System Requirements

Client & Server System Requirements for SME

SME Technical Specifications:

SME and system requirements for Client Machine

Minimum CPU required: 2 GHz+ minimum (Get a good mid-range size and use that)
Minimum memory required: 8GB - 16GB recommended or 1 Gig per gig of DB size
Minimum free hard disk space required: 300 MB, 1 GB recommended, or sized to your current DB size
Operating system version: Windows 10 – 11
Server operating system 2016 - 2022
Minimum screen resolution: 1024 x 768 - – SME is optimized for 1280 x 1200
Network: 10Mbps min, 100Mbps or 1Gbps recommended.

SME minimum system requirements for Server

Minimum CPU required: 2 or more GHz recommended.

Memory/RAM: Ram requirement is a factor of the database size. Plan on 1 gig per gig of database size plus 4-gig

minimum for operating system use. If hosting other applications on the SQL server you will need to reserve memory for the applications in addition to the reserve for SQL

Go to this article for details for improving SQL Performance

MS SQL should not be installed on a domain controller due to security considerations and domain controller default

SQL databases (Note: As of SQL 2017 Microsoft will no longer allow the installation of SQL on a domain controller).

MS SQL version should be matched to server operating system 2012 – SQL 2012 R2 SQL 2014 - SQL 2014 R2,

Server 2016 – SQL 2017, etc. (Note: 2008 – SQL 2008 R2,SQL 2012, SQL 2014 are no longer supported by Microsoft and you should update your systems ASAP).

Server should have a separate drive for SQL Temp database usage, solid state drives are best, as this database is

written to often in high volume operations (SQL Performance)

Minimum free hard disk space required: 4 GB minimum, 10 GB preferred, use solid state drives for faster performance.

Servers should be using a Raid 10 configuration with a separate drive for log files and temp database usage

A separate partition can suffice if another drive is not available

Minimum screen resolution: 1024 x 768 – SME is optimized for 1280 x 1200

Network: 10Mbps min, 100Mbps or 1Gbps recommended, faster is better.

Operating System: Windows 10, or Windows Server 2016, SQL 2016-Server 2022. (Note: any MS operating system

prior to Windows 10 is no longer supported by Microsoft and its use should be discontinued immediately).

MS Does not recommend installing MS SQL Server on a domain controller or SBS operating system. We also do not

recommend installing on a server running MS Exchange Server. (Note: As of SQL 2017 this is no longer allowed in any manner by the SQL installer).

Database: MS SQL 2017 - 2022 any edition. (Note: SQL 2008, 2012 are no longer supported).

Note: The Express Edition is free and has no user limit, but does have the following limits:

Database limit of 10GB for 2012 + Limits processor cores to 1 Memory usage to 4 gig (SQL 2017+ now combine some previously separated memory processes and may require significantly more memory than the posted limits). This is sufficient size for most companies unless you plan utilizing stored documents. High5 suggests using a separate SQL instance for SME. We can share a SQL instance however certain maintenance tasks may take the other databases off-line while performing the maintenance

Express version are limited in memory usage, Database size, processor cores, and in basic optimization functions

High5 follows Microsoft directives for lifecycle product support. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle