Links Hardware Specification Requirements

Networked Workstation (Links only) or Hosted Workstation or Access

Single User Standalone Systems (SQL Server + Links client)

Database Server

Application/Gateway Server

Tablet/Mobile Device

Links can either be installed on a Windows OS device, or accessed via Remote Desktop on a non-Windows device.

However, please note that due to compatibility issues Links IS NOT SUPPORTED on Chromebooks.

Windows OS Device (Surface Pro)

Non-Windows Device (iPad, Galaxy Tab, Lenovo Tab)

NOTES

* SQL Management Studio must also be installed, and configured to connect to the SQL Server.

** Apple iOS or Android.

*** There are multiple RDP clients available for the various Operating Systems. Microsoft RDP (for Microsoft OS) or CoRD RDP (for Apple iOS) have been tested with Links and are the preferred options.

Also, LinksWeb products such as ActiveCarrot cannot be installed on Windows Server 2003 (or lower) or Retail versions of Windows (7,8,10 etc). Also, .Net 4.6.1 cannot be installed on SBS 2011, therefore this OS cannot be used for the Links application or Gateway.

Additional Considerations for Links

• Hard Disk
  • Data transfer speed is important. The faster the drive used (HHD/SSD) the better the performance. This is especially important on a Database Server and/or PC utilising Virtual Machines.
• Network Stability
  • As Links uses a network connection to your Server (if not using a Stand-alone system), the stability of your network is important.

Additional Requirements/Considerations for Links Online (ActiveCarrot & Online Modules)

• SQL Server
  • SQL Server 2012 Standard/Enterprise minimum. Due to the change of resource use in SQL Server 2012 Express, this may be acceptable for a smaller load site, however SQL Server 2014 Standard/Enterprise or higher is recommended.
• Additional Load
  • Depending on configuration and usage, ActiveCarrot can generate sustained and significantly more load than the client applications alone. The load generated can vary greatly based on overall database size and activity and the number of requests generated by ActiveCarrot clients. The additional load needs to be factored in to consideration of deployment environments, especially when the host hardware resources are shared by multiple virtual machines.
• Security
  • As is necessary with these solutions, the underlying environments will be exposed to the Internet and standard Internet security measures will need to be taken to mitigate risk and potential damage of an attack.
  • The Links Web Service will communicate through a nominated Port. This can also be restricted to a specific IP range.
  • TLS 1.2 minimum is required. SSL, TLS 1.0 & TLS 1.1 are not supported.

• It is important that your computers also use the most up to date browsers, however;
  
  Compatible browsers are as follows:

  • Internet Explorer 11 and above
  • (or Internet Explorer 10 with the compatibility patch)
  • Chrome v33 and above
  • Firefox v34 and above
  • Safari  v8 and above

Additional Hardware Requirements/Considerations for Hosted Solutions

• Due to existing limitations of Microsoft Terminal Services, all hardware being used in a hosted environment (Terminal Services) require Serial (COM) Port connections. An onboard connection is preferred (a motherboard with existing COM ports or a Serial Interface card). USB to Serial adaptors are available (but not recommended).
• If wishing to utilise our EMV/RDPVC solutions for WebCams & PC-EFTPOS, Remote Desktop Client 8.1 is required. Furthermore, if using Windows 7, the Microsoft article KB2592687 (RDP 8.0 client and server components) update must be installed before installing the RDP 8.1 update.

Internet connection

• Minimum Down/Up 5 Mbps with a Recommend Down/Up of 10 Mbps. However please note that this figure would vary depending on individual need.
• In all cases, a lower latency would be preferable over a higher bandwidth.

Additional Requirements/Considerations for ClassWeb

• IIS 6 or higher
  • IIS is required to be installed and configured for access from the Internet.
• SSL Certificate
  • SSL is required for ClassWeb in order to accept live credit card transactions and protect sensitive personal data in transit.