Sample Hardware / Platform Configurations

The topics covered on this page include:

• Server Configurations

• Client Configurations

Server Configurations

The Unanet system can be scaled to fit a wide range of users.  For the smaller site implementations, a single server solution can be employed.  For larger organizations, the Database Server and Web Server can be separated onto multiple machines.  The system can also run under Windows and a variety of Unix flavors, using Oracle or SQL*Server.  

Performance Considerations

There are many factors that influence system performance.  Size and speed of  the hardware and network environment play a major role,  as well as other considerations such as how many other applications share the same environment.  Data volumes and usage patterns can also play a significant role (e.g. do you have thousands or hundreds of thousands of projects, hundreds or tens of thousands of users, are all of your users in the same time zone, do your projects have sub-tasks, do your users have explicit assignments to a sub-set of projects or are they assigned to extremely large numbers of projects, etc. etc.).  Unanet is a 100% web-based product and as such external internet latency can also influence performance.  All that said, when configured properly Unanet can deliver excellent performance.  While performance is certainly improved when accessing the system via a high bandwidth network connection, the system has been designed to function via dial-up access (though this is not recommended for larger administrative tasks such as importing or exporting large volumes of data).  

Below are a few examples of possible platform configurations based on number of users.

Single Server Platform (e.g. < 500 Users):

Single Server Platform (e.g. 500 - 1000 Users):

Multiple Server Platform (e.g. 1000 - 3000 Users):

Multiple Server Platform (e.g. 3000 - 6000 Users):

Multiple Server Platform (e.g.  6000 - 10000 Users):

Multiple Server Platform (e.g. > 10000 Users):

*Optimally, all servers should be co-located on the same high speed LAN segment.
**Disk Storage estimated at 12 MB/User for 2 years of data + operating system overhead

Future Growth Options

• Add additional processors per server

• Increase memory  on servers

• Add additional web server platforms sharing a single database server.  

If you plan to run multiple front end web servers, check out these considerations.

Client Configurations

Unanet can be accessed from a wide variety of client machines and browsers.  The requirement specifications depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to:

• Number of active users,

• Typical number of rows/cells on your timesheet/expense reports,

• Number of projects and tasks,

• Number of project/task assignments, and

• Amount of historical data you plan on storing.

Typically, more demands are placed upon an administrator’s machine, as they have additional responsibilities such as running reports, extracting data, importing data, populating timesheets, etc.  Again, the exact requirements are dependent on the expected usage and data.

For acceptable performance in typical conditions, the minimum requirements should be observed.

Minimum

For better performance in a wider variety of data environments, a more powerful client machine is recommended.

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