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Document Server

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What It Is

The document server is the computer where the documents are stored. This computer is running SQL Server Express (installed from the Red CD) and holds not only the documents and files stored in Imaging Assistant, but a SQL Server Database that keeps track of the documents.

This computer does not need to be a high powered server computer. A Windows XP Professional computer will do fine.

Minimum Hardware Requirements

A high powered server is not required. The document server should have the following minimum configuration.

Processor Speed	1 GHz or higher. 1.8 GHz recommended.
Memory	2 GB. It may run in less, but not recommended.
Operating System	Windows XP Professional SP3 32 Bit Windows Vista Business / Ultimate SP1 32 or 64 Bit Windows Server 2003 SP2
Hard Drive Space	50 MB on the C drive for program installation. (Letting your C drive go below 500 MB is NOT a good idea because Windows uses disk space for temporary files during normal operations.) 60 GB Free For Document Storage. More is better. Less will work. (This requirement depends on the number and type of documents you plan to store. See Scanning Tips for more information.)
DVD R Drive	DVD +/- R Write capability if you want to be able to back up individual volumes for permanent non-rewritable backup. If you use Windows XP, we will install a Microsoft routine which is used for burning DVDs. The routine is automatically included in Vista.

Minimum configuration means that the system will work under those conditions. It does not mean that it will work as fast as you may want it. Almost any computer purchased in the last 3 years will work if it meets the memory requirements.

What Type Of Computer To Use

Everyone has their opinion, and your IT person may disagree with us. You do not need to use a server class machine. In fact, such a machine may have it's drawbacks. A computer running Windows XP Professional or newer is just fine and has some cost advantages when it comes to backing up.

Using A Station Class Computer

Using a workstation class computer does not mean going out and buying the cheapest computer with the cheapest parts you can find. You will be storing valuable documents and you should consider a business class computer, such as a Dell Optiplex, the model we provide if we sell the Document Server.

Use Windows XP Professional SP 3 or Vista Business or higher.

Using XP or Vista gives you the advantage of being able to use less expensive backup systems, such as Norton Ghost Version 14+ and Internet backup services such as Carbonite.

Note: We do not recommend having the document server act as a workstation for use with Word, and other programs. It should only be used for storing the documents.

Using A Server Class Computer

If you already have a server with plenty of memory and plenty of room on its disk, you may wish to use this machine. That is fine, but we do recommend that you partition a separate drive for the IAVault folder and allocate as much storage as possible, at least 60 GB. You could even add a new drive.

Server class machines are more expensive to backup because the inexpensive programs will not work on server operating systems.

Of course, if you plan on several people scanning large documents at the same time (production scanning), a larger, more powerful document server would be desirable.