Using iOS devices with Retail Pro Prism can present certain technological hurdles in a Microsoft and Apple environment. Microsoft Windows uses NetBIOS or WINS for computers to be able to communicate by workstation name or hostname. This is what allows you to access a workstation by using the hostname of WS-1 instead of having to use an IP address such as 192.168.1.100.

Apple does not support NetBIOS or WINS, which makes it impossible to communicate by a simple hostname alone. Therefore, when a user tries to access hostname WS-1 from an iPad, they will see an error message similar to "unable to locate the server."

 

To resolve this issue - and get Retail Pro Prism working on an iOS device - we have two options:

 

Option 1: Use a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN)

The first option is to use a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). If you (the user) are on Domain and have a DNS server setup, you can use the FQDN to find and locate the Retail Pro Prism server you are trying to communicate with. While the hostname "WS-1" may not work in a Domain with DNS setup, "WS-1.RetailPro.com" would work. This is because we are using the Domain's DNS server to locate the Retail Pro Prism server on the network (instead of using NetBIOS or WINS).

 

 

The other option - that is more viable for a network that is setup as a workgroup and not a Domain - is to install Retail Pro Prism using a static IP address.

 

Option 2: Using a Static IP Address

If the static IP address is used, then there is no need to do any kind of name resolution, and the iOS device is simply able to find the Retail Pro Prism server.

Note: when you are installing the Retail Pro Prism server, it is important to determine if you will be using:

  • A Hostname (only windows devices on the network)

  • A FDQN (are on a domain and have a DNS server)

  • A static IP address (if using iOS devices on a workgroup).