Overview

We could give you the minimum requirements for running an application based on the 4th Dimension database, but with an image database like Thumbs Up, you need far more memory and processor speed for acceptable performance than you would with a typical database. This is because you are dealing with large image files (larger still as digital camera resolution specifications increase), and, from a database perspective, we cache all the image records in any collection that the user is viewing.

What computers are most suitable for 4D Server?

Apart from having a computer with enough disk space for the database application, data file, operating system,and backups, considerations about what computer to run 4D on will depend on three factors, speed, stability, and total cost of ownership.

Four generalizations can be made about all Thumbs Up server computers:

1. A server will run faster with more RAM.

The appropriate amount of RAM depends on the size of the data file, how many clients are connected to the server, and what those clients are doing. Generally, if you can buy a machine that supports 4 GB of RAM, do so, even if you start out using less. Also, use a single 1GB module in a 4 module system, so you are not replacing it later. Please refer to our web page on memory, and in particular to the chart at the bottom of the page regarding RAM requirements per number of client computers.

2. A server will run faster with a faster disk drive.

The fastest possible disk systems available today are called RAID arrays. While they can be a little tricky to administer, they are very fast disk systems that split disk use between several drives. There are even IDE Raid subsystem now available as PCI cards.

Whether or not you are using a RAID array, the fastest disk drives available today generally use serial ATA (SATA) drives, usually with a special-purpose card. Due to the seemingly ever increasing size of image files, we recommend a minimum 160GB drive.

3. A client-server system will run faster if it is on a faster network.

Recent reductions in the cost of Gigabit hubs and cards make it a bargain as a way of accelerating a 4D client/server system. 4D recommends in particular that even if you are currently using a 100 base-T or other network, that any server or client computers you buy should be equipped with Gigabit cards, so that you can upgrade to this improved standard later.

4. A server will also run faster with a faster processor and a larger, faster, backside cache.

Disk speed and size of RAM are generally more important, however, Thumbs Up does a great deal of graphics processing, consuming CPU power. As of early 2007, as an example, Dell offers a small business machine (Dimension E520) with a 3 GHz Pentium 4 processor for $469 US, and the same machine with a 2.8 GHz Dual Core processor for $489 US. Using anything less for a new machine would simply not make sense for a business application.