Host company files in QuickBooks multi user mode

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Host company files in QuickBooks multi user mode

Updated: Oct 24, 2011

Article ID: HOW16235

This article provides detailed background information on multi-user hosting in QuickBooks. To set up multi-user hosting or modify an existing setup, we recommend these articles:

Hosting Defined

The term hosting is used to describe the situation where the computer that is storing a company file (the host) allows other computers to access the file.

QuickBooks uses a service to manage company file access:

QuickBooks 2012 uses QuickBooksDB22
QuickBooks 2010 uses QuickBooksDB20
QuickBooks 2008 uses QuickBooksDB18

Hosting Diagram

Dedicated hosting diagram

Peer to peer hosting diagram

Alternate hosting diagram

Hosting Modes

The hosting mode is set for each version of QuickBooks and for each computer. It is not set for the company file or the QuickBooks installation. When multiple versions of QuickBooks 2006 or later are used concurrently, the hosting mode settings for each version are independent.

There are 3 hosting modes: Not Hosting (also known as Hosting Off), Hosting Local Files only, and Hosting Local & Remote files.

In Not Hosting mode:

QuickBooks Database Manager runs as a normal process, as a Windows user running QuickBooks.
Not Hosting mode does not support multi-user mode. Not Hosting mode uses shared memory to communicate with QuickBooks. In this mode, only the QuickBooks user who is running QuickBooks on the local computer can use a database server to access a file.

In Hosting Local Files only mode:

QuickBooks Database Server Manager runs as a Windows service named QuickBooksDBXX (where XX is a number determined by the version of QuickBooks, as described under "Hosting defined," above) and as the Windows user QBDataServiceUserXX (with XX being the same 2-digit number that the Windows service uses).
As long as the computer is on, the service QuickBooksDBXX is always running.
Multi-user mode is supported, using TCP/IP to communicate with QuickBooks. QuickBooks users on remote computers can access company files using a database server running in Hosting Local Files only mode.
A computer in Hosting Local Files only mode can host only those files that are located on that computer.

In Hosting Local & Remote files mode:

QuickBooks Database Manager runs as a normal process, as the currently logged on Windows user. This process starts when a user logs in to Windows and stops when the user logs out.
A computer in Hosting Local & Remote files mode can support multi-user mode, using TCP/IP to communicate with QuickBooks. QuickBooks users on remote computers can access company files on this computer using a database server.
A local computer in this mode can host files stored on it, as well as files that are located on remote computers and opened on the local computer.

How QuickBooks determines which database server to communicate with

QuickBooks looks for the .nd file. The .nd file is a small text file with the same name as the company file, but with an .nd file extension. This file is located in the same directory as the company file, which has the file extension .qbw. The directory also contains the information needed to contact the server, such as the IP address and port.
QuickBooks determines whether the .qbw file is in use.
If QuickBooks finds the .nd file and detects that the company file is in use, QuickBooks tries to communicate with the server:
- If it is successful, QuickBooks opens the company file.
- If it's not successful, an error message that describes the steps needed to resolve the issue appears. See Multiple computers receive error H101, H202, H303, or H505 when opening the company file.

If this information does not resolve the issue, you can read discussions and post messages and questions relating to your issue on the Intuit QuickBooks Community site for free, or you can contact a technical support agent for additional guidance. Fees may apply.

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