Technical Specifications maestro* - Versions 3.04

Objective

You will find in this document the various components or configurations recommended for an optimal use of the maestro* products. This document must be given to your technician so that he may validate the various configurations.

If your equipment does not correspond to the following technical specifications do not hesitate to contact our software support department so that we may evaluate your computer equipment, make recommendations, and discuss the available options.

Contact our software support technicians by telephone at 514-990-1897 (for the Montreal area) or 877-833-1897 (toll free number) or by email at support@maestro.ca.

 

Summary

 

Hardware and Software Configurations

 

See Appendix for an example of a maestro server configuration.

 

Operating System (OS)

Operating System (OS)

The “Data Execution Prevention” (DEP) must be set to “Essential Windows programs and services only” (and not for all programs).

  • .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.

Maestro* server

The server should not have multiple roles or workloads, e.g. your maestro* server should not also be the DNS/DHCP or Exchange server.

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 64 bit, or higher.
  • A Remote Desktop (RDP) access is required to the data server for maintenance.

Workstation
  • Windows 7, or higher.
  • ‘Family’, ‘Home’ and ‘Basic’ editions are not supported.

 

Processor (CPU)

Processor (CPU)

Any recent server or workstation class CPU is sufficient to run the maestro* software.

  • A CPU with a clock of a 2.0 GHz minimum is recommended for a better performance. The higher the clock, the better the performance.
  • A minimum of 2 cores is recommended for a maestro* data server. Low or no gain is noticed for a CPU over 4 cores, especially in virtualization.

Some laptops are equipped with ultra-low voltage CPUs which provide extended battery life at the expense of performance. While these laptops will be able to run the maestro* software, the performance of the application may be negatively impacted.

 

Memory (RAM)

Memory (RAM)

Maestro* Server

24 Gb minimum or more, depending upon the expected environment workload.

Ideally, your server should have enough RAM to hold your entire working dataset in memory, which will provide the best performance.

TS/Citrix Servers

8 Gb minimum + 1 Gb / user, minimum.

Workstation

4 Gb minimum.

 

Display (GPU)

Display (GPU)

Minimum display resolution: 1280x720 1024x768 with 16 bits color depth.

 

Hard Drives

Hard Drives

Maestro* Server

At least two physical drives are required:

  • A system drive reserved for the operating system (OS)
  • At least another separate physical drive for your maestro* data.

A system drive for the operating system (OS)

The operating system (OS) must be on a separate disk from maestro* data.

  • 120 GB or more for your operating system (OS) drive, or follow Microsoft’s recommendations for the OS you have chosen.

Physical drive for maestro* data

  • 250 GB or more for your maestro* data drive.

NOTE: Software RAID solutions should be avoided at all costs, both on server and workstations.

NTFS file system; FAT32 is not supported.

 

Network

Network

Prerequisite

Internet access is required.

A wired Ethernet network is required: 100 MB/s minimum, 1 GB/s or more recommended.

Wireless (Wi-Fi)

Wireless (Wi-Fi) connections are not supported because they are too unstable: even a momentary loss of connectivity could cause data loss or an application error.

Network environment using a Windows domain

TCP/IP IPv4 must be active.

TCP/IP IPv6 is not supported.

Port

TCP/UDP port 3389 for RDP access, or equivalent means to connect to the maestro* server (e.g. LogMeIn Rescue) for maintenance.

TCP port 5900 (realVNC), or equivalent means to connect to the maestro* workstations (e.g. LogMeIn Rescue) for remote support.

If your maestro* data is to be accessed from maestro* workstations through the network, the following ports must be open for PSQL:

  • TCP port 3351
  • TCP port 1583
  • TCP port 137-139

The installation of Actian PSQL creates the configurations required for these ports by the Windows firewall.

 

Scanner

Scanner

Only TWAIN compatible scanners are supported to scan and save documents directly in maestro* from the Scan a document icon, available from maestro*’s documents management. The scanner may be installed either on the network or locally.

For non-TWAIN compatible scanners, you must use the software provided by the manufacturer to scan and save a document. Then, to insert a document in Documents, the user must use the Link to an “Other” file icon instead of Scan a document.

To verify if your scanner is TWAIN compatible:

  1. Launch Microsoft Paint;
  2. Click located at the top of the window to access the drop-down menu;
  3. Select the From scanner or camera option;

If you can scan a document using this method, then you scanner is TWAIN compatible and you will be able to scan a document directly in maestro*, from Scan a document, from Documents management.

 

Backup

Backup

Backup software compatible with VSS

Pervasive V11.30 supports Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and is compatible with backup solutions that use this service.

Another solution: Actian (Pervasive) Backup Agent

For backup solutions that do not use VSS, Backup Agent by Actian (Pervasive) is highly recommended:

  • Backup Agent by Actian is not a data backup software program. It works with your backup solution to allow it to make backups.
  • This software lets you copy Pervasive data files ensuring the integrity of the database, while making the database available to users.

NOTE: Both backup solutions no longer require you to close Pervasive services or force users to exit maestro* before backups are made.

 

Antivirus

Antivirus

On your data server and maestro* workstations, the maestro* data folder must be excluded from antivirus scrutiny.

An enterprise class antivirus is recommended.

 

Database Engine Actian PSQL

Maestro* uses Actian Pervasive PSQL as a database engine.

Maestro* is an Actian/Pervasive dealer; contact us for your Actian license and upgrade queries.

Actian PSQL

The default PSQL configurations are typically fine for all maestro* usage.

  • An Internet access is required to activate your Actian Pervasive PSQL licenses.
  • Your Actian Pervasive PSQL licenses will be periodically re-authenticated through Internet.

Physical or virtual

Actian Pervasive PSQL Server 11, 64 bit.

For v11 license activation process details, read the following: http://www.pervasive.com/Portals/55/documents/WP_Whitepaper_Product_Authorization_for_Pervasive_PSQL.pdf

Changing your server configuration (RAM/CPU/hard disks/hostname/MAC address/etc.) can break the v11 license validation. You must deactivate your Pervasive licenses before making this type of change otherwise, Pervasive will disable them.

Virtual server

Actian Pervasive PSQL Vx Server 11, 64 bit.

PSQL Server 11 (non Vx) can also be used on a virtualised server, but be careful not to break the license validation process, as listed above.

For Vx license activation process details, read the following: http://www.pervasive.com/Portals/55/documents/WP_ActianPSQLVx_Server_Licensing_21Jun2013.pdf

Changing the server hostname of MAC address will break the Vx license validation. You must deactivate your Pervasive licenses before making this type of change otherwise, Pervasive will disable them.

Maestro* workstations

Actian Pervasive PSQL Client v11, 32 bit.

PSQL 64 bit clients are not supported.

 

Microsoft Office Integration

Microsoft Office

Maestro* integrates with Excel, Word, Outlook, and MAPI email services.

If Office is not installed, Office related features will not work within the maestro* application, e.g. Excel import/export.

Supported versions

Office 2010, Office 2013, 32 bit and 64 bit.

Office 365, if installed in local mode.

Not-supported

Office 365 in « Office On Demand » mode is not supported because the documents are saved in the cloud, not in local storage.

 

Remote Desktop/Citrix Considerations

Remote Desktop/Citrix

We recommend a maximum of 25 users per RDP/Citrix server, for a server equipped with an 8 core CPU and 32 Gb of memory.

RDP session resolution

The RDP session resolution should not be higher than 1920x1080 @24 bit color depth; the higher the resolution and color depth, the higher the demand on graphic resources and the less screens can be opened at the same time.

 

Virtualization

The maestro* application supports virtualization however, just as with your network infrastructure, your virtualization infrastructure itself is not supported by Maestro.

Any virtual server having the same performance and specifications as a physical server in compliance with the recommendations of this document will be good to operate maestro*, either as a PSQL maestro* data server, or as a RDP/Citrix server.

The CPU/RAM and hard drive specifications remain the same whether your server is virtualized or not.

The maestro* application has been tested with VMWare ESX: The VMWare 3D acceleration must be turned off, as it is incompatible with WPF.

 

Network and disk (I/O) latencies are two factors limiting maestro* performance; care should be taken to not accentuate these latencies in virtual environments.

 

Virtualization

Obtain a dedicated virtual server for maestro*, including the disk space where the database will be stored.

  • 2vCPU, with a guaranteed 3 GHz locked availability, AUTO or NON HT affinity.
  • 8 Gb RAM, with 4 Gb locked.
  • VM8 minimum.

Drive

250 GB capacity drive at minimum. This drive must be formatted when installed/mounted at its definitive size; the drive size should not be changed thereafter. Thin provisioning can be used but best performance is obtained using full provisioning.

  • The drive must be in vmWare PARAVIRTUAL mode for best performance .
  • Resources must be set to HIGH.
  • Minimum 1000 IOPS available

NOTE: A distinct drive of network folder is recommended for “dump” backups.

Network Card

The VMware network card must be Vmxnet 3.

VM

Journaling should be disabled on the VM.

 

Observations and Recommandations for the Virtual Machine

Virtual Machine

Servers
  • There should be no pending updates on the servers.
  • The server power profile should be set to Performance; hibernation features should be deactivated using the command POWERCFG –H OFF .
  • Network monitoring tools such as WinPcap should not be installed on the server.
  • The VMWare network card must be Vmxnet 3, remove the INTEL E1000 card.

Remove
  • Unused network protocols should be removed: QoS, Link LayerMapper, IPv6, WINS and LMHOST can all be removed or deactivated.
  • « Distributed Link Tracking » and « Superfetch » can be deactivated.
  • The Windows disk indexation service should be disabled.
  • Journaling should be disabled on the VM.

Other validations
  • Network IP, DNS, gateway and subnet need to be set accordingly to your network.
  • The swap file should be set to automatic.
  • There should be no scheduled disk defragmentation.
  • There should be no mounted .ISO, unless they are in use.

 

Observations and Recommandations for the Host Machine

Host Machine

Server
  • The server power profile should be set to Performance.

Snapshots
  • Monitor the VM snapshots: unused or old snapshots should be deleted.

VMware
  • It may be necessary to deploy monitoring tools to detect excessive resource usage in the VMware farm, either for memory, IOPS or CPU.

Datastore
  • The DATASTORE must be dedicated to VMware, meaning they should not be used for other purposes such as backup storage or file server. A consolidation may be necessary as old deleted VMs are sometimes still present in the DATASTORE.
  • Do not mount unneeded DATASTORES.

Other validations
  • If the host has Hyper Threading CPUs, it is essential to allocate physical cores for the maestro* VM servers.
  • Network IP, DNS, gateway and subnet need to be set accordingly to your network.

 

Appendix

Maestro Server Configuration Example

Here is an example of a high-performance server for maestro*, retailing about $3,000 at Dell. This server can very well act as a virtualization host with a VM as a maestro* data server and a VM as an RDS server (supporting up to 10-15 users).

Highlights – Dell PowerEdge R330 (rack mount, 1 unit)

  • Xeon E3-1230 v6 @3.5Ghz, 4 cores HT, 8 logical cores/thread in total
  • 32GB RAM
  • 4x 1TB @7.2k, in RAID 10 on PERC H330 controller
  • No operation system: price, installation and configuration in extra or supported by the client

 

Detailed Specifications

PowerEdge R330

Chassis Configuration

Chassis with up to 4, 3.5" Cabled Hard Drives + 1.8" SATA SSD

Processor

Intel Xeon E3-1230 v6 3.5GHz, 8M cache, 4C/8T, turbo (72W)

Memory DIMM Type and Speed

2400MT/s UDIMMs

Memory Configuration Type

Performance Optimized

Memory Capacity

(2) 16GB (1x16GB) 2400MT/s DDR4 ECC UDIMM

RAID Configuration

RAID 10, H330/H730 for SAS/SATA, Cabled Chassis

RAID Controller

PERC H330 Integrated RAID Controller for Cabled Chassis

Hard Drives

(4) 1TB 7.2K RPM SATA 6Gbps 3.5in Cabled Hard Drive

Additional Network Cards

On-Board LOM 1GBE Dual Port (BCM5720 GbE LOM)

Embedded Systems Management

iDRAC8 Basic

Internal Optical Drive

No Internal Optical Drive for 1.8" SSD HD Chassis

Power Management BIOS Settings

Performance BIOS Setting

Power Supply

Single, Hot-plug Power Supply, 350W

Operating System

No Operating System

OS Media Kits

No Media Required

Advanced System Configurations

UEFI BIOS Boot Mode with GPT Partition

Service

1 Year Basic Hardware Warranty Repair, 5X10 HW-Only, 5x10 NBD On-site

Deployment Services

No Installation

PowerEdge R330

PowerEdge R330 Server

 

See also

 

Last modification: September 19, 2024