technical specification - version 2.6.0

ALB

Technical Specification

Version 2.6.0

The minimum and recommended technical

environment specifications. REV1250516JS

Advanced Computer Software Group Ltd

Booths Park 4, Chelford Road, Knutsford, WA16 8GS

t: +44 (0) 844 815 5620

www.oneadvanced.com

www.oneadvanced.com

Disclaimer

Copyright © Advanced Computer Software Group Ltd 2016.

This document contains confidential and/or proprietary information. The content

must not be disclosed to third parties without the prior written approval of

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appropriate (each referred to as “Advanced”). External recipients may only use

the information contained in this document for the purposes of evaluation of the

information and entering into discussions with Advanced and for no other

purpose.

Whilst Advanced endeavours to ensure that the information in this document is

correct and has been prepared in good faith, the information is subject to

change and no representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or

completeness of the information. Advanced does not accept any responsibility or

liability for errors or omissions or any liability arising out of its use by external

recipients or other third parties.

No information set out or referred to in this document shall form the basis of

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agreement with Advanced detailing the terms applicable to the supply of such

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Advanced Computer Software Group Limited is a company registered in England

and Wales with registration number 05965280 whose registered office is at

Ditton Park, Riding Court Road, Datchet, Berkshire. SL3 9LL.

iii

Contents

PART 1: Introduction.................................................................. 5

Before you begin ........................................................................................ 6

Revision history........................................................................................... 7

PART 2: Hardware specs ............................................................ 8

Server hardware, O/S and SQL requirements ......................................... 9

Terminal Services hardware, O/S and software requirements ............ 10

Client requirements ................................................................................. 11

Deployment considerations .................................................................... 11

PART 3: Software specs ........................................................... 13

Small Business Server (SBS) .................................................................... 14

Client operating systems ......................................................................... 16

Microsoft Office ........................................................................................ 17

Outlook Exchange .................................................................................... 19

Browser access ......................................................................................... 19

Document production .............................................................................. 19

Workflow ................................................................................................... 20

Word add-in .............................................................................................. 20

Time Tracker ............................................................................................. 21

Other integration ...................................................................................... 21

PART 4: Server virtualisation .................................................. 23

Server virtualisation technology ............................................................. 24

PART 5: PI Portal requirements .............................................. 26

SQL agent .................................................................................................. 27

SMTP server .............................................................................................. 27

iv

System parameters .................................................................................. 28

PART 6: Recommendations ..................................................... 29

Business continuity and backup ............................................................. 29

Data volumes ............................................................................................ 29

Remote access .......................................................................................... 30

Telephony integration (CTI) ..................................................................... 30

Printers ...................................................................................................... 30

Desktop scanners ..................................................................................... 31

Name resolution ....................................................................................... 31

Virus scanning ........................................................................................... 32

Reporting tools ......................................................................................... 32

Laptop usage............................................................................................. 32

PART 7: Technical Survey Questionnaire .............................. 34

Contact information ................................................................................. 34

ALB server environment .......................................................................... 34

Terminal Server environment ................................................................. 36

Network ..................................................................................................... 38

ALB TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION 2.6.0

5

PART 1: Introduction

This document outlines the recommended environment specifications for

running ALB successfully. Its purpose is to cover the hardware and software

requirements, plus other important recommendations that you should be aware

of before implementing ALB.

IMPORTANT This document contains confidential information and must

not be disclosed in whole or in part to any third-party. Unauthorised

copying, printing, or distribution is prohibited.

In this section:

Before you begin

Revision history


6

Before you begin

ALB is continually developed and increased functionality will inevitably lead to

greater demands on hardware in terms of disk storage, processor, and memory

resources. Given that most firms write IT hardware investments off over

somewhere between 3-5 years it therefore makes sense wherever possible to

exceed these specifications.

Some specifications in this document are intended for those who wish to re-use

existing systems for ALB, and therefore may reflect items that can no longer be

purchased as new. The recommended specifications have been built around

currently available hardware and software.

For ALB database or application servers these guidelines are based on the

assumption that the supplied server is dedicated to the use of ALB and that no

other Microsoft server products/applications are installed on the same server

unless otherwise stated.

Where hardware is supplied by a third-party, assurances must be given by them

that the existing or proposed environment meets or exceeds the expected

performance of our recommended environment specification. However, we will

assist the third-party within reasonable limits in order that they can give this

assurance.

Conventions

When new versions of ALB are released it is not possible to complete full

regression test cycles on every combination of operating system platform.

Therefore a reference test platform is selected which is intended to reflect the

platforms most commonly used by our customers and is shown in bold. A lighter

degree of regression testing is carried out on certified platforms which are

shown in italics.

Supported platforms are those where Advanced is not aware of any issues in

running ALB on such a platform, and will correct defects found in these

environments, but will not explicitly test using them.

CHAPTER PART 1: INTRODUCTION

7

NOTES

The operating systems and Microsoft Office versions listed in the

software specifications are the only versions currently supported by

ALB. Any product not mentioned here is not supported.

For prospective customers, please complete the Environment Sign-off

Form so that we are both clear that your environment is suitable for a

successful installation.

For more information on the hardware specifications in this

document, please contact Advanced Technical Services.

Revision history

Here's a summary of the changes in this release. It shows new or revised content

in terms of usage, policy or procedure and should be reviewed.

[29.04.16] — Microsoft Office: Support added for Office 2016 365.

[25.05.16] — Rebranded (Advanced).


8

PART 2: Hardware specs

In this section:

Server hardware, O/S and SQL requirements

Terminal Services hardware, O/S and software requirements

Client requirements

Deployment considerations

CHAPTER PART 2: HARDWARE SPECS

9

Server hardware, O/S and SQL

requirements

The table below details the recommended server specifications and assumes

that the server is for the sole use of ALB and related components. It is highly

recommended that modern hardware is deployed (< 2 years) to ensure that

maximum performance and benefit is achieved from the latest version of ALB

and its components.

Server

specification

<10 users <50 users <100 users >100 users

CPU:

Intel E5-

2620v3

series or

similar

1 X 2 core 1 X 4 core 1 X 8 core 2 X 8 core

RAM: 8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB

Disk

subsystem:

1 X RAID1 or

1 X RAID5

1 X RAID1

(O/S)1

1 X RAID10

(data)1

1 X RAID1

(O/S)1

1 X RAID10

(data)1

1 X RAID1

(O/S)1

1 X RAID10

(data)1

SQL version

and edition

2005 STD

(SP4)3,4,5

2008 STD6

2008R2 STD7

2012 STD8

2014 STD8

2005 STD

(SP4)3,4,5

2008 STD6

2008R2 STD7

2012 STD8

2014 STD8

2005 STD

(SP4)3,4,5

2008 STD6

2008R2 STD7

2012 STD8

2014 STD8

2005 STD

(SP4)3,4,5

2008 STD6

2008R2 STD7

2012 STD8

2014 STD8

Windows

Server

version and

edition

2008 (x64)

STD9

2008R2 STD9

2012 STD

2012R2 STD

2008 (x64)

STD9

2008R2 STD9

2012 STD

2012R2 STD

2008 (x64)

STD9

2008R2 STD9

2012 STD

2012R2 STD

2008R2 Ent

2012 STD

2012R2


10

Microsoft

.NET

4.5 with

latest

updates

4.5 with

latest

updates

4.5 with

latest

updates

4.5 with

latest

updates

NOTES

(1) Recommend 10k or 15k SAS drives. (2) Recommend SAS based SSD drives for maximum throughput. (3) SQL2005 SP4 is the minimum supported version. Mainstream support

ended 2011, extended support ends April 2016. (4) Supports SQL Report Builder 1 only. (5) SQL 2005 is not compatible with Windows Server 2012. (6) Supports SQL Report Builder 1 & 2 only. (7) Supports SQL Report Builder 1, 2 & 3. (8) Supports SQL Report Builder 3 only. (9) Maximum of 32 GB RAM supported.

Terminal Services hardware, O/S and

software requirements

Server specification <15 users <30 users

CPU:

Intel E5-2620v3 series

or similar

recommended

1 X 4 core 1 X 8 core

RAM: 16GB 32GB

Disk subsystem: 1 X RAID1 1 X RAID1

Windows Server version

and edition

2008 (x64) STD1

2008R2 STD1

2012 STD

2012R2 STD

2008 (x64) STD1

2008R2 STD1

2012 STD

2012R2 STD

CHAPTER PART 2: HARDWARE SPECS

11

Free disk space available

for ALB client install

5GB 5GB

Microsoft .NET 4.5 with latest updates 4.5 with latest

updates

NOTE

(1) Maximum of 32 GB RAM supported.

Client requirements

Client PC specification

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo, i3 or i5 (or similar)

RAM: 4GB

Network 1Gb

Display 1280x1024

Client operating system version and

edition

Windows Vista or above (32bit and

64bit supported)

Free disk space available for ALB

client install

5GB

Microsoft .NET 4.5 with latest updates

Deployment considerations

Ensure a suitable backup solution is in place capable of backing up SQL

databases and ALB related data and documents/files. Management and

monitoring of backups is a customer responsibility unless there is a

specific managed technical agreement in place for us to do so.


12

Setting server hardware BIOS settings to “Maximum performance” can

increase the performance of applications running on the server.

When using MS HyperV, setting virtual disks to “fixed size” is

recommended for SQL servers.

To maximise performance, SQL virtual machines should not span NUMA

nodes.


13

PART 3: Software specs

ALB requires certain software to work (operating system, database) and

optionally integrates with many other business applications. In this section we

set out the supported versions of these products.

For the mandatory software, Advanced's policy is to follow that of Microsoft;

when mainstream support ends we recommend that customers upgrade to a

product which is in mainstream support. When extended support ends we will

no longer support customers on that product. This does not necessarily mean

that the product will cease to function at that date, but that we will not provide

support if it does.

For other vendors' products, if a product is not listed here, then it is not

supported. By this we mean that our team are not able to help you with queries

about that third-party product.

In this section:

Small Business Server (SBS)

Client operating systems

Microsoft Office

Outlook Exchange

Browser access

Document production

Workflow

Word add-in

Time Tracker

Other integration


14

Small Business Server (SBS)

ALB is supported for use on the same server as SBS 2008 or 2011 when running

the complement of SBS application suites (Exchange, ISA etc.) but this is only

recommended for small user populations and requires appropriate server

resources to be available to host all running applications. With SBS 2008 R2 or

above Microsoft have recognised that a split server implementation is best

practice and therefore when you purchase SBS 2008 Premium or SBS 2011

Standard Premium Add-on it comes with a Server 2008 license for a second

server to host SQL Server based applications like ALB. The following table

explains the differences between 2008 and 2011.

SBS comparison table

SBS 2008 PREMIUM SBS 2011 STANDARD PREMIUM ADD-ON

Server 2008 Standard Server 2008 R2 Standard

Exchange Server 2007 Standard

Edition

Exchange Server 2010 Standard with

SP1. If using Exchange Integration,

then Exchange 2010 SP2 is required

as a minimum

SharePoint Services 3.0 SharePoint Foundation 2010

SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small

Business

SQL Server 2008 R2 for Small

Business

NOTE Please be aware of the RAM support limitations in certain editions

of Microsoft Windows® platforms. At the time of writing support for

more than 3.5 GB of RAM is only available in Enterprise Editions and x64

versions of Windows® Server products.

SQL Server Report Building

CHAPTER PART 3: SOFTWARE SPECS

15

Report Builder is an end-user reporting tool in the visual style of other Microsoft

Office applications which can be downloaded free of charge from Microsoft’s

download centre. However, please note that three editions are currently

supported by Microsoft. Refer to the table below which explains the different

capabilities. Report designer users may run individual reports within any of the

tools against any database. The table below sets out the environments in which

a designer user can deploy a report for any other users to run from the web-

based Report Manager site.

NOTE SQL/ALB Express does not support report publishing.

Report Builder capabilities RB1 RB2 RB3

Works with SQL report models ✓ ✓ ✓

Works directly with SQL Tables, views and stored

procedures

✗ ✓ ✓

Publishes to SQL 2005 Report Manager site ✓ ✗ ✗

Publishes to SQL 2008 Report Manager site ✓ ✓ ✗

Publishes to SQL 2008 R2 Report Manager site ✓ ✗ ✓

SQL Installation Details

Where the SQL installation is not carried out by Advanced, please note the

following are required in environments where Advanced is not performing your

SQL installation:

IIS 6.0 must be installed before SQL to allow Microsoft Reporting Services

are to be used (prior to SQL 2008).

A full installation of SQL is required (for example Reporting and Analysis

services) using the built-in system account.

The collation of SQL should be set to "SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS"

where possible. If this is not the case then Advanced will configure the

databases with the required collation.


16

SQL should be installed with mixed mode security enabled.

The instance name should be set to "ALBINSTANCE".

The SQL Server GUI management tools should be installed on the server

A separate SQL account with "sysadmin" privileges is required for ALB.

This will be set up by Advanced during the installation of the software.

In situations where SQL has already been installed and is currently in use for

other applications (such as digital dictation), then it may worth considering

installing a second instance of SQL for the use of ALB only. One advantage of

having a separate instance is the ability to carry out maintenance of SQL without

affecting other running instances. Please be aware however that this will require

additional system resources.

We will require an account with administrative rights to the server so that a

shared folder can be created to allow for subsequent software updates by client

PCs.

Microsoft Office (Server)

All ALB servers need a local copy of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel for

support and scheduled report generation. In most cases the most cost-effective

way of providing this will be by providing a Microsoft Office Basic Edition license.

Backup Software (Server)

Where backups will be carried out locally on the server Symantec Backup Exec is

the preferred option. For servers backed up remotely a Backup Exec Agent for

Windows® Servers will be required. In the latest version this includes Advanced

Open File and Intelligent Disaster Recovery. A backup agent for Microsoft SQL

Server is also preferred to provide a complete backup of the data held in SQL

Server.

Client operating systems


17

Once the Microsoft extended period has been reached, we will no longer

support customers on these versions.

Client operating systems Microsoft support ends

VERSION MAINSTREAM EXTENDED

Windows Vista Business x86 10/04/2012 11/04/2017

Windows Vista Business x64 10/04/2012 11/04/2017

Windows 7 Pro SP1 x86 (1) 13/01/2015 14/01/2020

Windows 7 Pro SP1 x64 (1) 13/01/2015 14/01/2020

Windows 8 Pro SP1 x86 (1) 09/01/2018 10/01/2023

Windows 8 Pro SP1 x64 (1) 09/01/2018 10/01/2023

Windows 10 for Business - -

(1) Or Ultimate

NOTE Windows XP is no longer supported.

Microsoft Office

These are the versions of Microsoft Office that are supported by ALB. Once the

Microsoft extended period has been reached, we will no longer support

customers on these versions.

Microsoft Office Microsoft support ends

VERSION MAINSTREAM EXTENDED

Office 2007 SP3 10/04/2012 11/04/2017


18

Office 2010 01/06/2015 01/06/2020

Office 2013 09/01/2018 11/04/2023

Office 2016 - -

Office 2016 365 - -

Outlook Add-In

The Outlook add-in to allow email filing installs cleanly on Windows® 7

machines. On Windows® 7 machines where Office 2007 has been installed

before the .NET framework, you must run the Microsoft KB908002 MSI files

supplied on the CD prior to installing the Outlook add-in. Failure to do so will

result in an error message "Error 1001: Unable to get installer types". This is a

known issue for Microsoft and is not related to Advanced's software.

64-Bit Office Not Supported

In line with Microsoft's own recommendation, Advanced does not support the

use of 64-bit Office with ALB, even on a 64-bit operating system. Microsoft's

wording is as follows:

"If users in your organisation depend on existing extensions to Office, such as ActiveX

controls, third-party add-ins, in-house solutions built on previous versions of Office,

or 32-bit versions of programs that interface directly with Office, we recommend that

you install 32-bit Office (the default installation) on computers that are running both

32-bit and 64-bit supported Windows® operating systems."

NOTE When integrating Office with ALB, Office and ALB must reside on

the same client device (PC or Terminal Server). Cloud based Office 365 is

not supported when integrating with ALB.


19

Outlook Exchange

To run the Outlook Exchange integration, the following must be installed:

Visual Studio Tools (only clients using Outlook 2007)

NOTE ALB currently only integrates with Exchange 2010 SP2 or above. It

does not integrate with cloud based Exchange (Office 365).

Browser access

In order to facilitate remote working (Fee Earner Desktop) or client access (Client

Self-Service) the following must be installed:

IIS 6.0

.NET framework 4.1

Supported browsers:

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.x

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.x

Mozilla Firefox 7.x

Google Chrome 14.x

Apple Safari 5.x

Document production

In order to facilitate the document production, the following must be

installed/enabled:

DTC enabled


20

Workflow

In order to facilitate workflow, the following must be installed:

.NET 4.5 on the web server (4.5.1 for Exchange customers)

DTC enabled

IMPORTANT The Windows "Themes" service must be enabled on sites

running Case applications and/or workflow. Without this sites are limited

to the Windows Classic theme, which has limitations in the way in which it

represents the user interface of ALB. For example, Not Set values in

check boxes are displayed as grey ticks which may lead to

misinterpretation by the user.

Word add-in

In order to support the Word add-in, the following must be installed:


DTC enabled

Windows Vista with service pack 2 and update KB2962872 (which

upgrades Internet Explorer to version 9)

NOTES

The installer covers everything regarding the setup of the Word add-

in (i.e. the Click and File feature). However, you must make sure that

workflow is set up correctly.

ALB login details must be entered to authenticate the add-in, but you

will be prompted for this the first time the feature is used.


21

Time Tracker

In order to support Time Tracker, the following must be installed:

IIS 6.0 (or above)


FED

Other integration

This table shows the other (optional) integration products supported by ALB,

which are available at an extra cost.

Integration products

PRODUCT VERSION/COMMENTS

Exchange server 2007 SP3 (1). No integration.

2010 SP1 (2). Integration requires that:

Client Access Server (Role) is installed

Unified Messaging is enabled

Auto-discover is enabled

Offline address book is available

2013

2016

Office web apps Not supported, as these are "online companions" not

full functional versions.

Laserform 9.7.3

BigHand 4.6

Capscan View XML

Equitrac -

http://www.capscanondemand.com/capscanondemand/capscanondemand.asmx?WSDL


22

Esendex View XML

Call ML 6.1

pdfDocs 4.2 (3)

Xerox -

eCopy 3 or 4

Rekoop 5.9.24

(1) Microsoft support ends 10/04/12. Extended support ends 11/04/17. (2) Microsoft support ends 13/01/15. Extended support ends 14/01/20. (3) Version 4 requires a minimum of 4.2 U3 with hot fix 47.1 (v4.2.302.4) to

correctly bundle multiple documents into a single PDF.

https://www.esendex.com/secure/messenger/soap/SendService.asmx?wsdl


23

PART 4: Server virtualisation

The specifications provided so far are based on a traditional physical server

environment, where the hardware is dedicated to our application. However, in a

virtualised environment there will usually be more than one virtual server

operating on a single physical server. This clearly means that the physical server

must be capable of running the combined load of all the virtual servers that

reside on it. This section explains the use of this technology in connection with

ALB.

In this section:

Server virtualisation technology


24

Server virtualisation technology

Virtualisation software, so far as the application is concerned, emulates a

hardware platform. If it functions correctly, virtualisation software is invisible to

the application. Since that is the case, Advanced does not test against, certify

compatibility with, or expressly support any server virtualisation software.

As you would expect, if Advanced are providing a total solution in terms of the

virtualisation solution and the software application, we will work together to

achieve a resolution to any issues you have running an Advanced application in a

virtualised environment. If the virtualisation environment is provided by an

external third-party then the following application support policy applies:

Customers may, of course, elect to run Advanced applications in a

virtualised environment that was not provided by Advanced. However, in

this scenario Advanced test issues reported by customers with our

application on physical hardware. If Advanced can reproduce the issue

then it will be dealt with as a software bug under our support agreement.

If the issue cannot be replicated on physical hardware then it is assumed

to be related to the virtualisation environment. You will then need to

examine the particular support agreements in place between yourselves,

the operating system provider (Microsoft) and the virtualisation software

provider to establish responsibility for resolving the issue.

In addition to planning server specification carefully, taking into account

the combined load of the virtual environments that will reside on the

physical server, virtualisation invariably imposes an overhead on the

server. Advanced recommends careful consultation with your

infrastructure provider to ensure that the hardware specification is

appropriate to support the combined virtual environment load and the

additional overhead of the virtual environment itself. Some customers

have reported performance issues when running Advanced applications

in a virtual environment and, due to the number of variables involved in

such environments, Advanced are unable to say whether this is an issue

with virtualisation per se or with any particular implementation.

CHAPTER PART 4: SERVER VIRTUALISATION

25

Anyone wishing to virtualise the ALB server should refer to Microsoft's

best practices for virtualising the intended servers operating environment

(in conjunction with other virtualisation providers such as VMWare or

Citrix XenServer).

Microsoft technical article "Running SQL Server 2008 in a Hyper-V

Environment: Best Practices and Performance Considerations". Although this

paper specifically refers to Microsoft Hyper-V and SQL Server 2008, the

information contained in it equally applies to other virtualisation

environments and SQL Server versions. Please refer to

http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/9/4/d948f981-926e-40fa-

a026-5bfcf076d9b9/SQL2008inHyperV2008.docx.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/9/4/d948f981-926e-40fa-a026-5bfcf076d9b9/SQL2008inHyperV2008.docx

http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/9/4/d948f981-926e-40fa-a026-5bfcf076d9b9/SQL2008inHyperV2008.docx


26

PART 5: PI Portal requirements

The following section summarises the environment requirements for PI Portal

integration.

In this section:

SQL agent

SMTP server

System parameters

CHAPTER PART 5: PI PORTAL REQUIREMENTS

27

SQL agent

One of the features of the PI Portal module is the ability to access the portal at

scheduled intervals to check for updates to claims. This feature relies on SQL

Agent together with a program that Advanced supply (as part of the installation)

for running scheduled tasks. Please read the following requirements and

considerations:

SQL Server 2005 or 2008 are required, as they include SQL Agent. For

more information about configuring SQL Agent please refer to Microsoft's

SQL Server documentation.

The TaskScheduler Windows service must be installed on the server in

order to run certain nightly process conditions.

Our system makes use of web services referred to by the portal provider

as "the A2A (Application-To-Application) interface of the RaPId portal". PI

Portal integration therefore requires a stable Internet connection. This is

used by the PMS client software and by the task scheduler running under

control of SQL Agent; there may be some firewall configuration needed to

ensure that both can communicate with the PI Portal web service.

It is possible for multiple large documents to be uploaded and

downloaded during some operations (both manual and scheduled). Some

consideration should be given to the speed of the connection depending

on the number of active claims and the number of users on the system.

SMTP server

As part of the feature set offered by PI Portal integration the task scheduler has

the ability to send email updates. This makes use of an SMTP email host server.

The address of the server is configured in the ALB database. However, there may

be some configuration of permissions needed on the server itself to allow this

feature to run.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms178142(v%3dsql.90).aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms178142(v%3dsql.90).aspx


28

This is also required for Designer Studio installations to inform the case

developer of the matters affected when a process is changed.

System parameters

In order to access the MoJ portal, there are a number of system parameters that

hold relevant information such as the URL address, site user name and

password, etc. For more information, please refer to the PI Portal Module

manual (PDF).

http://www.advanced-legal.co.uk/Resources/Documentation/ALB/WebHelp/Assets/PDFs/LCSALB-PI-Portal-Agenda-2-5-0.pdf

http://www.advanced-legal.co.uk/Resources/Documentation/ALB/WebHelp/Assets/PDFs/LCSALB-PI-Portal-Agenda-2-5-0.pdf


29

PART 6: Recommendations

At Advanced we have many years' experience in helping law firms with their

technology. This section is not directly related to ALB, but provides useful advice

on managing your investment.

Business continuity and backup

All servers should be deployed with appropriate redundancy and therefore

consideration should be given to the addition of:

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)

Redundant hard drives

Power supplies

Fans

Network cards

NOTE Although Advanced is happy to give advice on backup procedures,

it is you or your third-party IT supplier's responsibility to ensure that

backups/SQL maintenance plans are configured correctly and are

monitored to ensure that they are successful.

Data volumes

With updates to software, changes in data sizes, potential increases in document

storage, and natural growth of a system it is difficult to predict future disk space

requirements. As disk space is relatively inexpensive, additional space over and

above that expected should be considered. The addition of disk space at a later

date, especially in a RAID configuration, can be costly with regards to manpower

and system downtime.


30

Remote access

Advanced needs remote access to your site to download files and allow our

support department to update, maintain, and troubleshoot your software

installation. This will need to be tested well in advance of the installation to

ensure support will be available to the on-site engineers.

LogMeIn Installable Remote Control is the preferred method of access, with RDP

being an alternative.

Telephony integration (CTI)

ALB includes an option to integrate with digital telephone systems. To take

advantage of this, please check with your telephony supplier that:

A line is surfaced at each desk (the Caller Line Identification data is usually

lost when a call is transferred from reception, so the "screen pop" feature

of the integration will only work on calls to Direct Dialling Inward

numbers).

Your Private Automatic Branch Exchange supports Telephony Application

Programming Interface 2.2. Your telephone provider may make a charge

for this.

We do not support this in a hosted environment.

Printers

Essentially ALB can use any printer that comes with a Microsoft Windows printer

driver. Proper operation of ALB against a given printer is dependent on the

quality of the Windows driver that the printer vendor supplies and therefore an

error or bug in a printer driver could cause problems using that printer with ALB.

This typically applies to dot matrix printers, but not laser printers. In the unlikely

CHAPTER PART 6: RECOMMENDATIONS

31

event of such a problem the printer vendor must be contacted to resolve the

issue.

Desktop scanners

If you intend to scan documents directly into ALB, then a TWAIN driver needs to

be installed for the scanner(s) in question.

Name resolution

As with any networked application, ALB resolves server names to IP addresses

and relies on external services (such as DNS) to perform the name

resolution. Slow or incorrectly configured name resolution services may impact

ALB performance. Therefore care should be taken that name resolution services

are properly configured. Assuming that DNS is used for name resolution services

and these are being provided by Microsoft Active Directory, then the following

guidelines should be followed:

All DNS resolution should be performed by internal DNS servers holding

an active directory integrated copy of the local domain DNS.

All systems should be a member of the active directory domain and have

their DNS records dynamically registered.

A DNS "A record" should be set up with the IP address of the server and

the name of "ALBSERVER". This is the hostname that ALB is configured to

point to by default.

Ideally, reverse lookup zones should be configured.

No system on the network should be configured to use external DNS

servers to resolve names. Such resolution should be performed by

configuring forwarders on internal DNS servers.


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To test name resolution:

Running nslookup <pcname> from a server, where <pcname> is the

name of a PC on the network should instantaneously return the properly

resolved IP address of the PC.

Running nslookup <servername> from a PC, where <servername>

is the name of a server running on the network should also

instantaneously return the properly resolved IP address of the server.

Virus scanning

Virus scanning is obviously a key security component on any network. However,

anti-virus software can have a large impact on application performance

depending on configuration. Whilst this is largely a matter for individual

organisations to decide in line with their security policy, Advanced have found

the following configuration to provide best performance and more than

adequate protection against viruses.

Scan on disk write only

Do not scan files without extension

Only scan files that have a file extension that makes them targets for

viruses (most anti-virus software will scan all files by default)

Reporting tools

ALB runs on a Microsoft SQL database, one of the benefits is that many third-

party tools can be used to extract data and prepare reports. Advanced do not

have visibility of this and cannot guarantee that developments in the core

product will not affect reports written by customers on upgrade. Reports

shipped within the core product are of course supported by Advanced.

Laptop usage

CHAPTER PART 6: RECOMMENDATIONS

33

Advanced reminds customers that the Health and Safety (Display Screen

Equipment) Regulations 1992 apply to laptops in regular use and to avoid injury

suggest that you:

Use a separate keyboard and mouse so the laptop can be put on a stand

and the screen opened at eye level. Alternatively, use a docking station.

Use your laptop on a stable base where there is support for your arms,

and not on your lap.

Adopt good sitting posture with lower back support and ensure other

desk equipment is within reach.


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PART 7: Technical Survey

Questionnaire

The purpose of this technical questionnaire is to gather relevant information for

implementing ALB within your infrastructure, potentially reducing any technical

risk to your ALB project.

Please ensure this is returned to your Advanced Account Manager so that it can

be reviewed by our technical staff.

Contact information

Contact Information

Technical Contact Name:

Technical Contact E-Mail Address:

Technical Contact Telephone

Number:

ALB server environment

Below are the core server components for ALB:

SQL database – The main data storage for ALB data.

Document store – The file share location storing client and matter

correspondence created through ALB (documents, PDF’s, electronic

forms, emails)

CHAPTER PART 7: TECHNICAL SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

35

IIS server – Microsoft Internet Information, required for CSS (Client Self

Service), FED (Fee Earner Desktop) or Web Services (for integration with

3rd party products).

Depending on user load the above components can be installed separately on

individual servers or on the same server.

Specification SQL Docs IIS

Server name

Windows Server version, edition and

service pack:

(e.g. Windows 2008R2 Standard SP1)

SQL version, edition and service pack:

(e.g. SQL 2008R2 Standard SP1)

Number of existing SQL instances:

CPU specification and quantity per

server:

(e.g. 2 X Xeon E5-2620v3 2.4GHZ)

If virtual state spec and quantity of

cores allocated to the virtual

machine

RAM:

If virtual state quantity of RAM

allocated to the virtual machine

Disk subsystem configuration:

(e.g. 2 X 300GB SAS RAID1 for O/S, 3

X 300GB SAS RAID5 for data)

Free disk space available

Microsoft .NET version

What other role does this server

provide?

Domain Controller, other applications


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Other Database Applications:

Progress/Oracle etc

Are the servers virtualised? If yes, please

provide details of virtual machine

resource configuration below:

Please provide as much detail as possible for each virtual machine such

as memory and CPU core allocation, whether memory allocation is

dynamic or fixed, other virtual machines running on the host and also

the hardware RAID system the virtual machines reside on.

To ensure maximum performance it is recommended that a virtual

machine running SQL does not span a NUMA node.

Terminal Server environment

Specification Terminal Server

Server name(s)

Windows Server version, edition and

service pack:

(e.g. Windows 2008R2 Standard SP1)

CPU specification and quantity per server:

(e.g. 2 X Xeon E5-2620 2.0GHZ)

CHAPTER PART 7: TECHNICAL SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

37

If virtual state spec and quantity of

cores allocated to the virtual machine

RAM:

If virtual state quantity of RAM

allocated to the virtual machine

Microsoft .NET version

Free space available for the client installation:

What version of Microsoft Office is

installed on the Terminal Server(s)?

(Must be Office 2007 or above, 32bit

only (64bit is not supported for

integration with ALB))

What other applications run on the

Terminal Server(s)

(e.g. Laserforms, Adobe, Bighand or

other digital dictation)

How many concurrent users per Terminal

Server?

Do you use your Terminal Servers for

anything other than providing client

applications?

Do you currently experience any

performance issues with other

applications that run on your Terminal

Servers?

If Yes, please provide details

Are the servers virtualised? If yes, please

provide details of virtual machine

resource configuration below:

Please provide further details for each virtual Terminal Server such as

memory and CPU core allocation.


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Network

Specification

What is the network speed to the desktop

at the offices where your server(s) are

located?

(100Mb/sec minimum requirement)

What is the network speed for the server

backbone?

(100Mb/sec minimum requirement)

Will ALB be required at remote offices

and/or for home/mobile users?

(Terminal Services will be required if

WAN speeds are below 100Mb/sec)

Is there an active directory domain in place?

Advanced Computer Software Group Ltd

Booths Park 4, Chelford Road, Knutsford, WA16 8GS

t: +44 (0) 844 815 5620

www.oneadvanced.com

www.oneadvanced.com

technical specification - version 2.6.0

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