Hardware Requirements
Hardware Specifications - we get a lot of phone calls and emails asking us for the minimum requirements for the computers to run the 5 Minute Photo Loader/Viewer software. While the Loader (Server) configurations can vary depending on the number of viewing stations you have connected to it, the operating system on the Loader (Server), the number of pictures taken per game/competition and the total number of pictures taken per event, we will provide a few typical configurations that are known to work. Each user's situation will be different and may require additional hardware, horsepower, optimization and network tuning.
VIEWER: The Viewer software does not need a lot of horsepower but of course, having additional RAM and processing power never hurts. The Viewing stations should have at least 384MB of RAM or preferably 512MB of RAM. A lot of our customers will buy used or refurbished computers for the viewing stations and add some additional RAM and a new flat panel monitor to the station. We highly recommend using Windows XP (Home/Pro) for the operating system on the Viewing Stations.
SERVER: A typical 3 Viewing Station setup would need a Loader (Server) running Windows XP Pro with at least 1 GB of RAM, a 2.70 GHz or faster processor and sufficient free hard drive space to store 3X the total size of the original images. This configuration will handle events with approx. 100 images per game/competition and approx. 2000-3000 images per event. This is based upon 1.5-2.5 MB sized originals. We highly recommend using Windows XP Pro or Windows Server 2003 for the operating system on the Loader/Server.
An advanced 7-20 Viewing Station setup would require a Loader (Server) running Windows Server 2003 with at least 4 GB of RAM, a 3.0+ GHz processor and sufficient free hard drive space to store 3X the total size of original images. This configuration will handle events with approx. 100-150 images per game/competition and up to 10,000-20,000 images per event. This is based upon 1.5-2.5 MB sized originals. We highly recommend only Windows Server 2003 for the operating system on larger setups with 6+ Viewing Stations.
Results of tests/using nComputing Devices
We have tested the nComputing X-Series (X-300) and L-Series devices (L-230) with our software and have found that our software will run on these devices but should have a separate computer to act as the nComputing host that can also be used as a Viewing Station (in other words, don't use your Loader/Server as the host for the nComputing devices). Since the nComputing devices share the RAM and processor of the host you need to make sure the nComputing host has adequate RAM to handle the extra sessions used by the nComputing devices (www.nComputing.com).
We also found that using the X-Series PCI card in the Loader (Server) presents security issues since the users of the Viewer software can actually have full access to the server unit, which is a huge security risk. We did find that putting the PCI card in a Viewing station and connecting other Viewers via the X-300 devices works good.
We used the following setup for the first few days of an onsite baseball torunament but on the final days of the event we did revert back to using full CPU's for the Viewing stations. On the first few days (just a few weekday games in late afternoon and evening) we set up a Sony Touchscreen Kiosk terminal with nComputing's PCI X-300 card installed in it. We then attached monitors and mice (no keyboards) to 2 of the nComputing modules. We used the Sony terminal as both a Viewer and Loader during these early games of the tournament. Even though having the Sony terminal acting as the Loader (which presents a security risk as mentioned above), we did not have any other critical applications, data or software on the Sony terminal. The only thing at true risk was the original images, so we turned off the "Erase CF Card/Source Directory" option in the Loader and left all of the images on the CF cards and loaded them on our true server each evening when we got back to the office.
This setup provided us with a very compact and quick setup for the early/short (and normally slow) days of the event but gave the customers 3 Viewing stations and really helped in pre-sales activity and additional recognition before the busy weekend games.
While we cannot directly support the nComputing devices, we will say that our software will work with these devices with the exceptions noted herein (i.e. Security risks involved when installed on the Loader/Server computer and adequate horsepower (CPU/RAM) on the nComputing host computer.)
We hope this info and the use of the nComputing devices will prove to be an effective, cost efficient, compact solution for some of our customers.
