hardware and software requirements (combined) · hardware & software requirements for bid2win...

Hardware & Software Requirements for BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding, the BUILD2WIN Product Suite, and BID2WIN Management Reporting

BID2WIN Software, Inc.

Updated 05/08/2012

Abstract

This document describes the hardware and software requirements for all BID2WIN software

products: BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding, BID2WIN Management Reporting, and the BUILD2WIN

Product Suite. Within this document you will find information pertaining to the dedicated servers

required for each product – whether you plan on installing all three products on one server, or

installing each product on its own dedicated server. You will also find information pertaining to the

requirements for the workstations and laptops that run BID2WIN products, both in client-server or

disconnected mode.

The information contained in this document represents the current view of BID2WIN Software, Inc. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because BID2WIN Software must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of BID2WIN Software, and BID2WIN Software cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.

This document is for informational purposes only. BID2WIN SOFTWARE MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT.

Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of BID2WIN Software Incorporated.

BID2WIN Software may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from BID2WIN Software, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.

The example companies, organizations, products, people and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product, person or event is intended or should be inferred.

© 2012 BID2WIN Software, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

BID2WIN Software, Inc. and BUILD2WIN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of BID2WIN Software Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Version 1.0

Contents

Overview ...................................................................................................................................................... 1

Dedicated Servers ..................................................................................................................................... 1

Small Business Servers ............................................................................................................................. 1

32-bit and 64-bit Operating Systems ......................................................................................................... 1

Citrix and Terminal Servers ....................................................................................................................... 1

Microsoft SQL Server Licensing ............................................................................................................... 2

10 Users or Fewer ..................................................................................................................................... 2

More Than 10 Users .................................................................................................................................. 2

BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding ................................................................................................................. 3

Minimum Server Requirements for BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding ......................................................... 3

BID2WIN Network Client Workstations ..................................................................................................... 4

BID2WIN Mobile Laptops and Stand-Alone Workstations ........................................................................ 5

The BUILD2WIN Product Suite .................................................................................................................. 6

Minimum Server Requirements for BUILD2WIN ....................................................................................... 6

BUILD2WIN Workstation Requirements ................................................................................................... 7

BUILD2WIN Mobile Workstation Requirements ........................................................................................ 8

BID2WIN Management Reporting .............................................................................................................. 9

Minimum Server Requirements for BID2WIN Management Reporting ..................................................... 9

Software Required to View Reports .......................................................................................................... 9

Additional Software Required for Report Design ...................................................................................... 9

BID2WIN and BUILD2WIN on One Dedicated Server ............................................................................ 10

Minimum Server Requirements ............................................................................................................... 10

Hardware & Software Requirements for BID2WIN, BUILD2WIN, and Management Reporting 1

Overview

Dedicated Servers

BID2WIN Software products require a dedicated network server.

There are several reasons why BID2WIN products must be installed on a dedicated server:

Sometimes when troubleshooting an issue with a BID2WIN or Microsoft SQL Server product, rebooting the server is a

necessary step. Rebooting a domain controller or Exchange server is not always feasible during business hours.

Troubleshooting certain BID2WIN product issues may require that a BID2WIN support rep be provided with

administrative access to the server. Quite honestly, we would rather not have Administrative access to your domain

controller or Exchange server.

It is possible that BID2WIN products may require different levels of Windows and/or SQL Server Service Packs.

Applying these service packs may conflict with existing applications on a shared server.

The sheer volume of retail software products on the market today makes it difficult for our QA department to test

BID2WIN’s interaction with all but the most common and prolific applications. A dedicated server ensures that you will

have the best BID2WIN experience possible, free of unexpected results from interactions with other untested programs.

Since we cannot predict the load that other applications will place on the server, we are simply unable to guarantee

good BID2WIN performance on a non-dedicated server.

If there is an issue with another application that brings your server down, BID2WIN goes down as well.

Simply stated, BID2WIN products are mission critical applications. A fast server running only BID2WIN products is the only way

to ensure exceptional performance and reliability.

Small Business Servers

BID2WIN products cannot be installed on a Windows Small Business Server. This environment is not a dedicated server, and

all BID2WIN products require a dedicated server. For example, many Windows Small Business Servers act as a domain

controller, an e-mail server, or even a web server. BID2WIN performs no quality assurance testing on unsupported platforms like

Small Business Server.

32-bit and 64-bit Operating Systems

All BID2WIN Software products are fully supported on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems, as well as on 32-bit and 64-bit

versions of Microsoft SQL Server. However, please note that e-mailing and faxing is not currently supported with 64-bit versions

of Microsoft Outlook.

Citrix and Terminal Servers

Both BID2WIN and BUILD2WIN are fully supported in Citrix and Terminal Server environments. Your implementation specialist

will work with you to ensure that the hardware specifications of your Citrix or Terminal Server ensure optimum performance.

Generally speaking, following the RAM and processor guidelines for the next highest licensing bracket will ensure good

performance. In other words, if you own 9 BID2WIN licenses, it is recommended that your Citrix or Terminal Server adheres to

the specifications outlined for 11-25 users.


Microsoft SQL Server Licensing

All BID2WIN products use Microsoft SQL Server1 as their database software. BID2WIN products are fully compatible with

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008. This section outlines two different licensing levels for SQL Server: 10 users or fewer, or

more than 10 users.

10 Users or Fewer

Companies with fewer than ten total users across all BID2WIN Software products may choose either of the following for a

database server:

Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Express

Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Standard/Enterprise

BID2WIN products “ship with” Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, a free version of Microsoft SQL Server. Due to the following

limitations, this option is recommended only for clients with a total of 10 or fewer users across all BID2WIN Software products:

Will only utilize 1 GB RAM and 1 Processor. Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express is limited to 1GB of RAM and 1

processor. Even if you install on a server with more than 1GB of RAM or more than 1 processor, SQL Server Express

will not take advantage of the additional computing horsepower. In practice, this limitation should allow up to ten

BID2WIN estimators to use the product simultaneously, assuming estimates of typical size. In the case of very large

estimates, purchasing a full version of SQL Server is still recommended for best performance.

Limited maximum database size. SQL Server 2005 Express has a maximum database size of 4 GB, and SQL Server

2008 Express has a maximum database size of 10GB. Once your database reaches the maximum size, SQL Server

Express will not allow you save additional data of any sort.

For these reasons, an Express version of SQL is not recommended for clients with more than 10 users. For example, if

your company owns 5 BID2WIN Estimating licenses and 8 BUILD2WIN Field licenses, you will notice much better

performance with a full version of Microsoft SQL Server.

More Than 10 Users

To support more than 10 users of BID2WIN Software products, you will need a full version of SQL Server 2005/2008, with either

a “Per Processor” license or a “Server/CAL” license with an appropriate number of client access licenses.

For information about purchasing Microsoft SQL Server, please visit the “SQL Server 2008 Licensing” page at:

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/licensing.aspx

1 BID2WIN products require an English instance of SQL Server using the default collation setting named:

‘SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS’

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/licensing.aspx


BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding

This section outlines the hardware and software requirements for BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding.

Note: If you intend to install BUILD2WIN on the same server as BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding, please skip ahead to the

section titled BID2WIN and BUILD2WIN on One Dedicated Server.

Minimum Server Requirements for BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding

The following specifications apply when you install BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding on a dedicated server: Keep in mind

these are the minimum requirements; a more powerful server will result in faster performance.

Description Requirement

Processor Number of Users Processor Requirement

1-10 2 GHz

11-25 2.5 GHz

26-50 2 processors at 2 GHz each

Each additional 50 Add one 2 GHz processor per 50 users

Note: 64-bit processors are strongly recommended for 10 or more users

Memory Number of Users Memory Requirement

1-10 4 GB

11-25 4 GB

26-50 8 GB

Each additional 50 Add 8 GB RAM per 50 users

Hard Disk Number of Users Hard Disk Free Space Requirement

1-10 45 GB

11-25 60 GB

26-50 75 GB

Each additional 50 Add 25 GB per 50 users

Database Server Number of Users Database Server

1-10 Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Express2

11+ Microsoft SQL Server 20053/2008 Standard or

Enterprise Edition4

Operating System One of the following:

Windows Server 2003 Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition (32/64-bit)


Microsoft .NET Framework Microsoft .NET 3.5 or higher

E-mail Server An e-mail server that supports Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP), such as Microsoft Exchange Server, is required for e-mail delivery of bid forms, RFQs, and messages sent to BID2WIN Support.

Microsoft Excel While not strictly required, Microsoft Excel 2003 or later must be installed on your BID2WIN server if you wish to utilize BID2WIN’s embedded Excel workbooks feature.

2 Note that SQL 2005 Express has a 4GB database size limit, while SQL 2008 Express has a 10GB database size limit.

3 SQL Server 2005 installations must be at Service Pack 3 or later.

4 A Microsoft SQL Server license is required for each user that accesses BUILD2WIN. See the Microsoft SQL Server “How to Buy”

page at: http://www.microsoft.com/Sqlserver/2008/en/us/how-to-buy.aspx for more details.

http://www.microsoft.com/Sqlserver/2008/en/us/how-to-buy.aspx


BID2WIN Network Client Workstations

The following specifications apply to network workstations running BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding, connecting to a database

stored on a dedicated network server. The requirements are as follows:


Processor 2GHz processor or faster

Memory 2 GB RAM

Hard Disk 1 GB free hard drive space


Windows XP (SP3 or later, any edition except Home) (32/64-bit)

Windows Vista (any edition except Home) (32/64-bit)

Windows 7 (any edition except Home or Starter) (32/64-bit)

Display Super VGA 1024 x 768 or higher with 256 colors or greater

Peripherals Microsoft IntelliMouse, or compatible pointing device

Microsoft Excel While not strictly required, Microsoft Excel 2003 or later must be installed on workstation if you wish to utilize BID2WIN’s embedded Excel workbooks feature.

E-mail E-mail software that supports Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP), such as Microsoft Outlook

5, is required for e-mail delivery of bid forms, RFQs, and messages

sent to BID2WIN Support.

Note that BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding is supported on Windows Tablets which meet or exceed the hardware/software

requirements specified above.

5 Please note that e-mailing and faxing is not currently supported with 64-bit versions of Microsoft Outlook.


BID2WIN Mobile Laptops and Stand-Alone Workstations

The Professional and Enterprise editions of BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding include powerful features for mobile computing.

These features allow an estimator to “check out” estimates and work on those estimates while disconnected from the network.

A stand-alone workstation is used only in small installations, where all data is stored locally on the workstation

In both cases, the database software to store the data on a stand-alone workstation – SQL Server 2005 Express – is included at

no extra cost with the BID2WIN client software, so a full version of SQL Server is not required.

Because the data will be stored locally when disconnected from the network, the requirements for a laptop used for mobile

estimating are the same as those of a stand-alone workstation. The requirements are as follows:



Memory 4 GB RAM


Operating System One of the following:6





Peripherals Microsoft IntelliMouse, or compatible pointing device

Microsoft Excel While not strictly required, Microsoft Excel 2003 or later must be installed on your workstation if you wish to utilize BID2WIN’s embedded Excel workbooks feature.

E-mail E-mail software that supports Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP), such as Microsoft Outlook

7, is required for e-mail delivery of bid forms, RFQs, and messages sent to

BID2WIN Support.

Note that BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding is supported on Windows Tablets which meet or exceed the hardware/software

requirements specified above.

6 Home and Starter editions are acceptable for Standalone installations, but not for Mobile laptops.

7 Please note that e-mailing and faxing is not currently supported with 64-bit versions of Microsoft Outlook.


The BUILD2WIN Product Suite

This section outlines the hardware and software requirements for the BUILD2WIN Product Suite which currently includes

BUILD2WIN Field Tracking, BUILD2WIN Logistics.

Note: If you intend to install BUILD2WIN on the same server as BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding, please skip ahead to the

section titled BID2WIN and BUILD2WIN on One Dedicated Server.

Minimum Server Requirements for BUILD2WIN

The following specifications apply when you install BUILD2WIN on a dedicated server: Keep in mind these are the

minimum requirements; a more powerful server will result in faster performance.


Processor Number of Named Users Processor Requirement

1-10 2 GHz 11-25 2.5 GHz 26-50 2 processors at 2 GHz each Each additional 50 Add one 2 GHz processor per 50 users

Note: 64-bit processors are strongly recommended for 10 or more users

Memory Number of Named Users Memory Requirement

1-10 4 GB

11-25 4 GB

26-50 8 GB

Each additional 50 Add 4 GB RAM per 50 users

Hard Disk Number of Named Users Hard Disk Free Space Requirement

1-10 45 GB

11-25 60 GB

26-50 75 GB

Each additional 50 Add 75 GB per 50 users

Database Server Number of Named Users Database Server

1-10 Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Express8

11+ Microsoft SQL Server 20059/2008 Standard or

Enterprise Edition10





Internet Information Services IIS 6.0 or later

Reporting Services Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services 2005/200811

E-mail Server An e-mail server that supports Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP), such as Microsoft Exchange Server, is required for e-mail delivery of report subscriptions.

8 Note that SQL 2005 Express has a 4GB database size limit, while SQL 2008 Express has a 10GB database size limit

9 SQL Server 2005 installations must be at Service Pack 2 or higher.



11 Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is included at no charge with Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008.



BUILD2WIN Workstation Requirements

The following specifications apply for laptops or workstations which require access to BUILD2WIN:



Memory 2 GB RAM

Hard Disk 100 MB or more free hard drive space recommended

Operating System One of the following:12

Windows XP (SP3 or later, any edition) (32/64-bit)

Windows Vista (any edition) (32/64-bit)

Windows 7 (any edition) (32/64-bit)


Peripherals High-speed Internet connection13

Microsoft IntelliMouse, or compatible pointing device

Internet Browser Microsoft Internet Explorer 7/8/9 (32-bit version)14

Browser Plug Ins Silverlight 4 is required for BUILD2WIN

Note that BUILD2WIN is supported on Windows Tablets which meet or exceed the hardware/software requirements

specified above.

12 Home and Starter editions are acceptable for Standalone installations, but not for Mobile laptops.

13 Please note that a VPN connection is strongly recommended when connecting to your BUILD2WIN server from outside the office

14 BID2WIN products which utilize the Microsoft Silverlight plug in – such as BUILD2WIN Logistics - are supported on 64-bit operating

systems, but not on 64-bit browsers.


BUILD2WIN Mobile Workstation Requirements

The following specifications apply for laptops or workstations which require access to BUILD2WIN when a connection to

your BUILD2WIN server is not present:


Processor 2 GHz processor or higher15

Memory 4 GB RAM

Hard Disk 50 GB or more free Hard Drive space recommended






Peripherals High-speed Internet connection

VPN connection to corporate network where the BUILD2WIN server resides, when connected to the Internet

16

Microsoft IntelliMouse, or compatible pointing device

Internet Browser Microsoft Internet Explorer 7/8/9 (32-bit version)



Database Server Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Express Edition


Browser Plug Ins Silverlight 4 is required for BUILD2WIN

Note that BUILD2WIN is supported on Windows Tablets which meet or exceed the hardware/software requirements

specified above.

15 A 64 bit processor is recommended but not required.

16 VPN connection is required to support synchronization with the BUILD2WIN server when not in the office.

17 Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is included at no charge with Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Express with Advanced

Services.


BID2WIN Management Reporting

BID2WIN Management Reporting leverages several Microsoft technologies to provide a powerful, flexible, scalable cross-

estimate reporting solution for any size company.

Note: If you intend to install BID2WIN Management Reporting on the same server as BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding,

please refer to the specifications described in the section titled BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding.

Minimum Server Requirements for BID2WIN Management Reporting

The following specifications apply when you install BID2WIN Management Reporting on a dedicated server: Keep in mind

these are the minimum requirements; a more powerful server will result in faster performance.



Memory 2 GB RAM



Windows Server 2003 – Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition (32/64-bit)

Windows Server 2008 – Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition (32/64-bit)


Internet Browser Microsoft Internet Explorer 7/8/9



Database Server One of the following:

Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Express

Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition

Reporting Services Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services for the version of SQL being run18


Software Required to View Reports

Certain software is required on client computers to view reports using the browser-based BID2WIN Management

Reporting user interface.

Internet Explorer 7/8/9 is required to access BID2WIN Management Reporting from client computers.

Various report rendering formats may have different requirements. For example, Portable Document Format

(PDF) files require Adobe Acrobat Reader, while .xls files require Microsoft Excel XP or later.

Additional Software Required for Report Design

Some additional software is required for a programmer at your organization to modify or create reports, which is done

using the “Report Designer” component of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services.

Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 (any edition) or Visual Studio .NET 2005 (any edition) or the standard edition

of Visual Basic .NET, Visual C# .NET, Visual C++ .NET Standard, or Visual J# .NET to use Report Designer.

Report Designer can be installed on the same computer as Report Server components or on a separate

computer.

18 A Microsoft SQL Server license is required for each user who runs or designs reports. See the Microsoft SQL Server “How to Buy”




BID2WIN and BUILD2WIN on One Dedicated Server

The following specifications apply when BID2WIN Estimating & Bidding and BUILD2WIN are both installed on the same

dedicated server. BID2WIN Management Reporting may also be installed on the same server if desired without adding

meaningfully to the demand placed on the server.

Minimum Server Requirements

The following specifications apply when you install BUILD2WIN on a dedicated server: Keep in mind these are the

minimum requirements; a more powerful server will result in faster performance.

1-10 Named BUILD2WIN Users



51-100 Named BUILD2WIN Users19

1-10 BID2WIN

Users

2 GHz Processor

4 GB RAM

45 GB Free HD

2.5 GHz Processor

4 GB RAM

60 GB Free HD

(2) 2 GHz processors20

8 GB RAM

75 GB Free HD

(3) 2 GHz processors

10 GB RAM

100 GB Free HD

11-25 BID2WIN

Users

2.5 GHz Processor

4 GB RAM

60 GB Free HD

2.5 GHz Processor

8 GB RAM

75 GB Free HD


8 GB RAM

100 GB Free HD


10 GB RAM

125 GB Free HD

26-50 BID2WIN

Users


8 GB RAM

75 GB Free HD


8 GB RAM

100 GB Free HD


16 GB RAM

125 GB Free HD

{see your BID2WIN implementation specialist}

51-100 BID2WIN

Users


16 GB RAM

100 GB Free HD


16 GB RAM

125 GB Free HD




Database Server Number of Named Users Database Server

1-10 Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Express

11+ Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition

21 Operating System Windows Server 2003 Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition (32/64-bit), or






Microsoft Excel While not required, Microsoft Excel 2003 or later must be installed on your BID2WIN

server if you wish to utilize BID2WIN’s embedded Excel workbooks feature.

19 For each 50 users beyond 100, add (1) 2GHz processor, 8GB RAM, and 150 GB free hard drive space.

20 If multi-core processors are used, the number of processors indicates the recommended number of total cores.



22 Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is included at no charge with Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008.


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