Q-Pulse 7 Hardware & Software Requirements

  Who is this article for?  

  IT Personnel looking to understand the technical footprint of the Q-Pulse system.

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This article outlines the hardware and software requirements for Q-Pulse 7. The requirements are defined for each hardware component that you will require.

1. Q-Pulse Configuration
2. Q-Pulse Hardware Requirements
3. SQL Server Requirements
4. Q-Pulse Client PC Requirements
5. Mobile Requirements
6. Further Reading

Important Note: If your Q-Pulse system is hosted by Ideagen the only the client PC and mobile requirements are relevant.

1. Q-Pulse Configuration

There are several different options available for your Q-Pulse configuration.  These depend on many factors, such as server availability and overall network performance within your organisation.  The most common configurations are defined below:

• Dedicated Single Tier: Microsoft SQL Server is installed on the same server as the Q-Pulse application server. No other software products use this server (i.e. the server is for Q-Pulse only).
• Dedicated Split Tier: Microsoft SQL Server and the Q-Pulse application server are installed on separate servers. No other software products or databases are installed on these servers (i.e. these servers are for Q-Pulse only).
• Shared Single Tier: Microsoft SQL Server is installed on the same server as the Q-Pulse application server. Other software products are installed on this server (i.e. Q-Pulse shares the server with other software products or Microsoft SQL databases).
• Shared Split Tier: Microsoft SQL Server and the Q-Pulse application server are installed on separate servers. Other software or databases are installed on one or both of these servers (i.e. Q-Pulse shares one or both of these servers with other software products or Microsoft SQL databases).

Regardless of how you chose to configure Q-Pulse, it is strongly recommended that your server(s) meet the requirements outlined below based on what components are installed.

2. Q-Pulse Hardware Requirements

The hardware requirements for Q-Pulse will vary depending on your use case. Factors which can affect the hardware requirements include:

• Anticipated Database Size: The overall size of your database will impact how well your SQL server performs, as well as the speed of searching.
• Number of Concurrent Users: Concurrent users will utilise the processor on the application server, therefore the more active users you have, the higher the processor spec should be.
• Number of Database: This will affect the hard disk space on the drives. In additional, multiple databases are usually accompanied by high user levels.
• General End User Search Behaviour: Searching uses the IIS worker process and so searches will increase the size of this process and also the CPU usage.
• Usage of the Web Interface: Many tasks share the load between the client PC and the application server however using the web interface means this must all be performed server side, meaning a higher spec is needed should you use the web interface heavily.

As a result of the above factors, the Q-Pulse Hardware requirements are outlined in a series of tiers:

2.1. Tier 1

This tier is the minimum recommended specification for organisation with 20 or Less concurrent users. A tier 1 system is a dedicated single tier (i.e. Microsoft SQL Server is installed on the same server as the Q-Pulse application server) with no other software products use this server (i.e. the server is for Q-Pulse only). 

2.2. Tier 2

This tier is the minimum recommended specification for organisation with 20 to 50 concurrent users. A tier 2 dedicated single tier (i.e. Microsoft SQL Server is installed on the same server as the Q-Pulse application server) with no other software products use this server (i.e. the server is for Q-Pulse only).

2.3. Tier 3

This tier is the minimum recommended specification for organisation with 50 to 100 concurrent users. A tier 3 system is a dedicated split tier system. with Microsoft SQL Server and the Q-Pulse application server installed on separate servers. No other software products or databases are installed on these servers (i.e. these servers are for Q-Pulse only).

Important Notes:

• Due to the nature of the database, the RAM available should be increased by at least 4Gb as the number of databases or the individual database size increases to ensure optimal performance.  Routine analysis of database performance is strongly recommended if you have multiple Microsoft SQL databases on the same SQL server.

• Xeon is the preferred CPU due to enhanced error correction and cache capabilities.

• If your Q-Pulse system is hosted by Ideagen then the initial hardware may be lower than the minimum requirements. This is because the virtualised environment is monitored and scaled up proportionately with usage, performance and requirements.

3. SQL Server Requirements

Your database can either be installed to a full version of SQL Server or to a SQL Express Edition.

If the database is installed to full SQL Server then there are in theory no limitations on your database size. 

If the database is installed to SQL Express edition then there is a 10Gb limit to your database storage. However, it is possible to migrate a Q-Pulse database from Express to Full edition should you reach the limit.

4. Q-Pulse Client PC Requirements

Q-Pulse no longer supports Windows XP.  As a result, it is crucial that you ensure the below requirements are met on all client PC’s.

5. Mobile Requirements

 The minimum requirements for the Q-Pulse app are below:

6. Further Reading

• Technical Overview
• Functional Overview
• System Architecture
• Editions & Licencing
• Configuration Capabilities
• Client Deploymeny Options
• Implementation Methodology
• Mobile app
• Data Dictionary