ClearMax technicians install dental office servers and set up new computers on site in Seattle, as a one-off project with no monthly plan required. For Open Dental practices that means a server sized to the vendor's own tables, a tested backup and a written handover.
Last updated: November 2026
What does a server install cover?
The server is the one computer that runs the database program and stores the shared files; the vendor recommends it be dedicated to that job, to protect data. A ClearMax technician does the work at the practice, in this order:
- Check the details first. Compare the computers, the image folder, the database version and the storage engine with what the quote was built on. If more work is needed, it is brought to the practice's attention and the bid is updated.
- Build the machine. Windows, the database engine, and a server name shorter than 15 characters, which the vendor suggests because of a Windows limit.
- Put the data in place. A brand-new practice starts from the vendor's blank database; an existing one comes across by the vendor's server migration steps.
- Share the image folder so every computer can read and write it.
- Open the one port the program needs, port 3306, on the server only.
- Install the background services, including the Open Dental Service and the eConnector, which the vendor says its online services need.
- Back up, restore and hand over. A backup only counts once it has been restored somewhere else, and the practice gets the record of what was built.
When do new computers come into it?
Often at the same time, because the desks are what staff notice. The vendor's sheet suggests a quad-core machine with 8 GB of memory and a 500 GB drive for a new workstation, on Windows 11. The less obvious part is that each computer has a job. The one in the operatory holds the sensor driver. The prescriber's needs Microsoft Edge for electronic prescriptions. The one at the front desk has its own printers for claims and statements.
The dental office computer setup page walks through each of those roles, and the vendor's own install steps for a workstation. Because a workstation does not hold the database or the images, computers can be swapped a few at a time, with the rest of the practice still working.
Which decision comes before buying anything?
Where the database should live. The vendor runs a hosted version of its program, and it lists features that work differently there, along with a fit test for the internet line. A practice that passes may never need to buy a server. One that fails, or that depends on a feature the hosted version lacks, should buy the right machine and stop wondering. The server vs cloud page sets out that decision. If the answer is a server, the hardware requirements page turns the vendor's tables into a shopping list.
How does Seattle change the plan?
Two local hazards change the design of the project, more than any rule of thumb from a generic checklist. Both are in the city's own emergency planning, and both are worth a line in the written scope.
Seattle's Office of Emergency Management calls earthquakes the most serious hazard facing the city, and says the Seattle Fault Zone extends east-west through the middle of it. So a second copy of the data at another office across town protects against a fire, not against the event the city worries about most. The copy that counts sits outside the region, and restoring from it is tested before anyone needs it.
The other is wind. In the 2006 storm, 49% of Seattle City Light's customers lost power; 95% were back within two days, and full restoration took a week. No battery rides that out. A battery exists to shut the server down cleanly, so the database is not damaged when the power goes. That changes what gets bought: a modest battery with automatic shutdown set up and tested, instead of a large one that only postpones the same problem.
IT setup for a new dental office
A practice opening or moving has a date it cannot miss, and the IT work runs on that date. ClearMax technicians set up the server, computers, accounts and software so that the office is ready on opening day. Cabling, cameras and door hardware are done by your licensed local contractor, and network hardware stays with that contractor too. The IT plan names what the server and computers need from those trades, so the two pieces of work meet in the middle.
The order that keeps the date safe: agree where the server sits, get the software ordered and licensed in the practice's name, build and test the server before the move, then bring the computers in once the contractor has finished. Nothing goes live until a chart and an image open on every desk, and a backup has been restored.
Why a project and not a monthly plan?
Most dental IT companies in this market sell ongoing support. That suits some practices. It does not fit one that already has someone for daily questions, or that simply needs a five-year-old server replaced and would like the work finished and documented. A project here has a written scope, a quote built from the details the practice provides, and an end. No monthly plan is required to book one.
It is not an emergency line. If the program is down today and the practice is not a ClearMax client, the vendor's support desk is the right first call.
Who does what on a project?
- ClearMax technicians: the server, the computers, accounts, backups and the move of the data, on site.
- The vendor, Open Dental Software: the program itself, and its support desk. Its requirements are on its computer requirements page. The vendor says Windows updates are outside the scope of its support.
- The office's licensed local contractor: cabling, cameras, door hardware and network hardware.
- The practice: decisions, sign-off, and its own licences and accounts, which stay in its own name.
Why does the data need special handling here?
Because in this state a chart counts as personal information. Under RCW 19.255.005, a name combined with information about a person's medical history or condition, or a professional's diagnosis or treatment, is personal information. That reaches well past card numbers, and it means any old drive that held charts deserves the same care as the live server. Drives leaving service are wiped or destroyed, with the date written down, and the new server's drives are encrypted from the start.
What Seattle offices ask before booking
What are the server requirements for Open Dental?
For up to ten workstations, the vendor's minimum is a dual-core processor, Windows 11 Professional, 4 GB of memory and a 160 GB drive. Treat those as a floor; image storage and connections usually decide the real size.
How do I move Open Dental software to a new server?
The vendor publishes the steps and labels them for advanced IT users. The database and images are copied across, the services are reinstalled, and every workstation is pointed at the new name.
Does Open Dental have a cloud version?
Yes, for US customers, currently in limited release according to the vendor. The computers at the desks stay the practice's responsibility either way.
Do technicians come to the office?
Yes. ClearMax technicians do server, computer, backup and software work on site in Seattle.
How is a project priced?
The quote is built from the details the practice provides. If more work is needed, it is brought to the practice's attention and the bid is updated.