This article will go over the minimum recommended hardware requirements for SAM and Orion
These recommendations are subject to change without notice as third party software and hardware will require ongoing changes and updates that may affect its compatibility with the SAM or Orion software without our notice.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- SAM or Orion Workstation
- Server up to 5 users (can be used as a workstation)
- Server (above 5 users)
- SQL Server <10 users, dedicated to Orion
- Printers
- Network
- !! Not supported/known to cause issues !!
- Antivirus Software
- OS not supported (non hosted)
SAM or Orion Workstation
| Operating System (OS) | Windows 11 is the preferred option, Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise until the 14th October 2025 at which time Microsoft is withdrawing support and updates. |
| Processor | Intel i5 or higher |
| RAM | 8 GB or higher |
| Hard Drive | Min of 5GB free drive space |
| Monitor | 21" 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Network card | Gigabit or faster |
NB: Oplocking to be disabled in all instances on all machines including existing servers and workstations (recommended but not mandatory for Terminal Server connections).
Server up to 5 users (can be used as a workstation)
Operating System (OS) | Windows 11 is the preferred option, Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise until the 14th October 2025 at which time Microsoft is withdrawing support and updates. |
| Processor | Intel i7 or higher |
| RAM | 16 GB or higher |
| Hard Drive | Min of 10GB free drive space |
| Monitor | 21" run at 1024 x 768 resolution or better |
| Network card | Gigabit or faster |
| Back-up | A solution with offsite storage a must |
NB: Oplocking to be disabled in all instances on all machines including existing servers and workstations (recommended but not mandatory for Terminal Server connections).
Server (above 5 users)
Dedicated for LAN users or setup as a terminal server
| Operating System (OS) | Windows server 2019 or higher |
| Processor | Intel Xeon or higher |
| RAM | 16 GB or higher |
| Hard Drive | Min of 20GB free HDD space |
| Monitor | 21" 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Network card | Gigabit or faster |
| Back-up | A solution with offsite storage a must |
NB: Oplocking to be disabled in all instances on all machines including existing servers and workstations (recommended but not mandatory for Terminal Server connections).
SQL Server <=5 users, dedicated to Orion
| Operating System (OS) | Windows 11 is the preferred option, Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise until the 14th October 2025 at which time Microsoft is withdrawing support and updates. |
| MS SQL | Express 2017 or Higher |
| Class | Desktop class machine |
| Processor | Intel i5 Quad core CPU (64bit, 1.4 GHz+) |
| RAM | 16 GB or higher |
| Hard Drive | 256GB 7200RPM HDD (minimum) |
| Network card | Gigabit or faster |
NB: Machine should be dedicated to Orion SQL server. If to be used as workstation add RAM, consider higher spec CPU and certainly use SSD
Backup of SQL data customer responsibility. Recommend local and offsite copies of backup data.
Antivirus – exclude SQL data folders, or as recommended by AV vendor.
SQL Server <10 users, dedicated to Orion
| Operating System (OS) | Windows server 2019 or Higher |
| MS SQL | Express 2017 Or Higher |
| Class | Desktop class machine |
| Processor | Intel i7 Quad core CPU (64bit, 2.0 GHz+) |
| RAM | 16 GB or higher |
| Hard Drive | 256GB SSD |
| Network card | Gigabit or faster |
NB: Machine should be dedicated to Orion SQL server. If to be used as workstation add RAM, consider higher spec CPU and SSD
Backup of SQL data customer responsibility. Recommend local and offsite copies of backup data.
Antivirus – exclude SQL data folders, or as recommended by AV vendor.
Printers
Citrix hosted
Follow this link for a Citrix compatible printer
Non hosted
- OKI Laser for Invoicing, Statements, Job Cards, Service/ WOF Reminders, Purchase Orders & Reports (laser)
- WOF Checksheets - (dot matrix) OKI ML320T
NB: it is increasingly hard to get a new dot matrix printer Very often second hand printers will be faulty and will not align correctly and as such there are no guarantees they will work
- Label Printing - Zebra or Dymo Labelwriter450 or 550
Network
Gigabit switch hub or faster
For non hosted sites wireless networks have a high chance of causing corruptions and are NOT supported.
!! Not supported/known to cause issues !!
- Wireless Networks
- Offline Files
- Ezyprint on Windows Terminal Server 2008
- Brother Printers
- Shadow Protect Back up Software
- Incremental back-ups
- Dropbox and OneDrive
Antivirus Software
Compatible Antivirus Products
- McAfee AV Plus
- ESET (NOD32)
- Norton’s (Symantec) Internet Security
- Sophos
Exclusions will need to be entered on all PC's
Antivirus Products Not recommended as known to cause issues
- MS Security Essentials
- AVG
- Avast
- Nortons 360
- McAfee Total Protection
- McAfee All Access
- McAfee Internet Security
- Norton’s Antivirus.
OS not supported (non hosted)
- Any Windows OS not supported by Microsoft.
- Workstations O/S’s – Win 7 or older and any home versions of Windows.
- Server - older than MS Server 2012.
- NAS devices.
- Any other OS other than Windows OS’s eg Mac or Linux.
NB: Oplocking to be disabled in all instances on all machines including existing servers and workstations (recommended but not mandatory for Terminal Server connections).
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