantage that it starts up if your main router goes down.

We recommend Draytek routers but you have plenty of options here. Some of the routers we recommend are:
1. Draytek 2860
2. Draytek 2860Ln
3. Draytek 2960
and we can even assist with setup and that sort of thing. Alternatively, you can arrange your own router or other backup internet access (dongles are always a popular choice!) if you would like but we're always available to give advice.