Great Plains 7.5 (MSSQL)
Minimum, Midpoint, High End Recommendations
Included are compatible hardware recommendations based on usage.
Overview:This document contains hardware requirements and recommendations for minimum, midpoint, and high-end client/server installations of Great Plains 7.5 on Microsoft SQL Server. The recommendations are based on experience with many different installations and should be used as a reference in determining hardware needs for each individual configuration. Users may need to increase these recommendations due to environmental factors to achieve individual performance expectations. On this page:
Client Requirements:
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| Client Requirements | |
|
Operating System: |
Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft NT 4.0 Workstation SP 6a, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP 3 or 4, Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP 1a, Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition* |
|
Processor: |
Pentium III 350 Mhz (or equivalent) |
|
Hard Disk Space: |
210 MB |
|
Ram: |
128MB** |
|
Video: |
SVGA (800x600) with 16-bit video driver |
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CD-Rom: |
Optional |
|
Network Card: |
32-bit, 100 base T or 1000 base T Ethernet |
Small Business Server Compatibility:
This includes Small Business Server 2000 SP3 and 2003
Use the following guidelines if you:
 | Use only Financial Series modules |
| Have between 0-5 concurrent users |
| Use Report Writer or Crystal Reports |
| Having no more than 500 transactions per day |
| Very little importing or none at all |
| Minimum Server requirements (see below) plus server requirements required by Small Business Server |
| We recommend a dedicated Microsoft SQL Server for the Great Plains data. |
Minimum Server Requirements:
Use the following guidelines if you:
| Use only Financial Series modules |
| Have between 0-15 concurrent users |
| Use Report Writer or Crystal Reports |
| Having no more than 500 transactions per day |
| Very little importing or none at all |
| Hardware is dedicated to Microsoft SQL Server only |
Microsoft SQL Server Recommendations
Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 SP4
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3, SP3a
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (64-bit)
| Item | Requirements | Notes |
|
Operating System |
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server SP6a, Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP 3 or SP 4, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 |
|
|
Processors |
Dual Pentium III 800 Mhz (or equivalent) |
Make sure you can upgrade |
|
Disk Configuration |
Minimum: RAID 5 for OS, Apps and SQL data files Recommended: RAID 1 for OS and APPS RAID 5 for database log and data files |
Most important component for your Microsoft SQL Server The more disks you have available, the better Microsoft SQL Server will perform. |
|
RAM |
512 MB minimum or greater |
Expandable to 1G |
|
CD-ROM |
Yes |
Required |
|
Network Card |
32-bit, 10/100 MB Ethernet Full Duplex |
Midpoint Server Recommendations:
Use these guidelines if you:
| Use Financials Series modules |
| Use Distribution Series modules moderately |
| Use Field Service series modules |
| Moderate use of Manufacturing Series modules |
| Have between 10 and 30 concurrent users |
| Use Terminal Server |
| Use Report Writer or Crystal Reports and FRx |
| Perform Some OLAP (online analytical processing) |
| Have no more than 2000 transactions total per day -Originating in Sales (SOP and/or RM), Payables or General Ledger |
| Using some type of import routine |
| Dedicated Microsoft SQL Server only |
Microsoft SQL Server Standard or Enterprise
Recommendations
Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 SP4
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3, SP3a
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (64-bit)
| Item | Requirements | Notes |
|
Operating System |
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP 3 or SP 4, Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP 3 or SP 4, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 |
|
|
Processors |
Dual Xeon 700 Mhz (or equivalent) |
Make sure you can upgrade to Quad processors |
|
Disk Configuration |
Required: Recommended: |
The more disks you have available the better SQL Server will perform. RAID 5 should have at least 4 disks or more. Use of Ultra SCSI 3 recommended or Fiber Controller |
|
RAM |
2G or more |
Expandable to 4G**** |
|
CD-ROM |
Yes |
Required |
|
Network Card |
Dual 32-bit, 10/100 MB Ethernet, OR Fiber PCI NIC |
Ensure switch is large enough to handle Traffic load |
High-End Server Recommendations:
Use these guidelines if you:
| Use Financials Series modules |
| Use Distribution Series modules |
| Use Field Service series modules |
| Use Manufacturing Series modules |
| Have between 25 and 75 concurrent users |
| Use Terminal Server/Metaframe |
| Use Report Writer or Crystal Reports and FRx Reports heavily |
| Perform Some OLAP (online analytical processing), cube generation (to different machine) |
| Have no more than 5000 transactions total per day -Originating in Sales (SOP and/or RM), Payables or General Ledger |
| Heavy use of some type of import routine |
| Dedicated Microsoft SQL Server only |
Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Recommendations
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3, SP3a
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (64-bit)
| Item | Requirements | Notes |
|
Operating System |
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP 3 or SP 4, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 |
|
|
Processors |
QUAD Xeon 700 Mhz (or equivalent) |
Make sure you can upgrade to 8 processors or higher |
|
Disk Configuration |
Required: Recommended: |
The more disks you have available the better SQL Server will perform. RAID 5 should have at least 8 disks or more. Use of Ultra SCSI 3 recommended or Fiber Controller |
|
RAM |
4G**** or more |
Expandable to 8G**** |
|
CD-ROM |
Yes |
Required |
|
Network Card |
Single 1000 Base T Ethernet OR Fiber PCI NIC |
Ensure switch is large enough to handle Traffic load |
Additional Notes:
1. *The Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is only
supported on a client connected to the Local Area Network.
The wireless components of Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC
Edition are not supported or recommended.
2. **Clients with heavy processing use Pentium III 500 MHZ
or higher and 256 MB RAM or higher.
3. ***To attain 2000 transactions a day, you may need to increase the number of disks in your RAID 5 disk volume
4. **** Should enable the /3GB switch in your boot.ini if Windows Advanced Server and Enterprise Edition of SQL are installed. See Q Article Q283037 for more information
5. *****To attain 5000 transactions a day, you may need to increase the number of disks in your RAID 5 disk volume
6. For Midpoint and High End Recommendations, it is
highly recommended that all client workstations have an NT based
Operating System. (NT 4.0, 2000, XP Professional).
7. Office 2000 and Office XP have been tested and are
supported with Great Plains 7.5.
8. Microsoft Business Solutions will support Great Plains
7.5 on Windows Server 2003 with Microsoft SQL Server 2000
Service Pack 3 or later.
9. Intel Pentium processors are used in platform testing,
however, the compatibility is based on the speed of the
processor not the type of processor.