Dentrix server requirements, with Eaglesoft and Open Dental

Before you buy a server or new workstations, check them against your practice software vendor's own requirements. This guide pulls together what Henry Schein One, Patterson and Open Dental publish for Dentrix, Eaglesoft and Open Dental, and what those numbers mean for a practice owner. The sheets change, so use the links to check the current version before you order.

Start with the sheet for your exact version

Each vendor publishes its own requirements and updates them as new versions ship and Microsoft retires old versions of Windows. The figures below come from the vendors’ own documents, read on October 30, 2026. They are minimums, and imaging and add-on software push the real numbers higher. Before you order, open the current page for the version you will run.

Dentrix

The newest Dentrix sheet we could open is Dentrix 24.1 System Requirements, published by Henry Schein One in January 2024. Henry Schein One’s support portal would not load for us, so check it for your version.

• Server: Windows Server 2016 or later, 64-bit, 4 cores at 2.4 GHz, 8 GB of RAM for up to 10 workstations and 16 GB for more than 10.
• Disk: 40 GB total, with 5 GB on the C: drive. Henry Schein One recommends keeping more than 10 percent free on every physical drive.
• Workstations: Windows 10 or later, 64-bit, 2 cores at 2.4 GHz, 4 GB of RAM, 5 GB on the C: drive.
• Network: 1 Gbps for the server and the workstations. Wireless is at your own risk, and should be Wireless-AC or newer if you use it.
• Not supported: Windows Server Essentials and Small Business Server, and thin-client setups such as Terminal Services and Citrix.
• Virtual machines: tested on properly configured Hyper-V and VMware.

Eaglesoft

Patterson’s Eaglesoft hardware and network requirements were last revised on August 11, 2026.

• Server, 9 or fewer workstations: Intel Core i5 (8th generation or newer), 16 GB of RAM, a 1 TB 7200 RPM drive in RAID 1, a gigabit network adapter. Patterson recommends a dedicated Eaglesoft server once you have 6 or more workstations.
• Server, 10 or more workstations: Intel Xeon (6th generation or newer), a Windows Server operating system, 16 GB of RAM, a 1 TB 7200 RPM drive in RAID 1 or 5.
• Server operating systems: Windows Server 2016, 2019 or 2022 Standard (Eaglesoft 23 or later), Windows Server 2025 Standard (24.20.03 or later), or Windows 11 Pro (23.00.02 or later). A Windows Server system must be a dedicated server, wired to the network.
• Workstations: Intel Core i5 (8th generation or newer), 8 GB of RAM, Windows 11 Pro with TPM 2.0, a 120 GB drive (500 GB if the PC does other jobs), a gigabit adapter and at least 6 powered USB 2.0 ports.
• Not supported: virtual machines, Windows Home editions and Small Business Server.

Open Dental

Open Dental’s hardware requirements sheet was last updated in August 2026, and its computer requirements page lists the supported versions of Windows.

• Database server, 1 to 10 workstations: dual-core CPU, 4 GB of RAM, a 160 GB drive, Windows 11 Pro.
• Database server, 11 to 30 workstations: dual-core CPU, 4 GB of RAM, a 250 GB drive, Windows 11 Pro or Windows Server 2016, 2019 or 2022.
• Image storage: Open Dental sizes the image folder separately, at 250 GB for up to 10 workstations and 500 GB for 11 to 30.
• Workstations, suggested new: quad-core CPU, Windows 11 64-bit, 8 GB of RAM, a 500 GB drive, 1000 Mbps networking.
• Other options: Windows Server 2025 is on the supported list, and the server can also run on Linux. Virtual machines are allowed, with a warning that other workloads on the same host can slow the database.

What the numbers mean when you buy a server

• Size the disk for images. The practice database is small next to X-rays, scans and photos. Patterson notes that image storage may need more than its 1 TB baseline. Buy disk for several years of images.
• Count connections. Open Dental notes that Windows 11 Pro allows up to 20 concurrent connections and recommends 20 to 25 percent more connections than workstations. The Dentrix sheet also says to check connection limits if a desktop version of Windows is the server. If you are near that limit, plan on Windows Server.
• Check virtualization before you design around it. Dentrix and Open Dental allow it with conditions. Eaglesoft does not support it.
• Skip Windows Server 2016 on new hardware. It is still on all three lists, but Microsoft’s extended support for it ends January 12, 2027. See our Windows Server 2016 guide.
• Add a battery. Patterson recommends battery backup for every server, tested twice a year. Open Dental recommends a UPS on the machine running the database.

What the numbers mean for workstations

Workstation minimums look modest, at 4 GB to 8 GB of RAM. In a real operatory the same PC also runs imaging software, sensor drivers and a browser, so we buy to the vendor’s suggested line, not the minimum. Windows 10 still appears on the Dentrix 24.1 sheet, but Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 Home and Pro on October 14, 2025. New PCs should ship with Windows 11 Pro, which is on all three vendors’ lists.

Check ports and chipsets too. Patterson recommends Intel USB chipsets for Schick sensors. Sensor and scanner makers publish their own requirements, and they can be stricter than the practice software’s.

Where we come in

We check your software version, images and workstation count against the vendor’s current sheet before anything is ordered, then handle the move through our practice migration service. Start with a free on-site assessment.