Cognito Custodiens - - Probate Softw - System Requirements

Server components
Performance of the Cognito system and database server will always be site specific and depends on various criteria including but not limited to server/workstation specification, number of users, usage of applications and number of reports. 

We would recommend that a fairly high specification server (or workstation if this is a stand-alone system) with expansion capacity is installed.  Performance should be monitored over a period of time and if necessary additional resources added.

Processor speeds and memory quoted are Cognito requirements these will have to be increased dependant on other applications and processes that may be running. Report generating workstations should use at least the recommended specification.

A rule of thumb of importance for the server is disk array first, RAM second and processor last. It is better to get a cost-effective CPU if it allows you to buy a high-end RAID card and many disks. On the disk front, RAID 1+0/0+1 is better than RAID 5. RAID 5 with 3 disks is possibly the slowest array configuration for running PostgreSQL. You can expect performance as much as 50% below that of a single SCSI drive. However this is dependent on the quality of the RAID controller card. It should be noted that SCSI is still faster than SATA.

We recommend a dedicated server for Cognito

Running two or more database systems together will force both systems to fight over disk bandwidth and disk cache and make both perform poorly. File/Print services and security logging problems are also problematic as they a disk intensive. Exchange will impair performance if left with default settings. Ideally Exchange should be on a different server, but is not possible; the memory requirements should be reduced from the default of ‘as much memory as possible’.

Operating Systems
Pervasive (Cognito v8) is supported on Windows 98, 2000, XP Pro and 2003. PostgreSQL 8 (Cognito v9) is supported on Windows 2000, XP Pro and 2003. Support for Windows 2008 Server is currently in Beta Testing. We currently do not have an estimate for when Windows 2008 server will come out of Beta Testing.
Windows ME and XP Home are not designed for office use and therefore not supported. Windows Vista can be used with Cognito version 9.00.3 or greater; it is not compatible with Version 8.
Windows DFS (Distributed File System) is not supported as it is not designed for databases. Further information is available. 64-bit Operating systems are not currently supported.
Operating system software should be fully patched on servers and workstations. The file system the data is installed on must be NTFS (Cognito v9 only).

Remote Access
If permanently connected to the Internet via broadband we can connect to your site remotely. However, if this is not the case, you must provide a permanent remote connection to a workstation running Cognito or a Server capable of running Cognito that enables us to take full control of the workstation and transfer files (e.g. Terminal Services, RDC access or equivalent compatible system).

 Back up
A DVD or CD Writer is required for sending copies of data to Cognito as required. A DVD/CD Writer is also useful for archiving copies of your data at month/year end.
Removable hard disk for large data sets or memory sticks for small data sets are a cost effective alternative to Tape based backup systems.
Network Related Specifications
Server (Minimum Specification)

• Intel Pentium IV processor or equivalent
• MS Windows 2000 with NTFS file system
• 1GB RAM
• 750MB (+ Data) free disk space
• 16 speed CD ROM
• 100Mbs Network card

Server (Recommended Specification)

• Intel Dual Core processor or equivalent
• MS Windows 2003 with NTFS file system
• As much RAM as possible (at least 1Gb for up to 10 user firm, 2GB for 10 – 20 users, 4GB for 20+)
• > 5 gigabytes of free disk space, SCSI RAID 1+0/0+1
• DVD/CD Writer
• 100Mbs Full duplex Network card

Workstations (Minimum Specification)

• Intel Pentium IV processor or equivalent
• MS Windows 2000
• 256MB RAM (plus requirements for other software)
• 12 speed CD ROM
• 15” Monitor 800x600-256 colours SVGA 8Mb graphics cards
• 500MB of free disk space
• Internet Browser (Firefox 2, Internet Explorer 6)
• 10Mbs Network card

Workstations (Recommended Specification)

• Intel Dual Core processor or equivalent
• MS Windows XP Pro
• 512MB RAM (plus requirements for other software)
• 24 Speed CD ROM
• 17” Monitor 1024x768-32 bit colour 32Mb graphics cards
• 1Gb of free disk space
• Internet Browser (FireFox 3, Internet Explorer 7)
• 100Mbs Full duplex Network card

Ports
Port 5432 on the server must be free for Cognito to be installed. McAfee GroupShield 7.x for MS Exchange uses this port by default and should be changed before installation (see below). It is possible other software on your server is using this port; please ask your IT Support for advice.

Network settings

A Permanent Network drive mapping must exist and be consistent on all computers to where the Cognito Data will be located. Network Cards in the Server and Workstations must not be set to auto media detection. 
Cognito V9 is not supported on peer to peer networks. With Cognito v8 it is possible we can install a Cognito peer to peer system on a total of up to ten workstations (including the “server”).  A peer to peer system may suffer from slow and inconsistent performance and only Windows 2000/2003 machines are suitable.

Stand alone Minimum Requirements

• Intel Pentium IV processor or equivalent
• MS Windows 2000 with NTFS file system
• 1GB RAM (plus requirements for other software)
• 750MB (+ Data) free disk space
• 16 speed CD ROM
• 100Mbs Network card
• 15” Monitor 800x600-256 colours SVGA 8Mb graphics cards
• Internet Browser (Firefox 1.5, Internet Explorer 6)

Stand alone Recommended Requirements

• Intel Dual Core processor or equivalent
• MS Windows 2003 with NTFS file system
• 2Gb RAM (plus requirements for other software)
• > 5 gigabytes of free disk space, SCSI RAID 1+0/0+1
• DVD/CD Writer
• 100Mbs Full duplex Network card
• 17” Monitor 1024x768-16 bit colour 32Mb graphics cards
• Internet Browser (FireFox 2.x, Internet Explorer V7)

Other information

Case Management Requirements

Workstations using Custodiens, Case Management or Documanager will require Word 2000/XP/2003.
Use of Cognito email with Outlook/Exchange will require Exchange 2002/2003 and Outlook 2000/2002/20003.

Printers

Laser Printers (Dot Matrix and Ink Jet printers are very slow and tend to misalign when printing continuous stationary from Windows applications).