Before You Start - Installation Requirements

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The Design Manager Installation works with Microsoft Windows Installer to guide you through the installation process.  The Installation Wizard automatically recognizes your computer’s operating system and updates files as required. Note: Design Manager Pro 7.0 no longer supports Windows 95, Windows 98/98se, Windows Me, or Windows NT 4.0; all workstations need to have a minimum of 800MB of local disk space (see installation requirements below).

 

Design Manager can be installed on a local (stand-alone) computer from the CD, on a peer-to-peer network using the CD, on a LAN (local area network) with a dedicated server using the CD, and on a workstation attached to a peer-to-peer network or LAN with or without the CD, or on Microsoft Windows Terminal Server.   There are a few guidelines to follow when installing any program under Microsoft Windows:

Make sure that your computers are equal to or better than the installation requirements (see below).
Make sure that all Windows Updates and Service Packs are installed.
All programs that you are using should be closed before beginning the installation.  Make sure you close the program completely and save any work.
Be prepared to restart your computer.   All of the Design Manager installations require you to restart your computer.

 

Installation and Hardware Requirements

 

Below are the minimum system requirements to run Design Manager Pro 7.0.  These requirements are very modest; therefore, please also check the minimum requirements for the operating system and other software that you plan on running.

 

***For the LATEST (most up-to-date) requirements for Pro 7R3, please review the following link:

http://knowledge.designmanager.com/media?mid=10000239&l=http%3a%2f%2fknowledge.designmanager.com%2farticles%2f10000239.pdf&hfkl=5

 

 

Stand-alone Computer (Single User), Network Workstation, or Peer-to-Peer Network (2 - 5 users)

1 gigahertz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor running Windows Vista (any version), Windows 7 (any version) or Windows 8.  Latest service packs and updates should be installed on all operating systems.  Windows Server 2003/2008/2008R2/2012 can be used as workstation for Pro 7.0 R3 only.
1 gigabyte (GB) of RAM for 32 bit (x86) or 2 GB for 64-bit (x64).  Install takes about 1 GB hard drive space.
17” or large monitor recommended (1024 x 768 or widescreen).
Peer-to-peer Network: Computer with shared drive must have the most robust operating system.  Operating systems are listed from most robust to least:  Windows Server 2012, Server 2008 R2, Server 2008, Windows 7, Vista (latest service packs and updates should be installed on all operating systems).  100 M-bit Ethernet or equivalent speed network. Wireless networks are not acceptable.

 

Dedicated Server (5 - 8 users, Pro 7.0 R3 only)

1 gigahertz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
1 GB of RAM for 32 bit (x86) or 2 GB for 64-bit (x64).  Installation takes about 1 GB hard drive space.
100 M-bit Ethernet or equivalent speed network. Wireless networks are not acceptable. To use a wireless network, please use a Terminal/RDP/Citrix Server or use the DM Cloud (On-line version).
Windows Server 2008 / 2008 R2 / SBS 2011 / 2012 (with latest service packs/updates) x86 or x64.

 

Dedicated Remote Desktop Server or Terminal Server (8 - 64 users) - Design Manager Pro 7.0 Hosted on RDS/Citrix XenApp Server

2 gigahertz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor per each 20-25 users (1 user equals 1 application instance).  Distinct processors are recommended (i.e.: for 50 users not just a single dual or quad core but 2 distinct processors, Intel Xeon or equivalent is recommended).
4 GB of RAM for 32 bit (x86) or 8 GB for 64-bit (x64) for first 10 to 15 users plus 2 GB for each additional 8-10 users.  X64 is required for configurations that require more than 4 GB of RAM.
A SCSI hard drive RAID system is recommended for configurations with more than a single processor (i.e. over 25-30 users).  The hard drives should be local to the server, not a NAS device or remote drive on another server.
10 M-bit Ethernet or equivalent speed network.  Wireless and remote connections will work fine since all application instances will be running on the Terminal Server.
Windows Server 2008/2008 R2/2012 (x86 or x64) running Remote Desktop Services or with Citrix XenApp 4.5 or higher (Small Business Server will not work). At the time this was written, there was version of Citrix that works on 2012 Server.
All printers and other peripherals must have compatible TS/RDP/Citrix certified drivers for the chosen Windows Server operating system.  Note that this is not a requirement of DM but a requirement of any application running on a Terminal Server/RDS/XenApp Server.
Note that these requirements do not consider other usage for the same server such as a TS/Citrix License Server, Domain Controller, Print Server, SQL Server etc.  It is recommended that such roles are implemented on separate servers.
Note: Workstation requirements can be greatly reduced because they need only to support the Terminal Server/RDP or Citrix Receiver.

 

Design Manager Pro 7.0 R3 for SQL Server (Any number of users).

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (x86 or x64 version), 2008 R2 or 2012 (x64 only).
Each workstation must meet Stand-alone requirements above unless a combination of SQL Server and Terminal Services/RDS or Citrix is used.
See: http://knowledge.designmanager.com/articles/10000208.htm and Microsoft.com for information on choosing the proper version of SQL Server and for the hardware requirements for SQL Server itself.
*Note:  The SQL Server 2012 Native Client cannot be loaded on to Windows XP. If a mix of Windows XP and newer workstations are to access an SQL 2012 server, the SQL 2008 Native Client must be used on all workstations.

Optional Requirements (required by some functions).

Microsoft Fax Server 2008/2008R2/2012 and a fax modem required for automatic faxing of Purchase Orders.
Microsoft Office™ 2003 or higher (the full version of Microsoft Outlook required for emailing/Outlook sync features).
TWAIN compatible scanner.
Additional hard drive space will be needed as the database and picture data grows.