System Requirements

This document was last updated April 23, 2010.

Escape Online 5 has been developed using Microsoft .Net architecture. We utilize a 3 tier architecture: client - application servers - database servers. The purpose of this document is to provide initial information regarding hardware and third party software required to implement our system. As hardware and other associated networking gear evolves so rapidly, and each implementation is unique, this document should be used as a guideline when discussing the equipment you will purchase for your implementation.

Also note that the size of your organization(s) will dictate the hardware selections. Escape Online 5 can scale from a single server implementation for a small district, to nearly the largest COE type operation.

Introduction to Escape Online 5 architecture

Escape Online uses a three-tier architecture model.

Client tier. Each user requires an Intel compatible personal computer. The client program is installed once on the PC, and all future updates are automated. Note that Escape Online 5 is not a web browser based application, it is a "thin client" application. These PC's do not require a connection to the database server.
Application Server Tier. This consists of several servers that run the Escape Online 5 server programs. Typically there is a piece of hardware called a "load balancer" in front of the Application Servers to equalize processing load.
Data tier. This is the SQL Server database tier, which will be managed by one or more servers.

This architecture makes Escape Online more flexible, manageable and scalable. Advantages include:

The database is hosted on a server that is not connected directly to the Internet.
Each tier can be scaled separately, depending upon your requirements.

The following graphically represents the architecture of Escape Online.

Database Server Requirements

The database server is dedicated solely to the Escape Online database. No Escape Online software resides on the database server.

To ensure Escape Online runs with adequate performance, please observe the following minimum requirements for the database server. However, before purchasing we highly recommend that you consult with your hardware vendor to determine the best possible solution for your size organization and existing environment.

Type

Requirements

Operating System

Microsoft® Windows Server 2003 or 2008 Standard or Enterprise Server.

SQL Server

SQL 2005 with service pack 3.

SQL Server .NET Data Provider

Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.7.

Processor(s) / Ram

Due to the variation of size and complexity of databases, it is recommended that you consult your preferred hardware vendor and discuss your specific needs. As a starting point, the following are guidelines based on our existing customer databases.

# Concurrent Users	Server
# Concurrent Users	Processors	Memory
0-80	2	4 gb
80-150	4	8 gb
150-200	4	8 gb
200-250	4	12 gb
250-350	8	16 gb
350+	8+	24+ gb

Storage space

Typical Initial DB sizes are:

Small organization (one org): 2GB
Medium organization or small COE: 6GB
Large organization and larger COE's: 20GB

Please allow 20% per year for growth

Application Server Requirements

The application servers host the Escape Online 5 software which will be a mission-critical application in your organization. Therefore please consider these as minimum requirements and plan appropriately for a fault tolerant environment that will be able to withstand server failures.

Type	Requirements
Physical Server Count	For our .Net 3.5 platform system, we recommend one physical server per 50-75 concurrent users, plus 1 for fault tolerance. So for 300 concurrent users, we recommend 5-6 application servers.
Operating System	Microsoft® Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Server.
SQL Server .NET Data Provider	Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.7.
Processor	Intel Xeon at 2 GHz or higher.
RAM	4Gb.
Storage space	Storage requirements for Windows, plus 1gb for Escape Online software.
Other	Server(s) should not be Primary Domain Controllers When using more than one application server a load balancer will be required. Please contact your hardware vendor for more information on which load balancer will work best with your system. Most of our existing customers user a load balancer from Barracuda. Escape Online is compatible with virtualized server environments such as VMware.

Test Server Requirements

Nearly all our implementations utilize a test server. A test server is also an ideal way to begin an implementation. The application and database server functionality referenced above can be combined on one server, for the purposes of getting the implementation team up and running, working on data conversions and so on. We highly recommend starting with a single test server, to get the system up and running as soon as possible for the implementation team. Most organizations will further utilize the test server for testing new versions, and doing training on a non-production database.

Client Requirements

Type	Power User Recommended Requirements	Minimum Requirements
Processor	Intel compatible multi-core processor, such as Intel Core Duo	Intel Pentium 4 or higher
RAM	2 Gb	512Mb
Operating System	Microsoft Windows XP Professional Microsoft Windows Vista Professional Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Microsoft Windows 7	Same
Storage space	There are no special requirements about storage space, other than the usual requirements for the Windows version installed and 25 Mb for Escape Online application.	Same
Monitor	Highest available at the time of purchase.	1024x768
Add'l Software/Notes	The following software is necessary to take full advantage of Escape Online functions. Microsoft Office for exporting to Excel Adobe Acrobat Reader for report PDFs Microsoft Internet Explorer for HTML Home Page Adobe Flash Player for viewing tutorials and additional functionality Several customers have deployed the client utilizing a Citrix environment with success.	Same

Network Requirements

Networks are all about bandwidth. More is always better. As a rich user experience type of application, the Escape Online 5 system moves significant amounts of data between client and server.

Typically, the network within a given organization is not really an issue. The issue is the network between the application servers and the clients. There are two factors to consider - bandwidth and load. For districts having sites utilizing technology such as DSL or ISDN, performance will be less than desirable if there is much other load on the connection besides the Escape traffic. With many networks, the web access for teachers and students also use the same connection, and their activities put a load on the connection.

Even T-1 connections can be overwhelmed with web traffic. We suggest that the business office traffic be separated from teacher/student web traffic, in order to have a consistent level of service. We get a lot of calls about why our system slows down every day at about 2:00.

In general, you want the most bandwidth this is available. We can discuss any bandwidth limitations in your network as part of the implementation.

External Files

Our application allows users to attach files to our documents, must like users attach files to email. An example would be to store a scanned image of a drivers license, with an employee record. Nearly all our records can have attachments, and the attachments can be any file that a user's PC can work with. Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, PDF's, etc. Report files are also stored as external files (i.e. reports in the My Reports activity).

These files are not stored inside the SQL Server database. They are stored in a share that the system manager configures. This share can be located anywhere that the application servers have access to. The system manager should determine the optimum place for the share containing all external files. And to make sure they get backed up with the database!

Escape Online 5 Server Installation and Setup

Setup of the Escape Online 5 servers requires a number of steps, as outlined below:

Purchase the server hardware and Microsoft software described above.
Install the operating systems the servers, including Microsoft .Net 3.5. Install SQL on the Database Server.
Set up a remote desktop connection on the server that has administrator authorities. This is necessary for the installation process performed by Escape Customer Care.
Schedule the Escape Online 5 software installation. Once you have set up the server, we can install the Escape Online 5 software remotely.