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The following
document outlines system requirements and possible configurations
for running Chreos in a multi user environment. While all possible
care has been taken in the preparation of this document the number
of possible system configurations means that you should discuss
any unusual system settings with your Chreos distributor.
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Chreos
Components
Chreos
is a multi-user Client/Server application. Chreos is comprised of
the following components.
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ChreosClient
This application is the core interface to the Chreos system providing
the user interface for viewing data and entering transactions.
ChreosClient communicates with ChreosServer and the ChreosAccounts
database. This communication is done using TCP/IP, the same system
that computers use to communicate with the internet. ChreosClient
may run on the same machine as ChreosServer or any other machine on
a TCP/IP network that can access the computer running ChreosServer.
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ChreosServer
ChreosServer runs on one machine and can support multiple sets of
data (companies). It manages multiple accesses, processes transactions
sent to it from ChreosClient and performs basic maintenance functions.
One copy of ChreosServer supports multiple instances of ChreosClient,
the actual number being determined by the number of user licenses.
The data for each company supported must reside on the same machine
as ChreosServer.
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ChreosAccounts
Database
The ChreosAccounts database stores all data for each company supported
by ChreosServer. This is a Firebird relational database and requires
Firebird server software to be installed on the machine containing
the data. Firebird client drivers need to be installed on any other
machines running ChreosClient.
Firebird is an open
source relational database offering ANSI SQL standard features. Firebird
offers excellent concurrency, high performance and powerful language
support for stored procedures and triggers. It has been used in production
systems under a variety of names since 1984.
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Crystal
Reports
Crystal Reports is a highly regarded and extremely popular reporting
tool used to create and run simple to extremely complex reports. ChreosClient
and ChreosServer both use Crystal Reports to print, view and export
reports. Crystal Reports needs to be installed on all machines running
Chreos.
As Crystal Reports is reporting on a Firebird SQL database an ODBC
driver for Firebird needs to be installed on all machines running
Chreos. This is provided with Chreos.
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Software
Requirements
The following requirements are determined from the above products.
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Operating
Systems
Any Windows operating system currently supported by Microsoft. This
includes the following. Windows 98*, ME*, NT, 2000, XP,2003 server,
Vista and Windows 7. Chreos can often run on Windows versions no longer
supported by Microsoft such as Windows 95, however as newer features
are added to Chreos it becomes more difficult to support these aging
systems and support is not tested or guaranteed.
Chreos supports Windows Terminal Services (TS) connections, however
to use TS connections a Chreos TS license is required. A TS connection
or other remote login can be very beneficial for support purposes.
(A Chreos TS license is not required to get support via TS).
* Please note Microsoft support for these operating systems officially
ended on July 11 2006.
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Security
Chreos will run on any user system with most levels of security. Users
need to at least have access to ‘Documents and Settings’
including ‘All users’ and the logged in user. However when
running Chreos service packs (Chreos update files), users need to
be logged in either as ‘Administrator’ or someone with similar
privileges.
ChreosServer always needs to be run as either ‘Administrator’
or someone with similar privileges.
Chreos will run with firewall software installed, however as such
software often blocks communication by TCP/IP you need to configure
your firewall to allow ChreosClient and ChreosServer to communicate
by TCP/IP. This is usually simply a case of clicking ‘yes’
or ‘allow’ when prompted by your firewall software. Some
systems, however, will need a specific port to be opened. Your distributor
can provide further details. This is a simple task and should not
be a security risk.
We recommend all users run antivirus software. However it is best
to disable automatic scanning of the ChreosAccounts database file
as scanning it frequently can lead to performance degradation.
If you are using an older version of Nortons Antivirus (earlier than
about 2003) there is a known Crystal Reports issue
that causes some reports to not function. A small registry change
can be made to Nortons to stop this
occurring.
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Network
Chreos requires a stable TCP/IP network. A Firebird requirement is
that the client machines must be able to access the database file
using its full path. This means that this file needs to be shared.
Firebird will NOT work if this share is a mapped directory. Your share
must be the actual full file path.
Some (often older) machines that use dial up internet connections
for web access may require configuration changes to prevent the dialup
box appearing when ChreosClient is started.
ChreosServer handles all ‘transactional’ printing. This
includes any transaction (Point of Sale (POS) receipts, Debtor invoices,
etc) that prints as part of its creation. All printers that these
transactions are to be printed on
must be installed on the computer running ChreosServer. This also
includes POS cash register drawers.
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Software
Conflicts
Chreos currently ships with Crystal Reports 8.5 and will update any
versions of Crystal lower than this to 8.5. This is not usually a
problem, however some software such as ‘Deskbank’ from Westpac
may not function once Chreos is installed on the same computer.
A part of Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) uses the same TCP/IP
port as the Firebird database system. This port is actually reserved
for Firebird. However it is possible to change the default Firebird
port. This is only an issue where Firebird Server and SBS are run
on the same computer.
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ChreosServer
ChreosServer is not a Windows service. Due to the way some Windows
systems load we recommend starting ChreosServer manually. If you wish
to auto-start ChreosServer you must start it after your network is
initialised.
As part of the installation process, Chreos will create a shared folder
to meet a number of operational requirements. This has to be on the
machine ChreosServer is running on.
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Hardware
Requirements
Chreos requires healthy computers running on a stable network. There
are a number of factors that can further improve system performance.
The following are recommended minimum requirements. These are not
the absolute requirements unless otherwise indicated. Figures shown
in the tables below are for existing older hardware sites considering
Chreos. |
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ChreosServer
Computer
This should be a fast computer. As the ChreosServer performs most
of the processing and the ChreosAccounts database resides on this
machine any improvement in this machine will provide better performance
for all users. It should have:
- A
fast Hard Disk Drive (HDD) with plenty of free space, 1
gigabyte ormore for larger organizations.
- Plenty
of memory. SQL database systems thrive on RAM. Although
ChreosServer has low memory requirements, Firebird will
provide better performance with more RAM. Depending on the
number of users 1GB or more will improve performance (although
512MB is ok).
- The
faster the processor the better. ChreosServer is a multithreaded
application that can take advantage of multi-CPU, multi-core
or hyperthreaded machines. However this is certainly not
required. The current version of Firebird used by Chreos
does not fully support multi-CPU, multi-core or hyperthreaded
CPUs. If you wish to use such a machine some minor configuration
changes are required. In general this simply tells Firebird
which CPU to use. Your Chreos supplier can provide further
details.
- Screen
and video card are unimportant for this system unless it
will also be running ChreosClient.
- Windows
2000 or later.
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Suggested minimum
server requirements (running Windows XP)
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Organization
size
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CPU
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Memory
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2
- 3 users
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1000mhz
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512MB
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3
– 10 users
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1500mhz
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512MB
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10
-20 users
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2000mhz
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1GB
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This
table assumes an average amount of use. Memory and CPU values are
based on a
Windows XP OS. Later operating systems (such as Vista) have heavier
requirements that effect these
figures.
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ChreosClient
Machines
These machines need not be as highly equipped as the computer running
ChreosServer because the client machines do not do as much processing.
However, better machines will provide improved performance in some
areas. Some system examples are provided below.
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Operating
System (OS)
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CPU
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Memory
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Windows
2000
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500mhz
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128MB
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Windows
XP
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700mhz
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256MB
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Windows
Vista
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2000mhz
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512MB
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Other
Requirements
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- TCP/IP networking
- A screen
resolution of 800x600 or better.
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Recommendations
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While
installing ChreosClient on the same computer as ChreosServer is fine
and often useful we don’t recommend it be used as a work terminal.
Although this is possible and fine for some small sites it is not
recommended for larger sites as the performance for other users can
be degraded.
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A
stable broadband connection on the computer running ChreosServer is
useful for software updates and automated emailing.
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The
speed of your network will affect the performance of your Client machines.
100Mbit networks (or faster) will provide better performance.
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A
network running with a switch will perform better than one based around
a hub.
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A
slow video card on your client machines will slow the screen drawing
and make the Client application run slower. This is especially important
on graphically intensive Operating systems such as Windows Vista.
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A
high speed hard disk drive (HDD) on your ChreosServer machine will
improve performance.
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