Cloud 9 System Requirements

Hardware

Cloud 9 may require other third-party software for unique business purposes; e.g., models, tracing and presentations, and require additional hardware.

Please speak with your local IT consultant about setup, configuration, management and support considerations.

Thin Clients (e.g., remote desktop, terminal server and Citrix) are not supported by Cloud 9. They could introduce an unnecessary decline in program responsiveness.

Software

This section outlines operating systems currently being used and products with an end-of-life (EOL) status.

IMPORTANT: C9 agent is not compatible with Apple OS X (Mac). C9 agent is used for various services including connection to x-ray machines, document scanners, Topaz signature devices, and in some cases, printers.

End-of-Life

Microsoft issued end-of-life (EOL) status for the following: 

• Windows 7 on January 14, 2020 
• Windows Vista on April 11, 2017 
• Windows 8 on January 12, 2016  

For these EOL products, Cloud 9: 

• Cannot guarantee future compatibility with future versions of Cloud 9
• Has ended its support of these EOL products.

Browser

This section outlines browser recommendations and support for Cloud 9. 

Network

This section provides important information about office connectivity to the internet.

Internet Connections

• Each office requires its own dedicated connection to the Internet. 

• Your office’s IP needs to be static during office hours. 

• Offices with existing non-cable-based internet connection services should consider switching to cable service. 
  • Cable service offers higher down/up speeds as compared to other service options (e.g., T1, ADSL, ADSL2+, DSL). 

• Minimum upload and download speed requirements at each office location may vary based on office acceptable use policies, the number of systems at each location and various use cases, etc.
  • When deciding how much bandwidth is needed, 1 Mb/s download rate for each computer and 0.5 Mb/s upload per computer are our minimum recommendations. 
  • Larger offices are not expected to have an upload speed above 20 Mb\s.
• Offices using Voice over IP (VoIP) should consider setting up network-based quality of service controls to ensure office-based internet usage doesn’t affect the quality of the VoIP. 
• Cloud 9 recommends, but does not require, that all offices have a secondary internet service provider. Speak with your local IT consultant for additional guidance. 
  • The primary and secondary service should not be using the same connection type. 
  • If using cable as the main provider, a Wi-Fi hot-spot from a cell phone carrier or DSL as the secondary service could be used. 
• Cloud 9 does not recommend using VPN or any third-party connection to connect to the internet. Doing so may cause performance and/or printing problems. 

Local Area Network

• Assess office-based network hardware and its related physical connectivity. Over time, offices may move equipment and re-connect equipment (e.g., damaged or loose cables, misconfigurations, etc.). As a result, this can negatively affect the performance of Cloud 9 practice management software. 
• Ensure the latest firmware updates are installed on all network equipment. Firmware refers to the operating system on a hardware device. Outdated firmware can result in odd and hard-to-troubleshoot user experiences due to faulty device code. 

Peripheral Equipment

This section provides guidelines for printers, scanners and imaging devices.

Printers

Most newer generation printers should work with Cloud 9.

• Check manufacturer documentation for compatibility for printers.
• Ensure the printer’s driver can handle custom paper sizes.  

Printers need to be either: 

• Directly connected to user systems OR be configured to sit on/connect to the network in a stand-alone way 

C9 Agent is an optional program to facilitate print management. Must be installed on a Windows-based PC; it is not compatible with MacOS. 

Recommended Printers 

• A printer that allows for customized paper size.
• Dymo Label Writer and a Dymo print server, especially for the MacOS environment. The Dymo print server is inexpensive and overcomes many obstacles of Dymo paper size issues.
• Laser printers are recommended for bulk and color printing. 

Scanners and Imaging Devices

Note: Cloud 9 currently does not store 3D images or models. However, compressed versions can be stored in the Cloud 9 document cabinet if the corresponding viewer is installed on the machine where the compressed versions will be viewed. 

TWAIN Driver

C9 Agent must be installed with the appropriate TWAIN driver (for Xray machines and scanners) to be able to import documents/images directly into Cloud 9 without first copying the document to the system’s desktop.  

• TWAIN drivers are available for most PC-based digital machines. 
  Contact the device’s manufacturer to inquire about compatibility and supportability. 
• Cloud 9 currently cannot integrate with a TWAIN driver on Apple devices. You can still scan on a MAC but will have to use Cloud 9’s import feature instead of acquire feature.
• If Carestream imaging software is being used, contact Carestream support to get special instructions to follow to use a TWAIN driver. 

To use Cloud 9’s acquire function for TWAIN drivers, Cloud 9 requires the My Documents folder to point at the local system’s hard drive. 

• For networked office environments, the My Documents folder on systems may be mapped to a network drive. In those cases, the offices would need to use the Cloud 9 import function instead of the acquire function.

Monitors

Cloud 9 is designed to work in a wide screen layout.