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System Requirements

David Kirkaldie
Updated

This article covers the following topics:

Recommendations

We recommend hosting the Equipment Hub on a dedicated server or virtual machine (VM) in the data/server room rather than on a user workstation. This reduces disruptions caused by users power-cycling the machine, sleep or hibernation settings, software updates, or logoff activity. In addition, servers and VMs typically run on newer, better-supported hardware and operating systems, improving reliability, security, compatibility, and long-term maintainability.

A dedicated server or VM may also help avoid issues related to host firewalls, loss prevention clients, endpoint restrictions, and other workstation-specific security policies that can interfere with connectivity or application performance. This is particularly important when accessing databases or files that are not local to the host the Equipment Hub is located. 

This server or VM based setup provides consistent remote access for authorized staff without requiring them to wait for a user to log out or physically access their PC.

General Requirements

In order to maintain a secure environment, the following requirements must be met on the host where Equipment Hub is installed:

  • Windows Version:  the version of Windows or Windows Server must be fully supported by Microsoft. For products covered by the Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle, such as Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019, this means that the latest feature update must be installed or the prior feature update must be installed and within Microsoft's servicing timeline. For products on Microsoft's Fixed Lifecyle, such as Windows Server 2012, this means that the product must be under mainstream or extended support and the service pack must also be supported.  To determine these dates for your specific version of Windows or Windows Server, please see Microsoft's Lifecycle Information page. In either case, the latest security updates are required.
  • Hardware should meet or exceed the requirements of the installed operating system.
  • .NET Framework version 4.8 or higher. Support for .NET 4.8 follows Microsoft's Lifecycle Policy of the parent OS. It is supported as a Windows component on the latest required update for the operating systems below. Microsoft recommends that customers upgrade to .NET Framework 4.8 to receive the highest level of performance, reliability, and security. See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/faq/dotnet-framework for the full and latest details.
  • TLS version 1.2
  • Internet connection on port 443 with a minimum of 10 Mbps download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed
  • The host should never go to sleep or go into a low power state. In particular, Link State Power Management should be set to Off in the advanced settings under Power Settings.
  • If a loss prevention is used, all need external endpoints will need to be whitelisted in the loss prevention client. The Equipment Hub service may need to be whitelisted as well. As the program name includes the version, it might be required to re-add the Equipment Hub to the whitelist after an upgrade. When testing, be sure to include a large number or size of files as often loss prevention clients will let small uploads go through but fail on larger ones. Typically loss prevention client issues are seen with the File Uploader feature as it transfers more data than other features.

External Network Endpoints

The Equipment Hub will need access to the following external endpoints depending on the needed features:

Feature Endpoint Notes Port
All features and any daily QA device (e.g. Daily QA 3). https://tqa-eqhub2.imageowl.com  Required for installation and registration. 443
Fault Capture

https://tqa-eqhub2.imageowl.com

https://tqaspool.imageowl.com 

   443
File Uploader

https://tqa-eqhub2.imageowl.com

https://tqaspool.imageowl.com

and one of the two options below:

Default file stream:  https://tqa-imageowl-upload.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com

Deprecated file stream:  https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com

 Contact support to configure the optional endpoint. 443

Internal Network Endpoints

The Equipment Hub Windows service will need to be logged in as a user (preferably a service account) that has access to the files or databases that need to be imported. The files or databases can be local to where the Equipment Hub is installed or across a network. Below are the ports used for specific features and devices that access the local network or computer:

Feature/Device Notes Port
Daily QA 3 software versions 3.11 and higher.
  • Before configuring the measurement device in the software, you must first define the beam energies and perform a calibration for each energy used.
  • When using MS-SQL Express over a network, you will need to enable TCP/IP, clear any values in the TCP Dynamic Ports field, add a specific port number in the TCP Port field, and restart the MS-SQL Express server.
 Port 1433 is used by default. Check your database configuration to confirm the port used.
Daily QA 3 software versions below 3.11.
  • Before configuring the measurement device in the software, you must first define the beam energies and perform a calibration for each energy used.
  • The default database path is C:\SNC\QADatabase\SNC Databases\sncdata.fdb.
 The database requires file access via CIFS/SMB as well as via port 3050 by default. The default port for CIFS/SMB is 445. When using SMB over QUIC, the default port is 443.
IBA MyQA Daily
  • Before configuring the measurement device in the software, you must first define the beam energies and perform a calibration for each energy used.
  • The default database path is C:\ProgramData\IBA Dosimetry\myQA Daily\dqa.db 
 The database requires file access via CIFS/SMB. The default port for CIFS/SMB is 445. When using SMB over QUIC, the default port is 443.
QA Beamchecker+
  • Before configuring the measurement device in the software, you must first define the beam energies and perform a calibration for each energy used.
  • Ensure that the QABC+ software is closed and that there is no lock file present when trying to connect to the database. The lock file will have the same name as the database but the extension will be .ldb.
 The export files require file access via CIFS/SMB. The default port for CIFS/SMB is 445. When using SMB over QUIC, the default port is 443.
PTW QuickCheck
  • Before configuring the measurement device in the software, you must first define the beam energies worklist and perform a calibration for each energy used.
 The export files require file access via CIFS/SMB. The default port for CIFS/SMB is 445. When using SMB over QUIC, the default port is 443.
PIPSpro
  • The default database path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Standard Imaging\PIPSpro\SISoftware.mdf.
  • When using MS-SQL Express over a network, you will need to enable TCP/IP, clear any values in the TCP Dynamic Ports field, add a specific port number in the TCP Port field, and restart the MS-SQL Express server.
 Port 1433 is used by default. Check your database configuration to confirm the port used.
MPC Import
  • The default file path is \\hostname\va_transfer\TDS\H19XXXX\MPCChecks where hostname is the actual hostname of the Varian server and H19XXXX is the serial number. The IP address may be used instead of the hostname and is often the only option if the Varian server is in the cloud.
 The CSV files require file access via CIFS/SMB. The default port for CIFS/SMB is 445. When using SMB over QUIC, the default port is 443.
Fault Capture
  • The default file path is \\hostname\va_transfer\TDS\H19XXXX\PrintScreen where hostname is the actual hostname of the Varian server and H19XXXX is the serial number. The IP address may be used instead of the hostname and is often the only option if the Varian server is in the cloud.
 The image files require file access via CIFS/SMB. The default port for CIFS/SMB is 445. When using SMB over QUIC, the default port is 443.
File Uploader   The files require file access via CIFS/SMB. The default port for CIFS/SMB is 445. When using SMB over QUIC, the default port is 443.

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