Ascendis Caller ID network clients and servers can communicate with each other in two different ways, or protocols.  These are called real-time and polling.

Real-time

In this protocol, the Ascendis Caller ID client maintains a constant connection with the Ascendis Caller ID server.  As soon as the server receives a phone call, the client is notified.  If the connection is broken, the client will try to reconnect every minute.  This should work well on local networks, but may not be reliable when connecting to an Ascendis Caller ID server over the internet.

Real-time is the default network configuration, and will automatically be used if the advanced network settings are not used.  When using advanced network settings, make sure the client's Connection Type is set to Real-time, and the server's Server Type is set to Real-time, or Both.

Polling

In this protocol, the Ascendis Caller ID client connects to the Ascendis Caller ID server at configured intervals.  During each connection, if the server has any calls received since the newest call in the client's database, it sends them to the client.  Since the client and server only connect periodically, this method works better over slow or congested networks, like the internet.  If the client can't connect to the server, it will try again at the next interval.

Note that if the client is also receiving calls locally (from an attached modem), it will probably miss calls from the server.  Each time the client connects, it asks the server for calls that came in since the latest call in the client's database.  If a local call was received after the server received a call, the client will never receive the server's call.

This protocol allows clients to retrieve any and all calls in the calls database on the server.  The calls information is not sent as plain text, but it should not be considered secure.

To use the polling protocol, check the "Show advanced settings" checkbox on the Network page of the Options window.  Then, for the client, select Check for new calls every ___ seconds in the "Connection Type" box.  (Change the polling interval if desired.)  On the server, select Polling, or Both, in the "Server Type" box.  Be sure the Username and Password on the client and server match.