LinkSOFT POS Stations and Backend Server Sizing Recommendations guide is available at this link.

Below are the recommended hardware requirements for LinkSOFT Applications. Select the scenario that best suits your needs and seek advice from an authorized representative before making your purchase.

1. Prerequisite

Select the overall class of server required for your environment. The table below is based on transaction volume and concurrent user requirements. In summary, here are the classes:

• The entry-Level - minimum specification for running LinkSOFT - typically 1 or 2 stations per site

• Mid-Range - mid-size customer needs - typically 10 POS stations per site with 1 or 2 sites

• Enterprise 1 - high user counts, high volume situations - Typically 15 + stations per site with up to 10 sites in total

• Enterprise 2 - higher user count, higher volumes - Typically 15+ stations per site with up to 100 sites in total

2. Transaction Volume

The transaction volume used for this calculation is the total monthly transaction volume estimate for all LinkSOFT applications. For this table, a transaction is a single line item on a business document. Thus, 100 invoices each with 5 line items is a total of 500 transactions, as is a single invoice with 500 line items.

3. Number of Users

The number of users parameter refers to the maximum number of users likely to be active at any one time. This number can be difficult to calculate since users can vary significantly in their demands on the system. A user running a report will use more server processing power and more disk activity than a user who enters an occasional purchase order. The figure that should be used for this table is an equivalent number of reasonably active users. If most users are highly intermittent, the equivalent number will be slightly lower; if most users will be running large, complex reports, the user count should increase slightly.

4. POS Stations Recommendations

Since POS stations will always be based on a single user, there are two categories, Entry level (< 15,000 transactions per month) and Mid Range (> 15,000 transactions per month). POS Stations can set up as a "Stand Alone" system, where the database resides on the POS station instead of a Backend Server

5. BackEnd Server Specifications

Each of the four server classes identified above is specified in more detail below. Within each class, a lower and higher specification is provided (except Entry-Level). The exact configuration can be chosen according to whether the user count and transaction volume are at the lower or higher end of table 1.

6. Database Backups

It is extremely important that your business information is backed up on a regular basis. The frequency and type of backup should be discussed with your implementation team, but one or more drives on the server can ensure a timely backup is completed. For large volumes, it is often possible to use more than one drive for the backup - reducing the time taken to complete the process. It is also possible to backup to the local disk and then copies the file elsewhere for storage.

There are two backup processes that need to be considered

1. Automated backups that the SQL Server Agent runs and stores locally on a disk

2. Off-site backup storage

For SQL Server agent backups, it is recommended that a separate drive is installed on the Database Server. This drive is a temporary drive to hold backups before they are taken off-site for secure storage.

6.1 Database Performance

Relational Databases are advanced systems that sometimes require tuning for optimal performance. Since the introduction of SQL Server 7.0 and followed by SQL Server 2019, the database engine has become largely self-configuring and self-tuning. However, it is still useful to perform some level of tuning on a SQL Server database, particularly in the area of database input/output (I/O) operations to the physical disk subsystem. The driving focus of performance tuning is to reduce I/O so that buffer cache is best utilized. If performed by an experienced professional, tuning can substantially improve performance on your hardware. Note that there are many considerations, which are outside of the scope of this paper, that are involved in maintaining the server at peak performance.

PART A - Update relating to LinkSOFT Version 12 onwards:

1. A minimum version of SQL Server 2017 is required
2. Refer to the "Recommended Disk Configuration" section below for optimum performance

PART B - Recommended Disk Configuration

Relational Databases are advanced systems that sometimes require tuning for optimal performance. Since the introduction of SQL Server 7.0 and followed by SQL Server 2019, the database engine has become largely self-configuring and self-tuning. However, it is still useful to perform some level of tuning on a SQL Server database, particularly in the area of database input/output (I/O) operations to the physical disk subsystem.

Below are recommendations that will keep your Disk subsystem at optimum performance:

1. Use SSD for OS and Data Disks. When choosing an SSD. Review the IOPS, Read, Write and Cache. We recommend the Samsung PRO SSD's, however, there are many other SSD's that perform equally well
2. We recommend a minimum of three disks on every server. The disk layout should be as follows:
   1. DISK 1 - 256GB SSD. Use this for the Operating System and SQL Server Application Files. Approximate cost: $AUD 100.00. Example: Samsung 870 Evo 500GB 2.5" SATA III 6GB/s V-NAND SSD MZ-77E500BW
   2. DISK 2 - 512 or 1 TB SSD. Use this for SQL Server Data and Log Files. Approximate cost: $AUD 150.00. Example: Samsung 870 Evo 1TB 2.5" SATA III 6GB/s V-NAND SSD MZ-77E1T0BW
   3. DISK 3 - 4 TB IDE. Use this for Backup and misc files. Approximate cost: $AUD 150.00. Example: Seagate ST8000VN004 8TB IronWolf 3.5" SATA3 NAS Hard Drive
3. Disk protection is important. There are many options on how disks can be protected. SSD's are very reliable and self-correcting, however, talk to your service provider on which option is best for you.