This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
Both sides previous revision Previous revision Next revision | Previous revision Next revision Both sides next revision | ||
system_requirements [2022/03/23 11:17] angelos [Installation on an Azure Virtual Machine] |
system_requirements [2022/05/04 12:08] antreas |
||
---|---|---|---|
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
===== System requirements ===== | ===== System requirements ===== | ||
- | System requirements, software prerequisites, and other recommendations are described in a separate document [[https://host.pathomation.com/pdf/requirements-2019.pdf|"System Requirements"]] (but probably not as elaborate as in that document) | ||
==== On-premise installation ==== | ==== On-premise installation ==== | ||
Line 21: | Line 20: | ||
=== Additional comments regarding SQLServer === | === Additional comments regarding SQLServer === | ||
- | SQL Server Express can also be used but poses two limitations which have to be taken into account: | + | SQL Server Express can be used but poses two limitations which have to be taken into account: |
- The maximum database size cannot exceed 10GB. | - The maximum database size cannot exceed 10GB. | ||
- Only one CPU core is used to execute queries. | - Only one CPU core is used to execute queries. | ||
Line 46: | Line 45: | ||
Additionally, slides can be stored either on local disks attached to the VM or in Azure Blob Storage. | Additionally, slides can be stored either on local disks attached to the VM or in Azure Blob Storage. | ||
When possible, it is recommended to prefer [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/data-lake-storage-introduction|Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2]] over plain Azure Blob Storage, as this type of service performs directory management operations, such as moving and renaming slides and directories, a lot faster. | When possible, it is recommended to prefer [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/data-lake-storage-introduction|Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2]] over plain Azure Blob Storage, as this type of service performs directory management operations, such as moving and renaming slides and directories, a lot faster. | ||
- | ==== Additional information on cache storage requirements ==== | + | === PMA.core cache requirements === |
+ | Regardless of the choice or combination of the storage media used, the system requires some space on | ||
+ | a local or network disk where cache data will be stored and accessed. PMA.core allows you to define | ||
+ | the cache retention policy and informs you about it's size. As a general rule of thumb, the cache | ||
+ | capacity should be around 10% of the total size of the available whole slide images. | ||
+ | ==== Client Side ===== | ||
+ | During development our software is continuously tested on the Microsoft Windows Operating System | ||
+ | using the following browsers: Internet Explorer 10+ and the latest versions of Google chrome, Safari and | ||
+ | Firefox. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Desktop or workstation hardware === | ||
+ | The minimum requirements in terms of processor speed and memory (for end-users) are hard to | ||
+ | determine. We are pretty sure that every computer younger than 5 years will be able to interface with the | ||
+ | platform using a webbrowser without any problems. In case of doubt, we refer to the particular system | ||
+ | requirements that apply to the specific version of flavor of webbrowser that is being used. | ||
+ | === Web browser === | ||
+ | A hosted web application is consulted through a (usually) remote computer on the internal company | ||
+ | network (or Internet). To allow the delivery of content to as many clients as possible, we have very | ||
+ | relaxed requirements in terms of client hardware and software requirements. | ||
+ | Key is that we don't require any additional webbrowser-plugins such as Flash, Silverlight, WebGL, or | ||
+ | Java.Nor do we depend on or do we install any additional browser add-ons (BHO - Browser Helper | ||
+ | Objects) ourselves. | ||
+ | You will need a modern HTML5-capable webbrowser. This means that your browser must be configured | ||
+ | to allow JavaScript and accept cookies. Besides that, we've tested our software extensively on a host of | ||
+ | different web browser environments, and found it to operate under almost all, except Internet Explorer 10 | ||
+ | or lower. For the best user experience, we recommend using Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge or any | ||
+ | Chromium based browser such as Google Chrome and Opera. On a Mac, you are welcome to use | ||
+ | Safari, Firefox or, again, any Chromium based browser.When a browser is not supported, an error message follows. | ||
+ | {{ ::screenshot_2022-05-04_at_11-37-27_the_pathomation_software_platform_for_digital_microcopy_version_2_system_requirements_-_requirements-2019.pdf.png?400 |}} | ||
+ | Because of content delivery through a web browser, interfacing with our software is not limited to | ||
+ | Windows-only machines (though the web applications themselves run on Microsoft infrastructure). Our | ||
+ | communication implementation is based on REST web services and the standard HTTP protocol, so you | ||
+ | can truly use our software from anywhere, any time | ||
+ | === Popup-blocking and Ad-blocking === | ||
+ | Our software uses dialogs as a means to interact with the end-user. These dialogs are implemented | ||
+ | based on "best practice" industry standards (including libraries such as React and jQuery). These | ||
+ | dialogs are not pop-ups, and during testing, no interference with known pop-up blockers was ever | ||
+ | observed. | ||
+ | That being said, it is possible that at some point in the future these pop-up blockers pick up features in | ||
+ | our site and label them as popups, subsequently rendering them ineffective. If this happens, you should | ||
+ | let us know and we will help resolve the issue in collaboration with you popup blocking software vendor. | ||
+ | The same reasoning applies to webbrowser plugins that block advertisements. These oftentimes already | ||
+ | target the kind of technology that we use ourselves to interact through dialogs (such as iframes). There is | ||
+ | a large variety of possible interpretations of such features (in a website), and while we haven't come | ||
+ | across this yet, it is possible that at some point a certain feature of our site gets interpreted as | ||
+ | commercial content. If this happens, you should let us know and we will help resolve the issue in | ||
+ | collaboration with you advertisement blocking software vendor. | ||
+ | If you experience problems on your installation, please let us know and we will find a solution to resolve | ||
+ | your particular issues | ||
+ | ==== Configuration hints and scaling considerations ==== | ||
+ | === Improving disk I/O throughput === | ||
+ | The system's response time can be greatly improved by installing it on a solid state disk. The cache | ||
+ | directory should also be kept on an SSD as well. Thus an optimal setup would be to install the operating | ||
+ | system and the application on an SSD while storing digital slides in regular hard disks (or network | ||
+ | shares). Do not underestimate the importance of the regular disks' performance, where slides are stored, | ||
+ | though. Whenever possible use 6Gbit SATA III disks. | ||
+ | === Network === | ||
+ | Multiple NICs may be installed onto the server machine to increase network bandwidth. The system can | ||
+ | utilize multiple IP addresses or host names out of the box, thus special load balancing configurations are | ||
+ | not required. | ||
+ | === Parallel processing === | ||
+ | The system is built to process requests in parallel and its performance depends on the available cores | ||
+ | per processor, the performance per core, as well the total number of processors in the system. In | ||
+ | environments with more than 50 simultaneous users, two processors should at least be available in the | ||
+ | system. | ||
+ | === Azure DataLake Storage Gen2 === | ||
+ | When possible, it is recommended to prefer [[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/data-lake-storage-introduction|Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2]] over plain Azure Blob Storage, as this type of service performs directory management operations, such as moving and renaming slides and directories, a lot faster. |