Hardware and Software Requirements for Spectra QEST Products
Scope
This document aims to outline the hardware and software requirements for Spectra QEST products including QESTLab, QESTField / QESTNET, and Construction Hive.
Target Audience
This document is targeted at both Spectra QEST personnel and customers.
QESTLab
Components
QESTLab is divided into two components:
- The QESTLab Client Component
- The QESTLab Database (an SQL Server database)
These components are typically run on different computers depending on the requirements of the business.
Enterprise Edition
In an Enterprise Edition configuration, QESTLab Clients run on separate machines to the QESTLab database. End users of the system typically use the QESTLab Client remotely via tools such as Windows Remote Desktop, Terminal Services, or Citrix. The SQL Server database normally resides on a separate machine. All configurations are supported, with the Enterprise Edition being tailored to meet centralised multi-user multi-lab (WAN) configurations. More details of the capabilities of QESTLab Enterprise Edition can be found here.
Hardware Requirements
Database Server - Standalone
A completely separate machine guarantees more dedicated resources to executing the SQL queries initiated by QESTLab. The Database Server (if separate) should have the following specifications. It is not recommended to attach any other databases to this Server.
| Minimum | |
| Processor | 4 CPU Cores |
| RAM | 8 GB* |
| Available hard disk space | 200 GB** |
| Network speed | 100 Mbps |
| Remote access | 512kbps internet connection |
Application Server
This machine will run instances of the QESTLab Client, QEST Crush Station, and QESTWeigh Station processes (QLC.exe, QCS.exe and QWS.exe respectively) for each user. These are the most CPU and memory intensive QESTLab modules and require greater hardware commitments as the number of users increases.
Each server with these specifications will be able to handle between 30 and 50 concurrent users. Once there are more than this number of concurrent users a new server should be introduced to lighten the load. These machines should have the following specifications.
| Minimum | |
| Processor | 4 CPU Cores |
| RAM | 4 GB* |
| Available hard disk space | 1 GB |
| Network speed | 100 Mbps |
| Remote access | 512kbps |
Software Requirements
Database Server
A completely separate machine guarantees more dedicated resources to executing the SQL queries initiated by QESTLab. The SQL Server (if separate) should have the following specifications.
| Supported | Recommended | |
| Operating system | Windows Server 2008 R2 or later | Windows Server 2012 or later |
| Database software | Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 or later# | Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or later# |
Application Server
This machine will run instances of the QESTLab Client, QEST Crush Station, and QESTWeigh Station processes (QLC.exe, QCS.exe and QWS.exe respectively) for each user.
| Supported | Recommended | |
| Operating system | Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) or later|Windows Server 2012 (64-bit) or later^ | |
| Other Software | Virtualisation Software (Terminal Services/Citrix) , Adobe Reader DC | Microsoft Office 2007 or later for External Documents functionality |
QESTField / QESTNet
Architecture
QESTNET is a Windows Service (C#.NET) which provides data integration, notification and web-service API support. It is deployed to a Windows Server application server in the same way as the QESTLab client application.
QESTField is a web-site (ASP.NET MVC) which provides web-based data entry from mobile devices. It is deployed to a Windows Server on the local network running IIS 7.0 or later. QESTField requires the QESTNET service and a QESTLab database.
QESTNET
Hardware Requirements
The minimum hardware requirements support 100 simultaneous users. This figure scales smoothly with more powerful hardware. This means approximately 500 simultaneous users is feasible on a powerful server. Scale-out flexibility for very large implementations can be provided via multiple federated servers with shared authentication services and load balancing.
| Minimum | |
| Processor | 4 CPU Cores |
| RAM | 6 GB* |
| Available hard disk space | <1 GB |
Software Requirements
| Supported | |
| Operating system | Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 |
| .NET Framework | Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 or later |
QESTField
Hardware Requirements
The minimum hardware requirements support up to 1000 simultaneous users, or a peak request rate around 100 per second. This will scale up and out suitably if required.
| Minimum | |
| Processor | 4 CPU Cores |
| RAM | 2 GB* |
| Available hard disk space | <1 GB |
Software Requirements
| Supported | |
| Operating system | Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 |
| .NET Framework | Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 or later |
| IIS | Microsoft Internet Information Services 7.0 or later |
Client Requirements
| Supported Clients | |
| Web Browser |
|
| Mobile Browser |
|
Construction Hive
Architecture
Construction Hive is an online platform for the civil & construction industries, providing applications for the interaction of industry participants and the distribution and analysis of information.
The Construction Hive site is hosted outside of our clients’ network infrastructure and information is published to Construction Hive using web service calls and an XML data structure for the information being published.
Construction Hive
Software Requirements
| Supported Clients | |
| Web Browser |
|
Appendix
* In order to make effective use of RAM greater than 4GB, Spectra QEST recommend only 64-bit operating systems be used on the database server.
^ As of QESTLab 4.5, only 64-bit editions of Windows are supported
** QESTLab database sizing requirements vary depending on the volume of data. As a guide, an operation that has an annual output of 100,000 Work Orders, 150,000 Samples, 500,000 Tests/Inspections and 200,000 Test Reports would grow approximately 40GBs per annum. Of this, almost 50% is used for storing the binary images (PDFs) of Test Reports. If these have been published to Construction Hive the size of the database can be reduced.
# Microsoft SQL Server Express is freely available for production use. The software will be installed by Spectra QEST personnel when installing QESTLab if no dedicated Database server is available. However, as of the 2017 edition, SQL Server Express has the following limitations:
- Maximum Number of CPU cores allowed: 4 cores
- Maximum amount of RAM utilised: 1 GB
- Maximum Database size: 10 GB