Open Dental's hardware requirements start at a dual-core server with 4 GB of memory, a 160 GB drive and Windows 11 Professional for up to ten workstations. Those are minimums. What a Seattle practice should buy depends on image growth, connection limits, and a battery sized for the outages this city actually gets.
Last updated: November 2026
What are the minimum hardware requirements for a server?
The vendor's sheet treats the database server and the file server for images as two jobs, each with its own table.
| Database server, by workstations | 1 to 10 | 11 to 30 | 31 to 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Dual core | Dual core | Quad core |
| 64-bit operating system | Windows 11 Professional | Windows 11 Professional, or Server 2016, 2019 or 2022 | Server 2016, 2019 or 2022, or Linux |
| Memory | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Drive | 160 GB | 250 GB | 500 GB |
| File server for images, by workstations | 1 to 10 | 11 to 30 | 31 to 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 11 Professional | NAS, or Server 2016, 2019 or 2022 | NAS, Server 2016, 2019 or 2022, or Linux |
| Share with the database machine? | Yes | Typically, yes | Maybe |
| Memory | 4 to 6 GB | 4 to 6 GB | 4 to 6 GB |
| Drive | 250 GB | 500 GB | As needed |
Read the bottom row of each table side by side. For the smallest office, the image store's minimum is larger than the database's, and if one box does both jobs it needs room for both. A machine bought with exactly 160 GB would already fall short of the sheet's own image number.
Which of those numbers run out first?
Drive space
Almost always this, since radiographs and scans only pile up. The vendor says a typical server install needs 1 to 2 GB plus the database and the image folder, and it recommends SSD or NVMe drives, though it does not require them. So measure the current image folder, find out how much it grew last year, and size for several more years. Leave room to restore a backup beside the live data, since that is where a restore goes before it replaces anything.
Connections
This limit catches offices by surprise. The vendor lists a maximum of 20 connections for a Windows 11 file share, in all editions, and no limit on Linux. Its hardware sheet adds that an office should allow 20 to 25 percent more connections than workstations, to prevent rolling disconnects. That margin makes about 16 computers the practical ceiling for a Windows 11 Professional server, well before any processor limit. Its network page says an office with more than ten computers will typically use Windows Server.
Memory
The vendor recommends 4 to 8 GB in general and says the program itself uses about 60 MB. The machine running the database may need more, especially with InnoDB. Memory is rarely the costly part of an order, so 4 GB is the wrong place to save.
What OS do most servers run here?
For this program, the choice is usually between two versions of Windows. The vendor supports Windows 11 and Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025, and says the server can also run Linux or macOS. It suspended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025, and Server 2012 before that. For a small practice, Windows 11 Professional is the usual answer. Once an office expects to pass about fifteen computers, or wants a domain and central logins, Windows Server is the better fit. Note that the sheet's table stops at Server 2022 while the requirements page lists 2025, so a Server 2025 order deserves a quick check with the vendor first. Linux adds, in the vendor's words on sharing the image folder, a level of complexity that may complicate future troubleshooting.
The eConnector also matters here. The vendor says it is not compatible with Linux or Mac, and that it belongs on one machine that stays on and awake. A practice using reminders and online forms therefore keeps at least that one Windows machine running around the clock.
How big should the battery be in Seattle?
The vendor calls an uninterruptible power supply optional but recommended, because it can prevent loss of data on the machine running the database. In this city, treat it as required. About half of Seattle City Light's unplanned power outages are caused by falling trees or branches, which makes a sudden loss of power a routine event for a database, not a rare one.
Size it to finish a shutdown, not to keep working through a storm. In the 2006 storm, 49% of City Light's customers lost power, 95% had it back within two days, and full restoration took a week. No office battery covers that. What a battery can do is hold the server long enough for a clean, automatic shutdown, and that automatic part is what gets tested at the install: pull the plug on purpose, watch the server shut down by itself, and confirm the database starts cleanly afterwards.
Offices in some neighborhoods have one more thing to know. City Light's outage map does not include the underground network distribution areas in downtown Seattle, First Hill and the University District. If the server has gone quiet at an office in one of those areas, an empty map proves nothing. The shutdown plan and the staff instructions cannot depend on looking it up.
Where does encryption fit in the order?
On the build sheet, because it is far easier to turn on before the data arrives. RCW 19.255.005 defines secured as encrypted in a manner that meets or exceeds the National Institute of Standards and Technology standard, or otherwise made unreadable, unusable or undecipherable. A stolen server that meets that definition is a different event from one that does not, and the same goes for a backup drive. The vendor adds that its Backup Tool does not encrypt anything, and suggests an encrypted device or encryption software.
The key needs its own home. Under RCW 19.255.010, secured data must still be disclosed if the encryption key or other means of deciphering it was acquired by an unauthorized person, so the recovery key is stored away from the machine it unlocks, and its location goes in the handover record.
What should a backup target look like?
Two destinations, for two different failures. The vendor recommends a network path to another workstation or server in the office for the routine backup, warns against backing up to the folder that holds the live database, and says at least one method should be stored off the network, which matters most against ransomware. Its page on online backups says the first upload can take as long as a week with many images, and that later ones send only the changes. Include the backup drive and the off-site service in the same order as the server, or they tend not to happen at all.
How does a spec become a purchase?
- Count the computers today and those planned, then pick the vendor's tier for the larger number.
- Measure the image folder and its yearly growth, then set the drive size from that.
- Decide on one box or a separate image store. A NAS is on the vendor's list from eleven workstations up, at the cost of a second device to patch, back up and encrypt.
- Choose Windows 11 Professional or Windows Server from the connection count.
- Add the battery, the backup target and the off-site service to the same order.
- Confirm the name is under 15 characters, and that sleep settings are off, before the program goes on.
A practice replacing a running server goes on to the server migration page. One still unsure a server is needed at all should read the server vs cloud page first. The desks have their own numbers, on the computer setup page.
Hardware questions from Seattle offices
How much RAM does the server need?
The vendor's floor is 4 GB for up to 100 workstations, and it recommends more for InnoDB. Windows itself takes a share of that, and Windows 11's own minimum is 4 GB, so a new server is ordered above the floor.
Can the server be someone's desk computer?
The vendor says a small office will usually designate a workstation as the server, and that it should only be used as the office server, if possible.
Where should it sit in the building?
Somewhere cool, secured and off the floor, with its battery beside it. Agree the spot before the install, since the licensed local contractor handling cabling may need to know.