SAFE has been tested to run properly on any machine capable of running Windows 7 or 8 or any version of Server 2003 and later that can run SQL Server 2005 or later.

The required performance metrics are almost exclusively based on the needs/desires of SQL Server. In short, if the machine runs SQL Server well, it will almost certainly run SAFE well.

For larger offices, we recommend consulting the Microsoft Developer Network for specifics on SQL Server recommendations.

Smaller Offices

For setups involving five (5) or fewer users we have had good luck with machines running single CPU servers from Sandybridge on up with 16gb RAM. You’ll get better performance by running multiple drives (OS on one drive, database on another) and even better still with three (3) drives (OS on 1, MDF on 2, LDF on 3) but that may be overkill for light-duty use. Our experience has been that given ‘X’ amount of dollars the lions share should be spent on fast drives and controllers, whereas increasing the # or type of CPU provide far fewer benefits.

Special Considerations For OS/SAFE And WebSAFE

If you run Ollie or WebSAFE on your own server, you will need to run Internet Information Services (IIS) which increases the necessary requirements. When running IIS, we have found a significant improvement serving pages if you run (2) two network controllers on your server. (You can use a mix of cards and on-board motherboard controllers.) To take advantage of this, configure the server so that the one card handles in-office traffic and the 2nd is dedicated to internet traffic. Therefore, when choosing a server it makes sense to choose a machine with either an extra slot for later addition of a 2nd network card or a mobo with (2) two on-board controllers.