• Processor: Dual Pentium (Xeon P4) 1.8 GHz or higher.
• Memory: 8 GB RAM or more.
• Disk space: 128 GB or more of available disk space.
• Network adapter: 100 Mbps or higher.
• Operating system: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 or later. The latest service pack must be installed. If the server has more than 4 GB of RAM, a 64-bit operating system is recommended.

• Required components:

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2017 or later.
  Older versions are supported; however, the latest available version is recommended for new installations.
  • .NET Framework 4.8 (Full).

• IIS 10 or later, or an alternative web server (NGINX).
• Support for Linux- or Windows-based containers.
• Docker support.
• Microsoft .NET 6/7/8.
• Disk space: at least 30 GB of available space (including containers, logs, and cache).
• Accessible from the Internet.
• Network connection for web access:
  • Minimum bandwidth: 256 Kbps or higher. Recommended bandwidth: high-speed connection (100 Mbps or higher).
  • Low latency and a stable connection.
• Memory: minimum 2–4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended for optimal performance).
• CPU: minimum 2 vCPUs (4 or more recommended for multi-threaded workloads).

• Memory: 8 GB RAM or more.

• Disk space: 30 GB or more of available disk space.

• Network adapter: minimum 10/100 Mbps.

• Required components:

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Standard or later (SQL Server Express does not support Analysis Services).
  Analysis Services must be installed in **Multidimensional mode**. **Tabular mode is not supported.**
  • .NET Framework 4.8 (Full).
  • All workstations must be joined to the domain to provide access to the service.
  • Microsoft Office 2007 or later.

• Operating system:
  • Microsoft Windows 10;
  • Microsoft Windows 8;
  • Microsoft Windows 7;

• Processor:
  • Must meet the minimum requirements of the installed operating system.

• Memory:
  • Must meet the minimum requirements of the installed operating system.

• Available disk space:
  • Windows operating system modules and components: at least 50 MB on the system drive;
  • Information system client modules: at least 35 MB;
  • Report templates: at least 10 MB (if installed on the workstation);
  • Area maps: at least 30 MB (if installed on the workstation);
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2007 or later (required for report generation);
  • Microsoft Office Word 2007 or later (required for report generation);
  • Additional disk space should be allocated for storing reports generated by the system;
  • Monitor and graphics adapter supporting XGA mode (1024 × 768 resolution or higher);
  • 100 Mbps LAN connection (for remote workstations connected via VPN, a minimum bandwidth of 2 Mbps is required);
  • Standard keyboard;
  • Mouse or another compatible pointing device.

To provide support and configure the information system, the following server access must be available:

• RDP access with administrator privileges to the servers hosting the JetXBit information system components.
• Access to the server via ports 1433 (SQL Server) and 2383 (OLAP).

If a VPN connection is required, we recommend using Microsoft's built-in VPN solution. Other VPN solutions are not supported.

Alternatively, our static IP addresses can be whitelisted in the firewall to allow access to the servers.

A few recommendations:

• Do not host the Aviabit information system and other applications on the same server, even if sufficient hardware resources are available.
• Disk performance and reliability are more important than total disk capacity.
• Be sure to implement a database backup strategy. Even the most reliable disk array cannot protect against every type of hardware failure, such as a controller malfunction. In addition, database backups provide protection against issues unrelated to hardware. Database backups should be stored on a separate physical device, such as network-attached storage (NAS) or, at a minimum, a separate hard drive.
• The system can operate with significantly lower hardware specifications (especially without the analytics module). However, the requirements listed above are the recommended specifications to ensure reliable performance for a typical airline or airport.
• For optimal performance, it is recommended to deploy the analytics service, web server, and database on separate servers or virtual machines.

1. As I understand it, your software is modular. Will the hardware requirements change depending on the number of installed modules? The specifications you provided appear to be for the minimum configuration. Could you also provide the requirements for a system with all available modules installed?

The hardware requirements do not depend on the number of Aviabit information system modules. The requirements may increase depending on the number of system users. The specifications listed above are sufficient for the full operation of a typical airline or airport. As the number of users grows, additional memory can be added if necessary.

2. I assume the system uses a client-server architecture. Does most of the processing take place on the server (for example, through stored procedures), or is part of the workload handled on the client side? How does server load increase as the number of connected workstations grows?

Most of the processing is performed on the server.

3. Initially, I would like to size the hardware platform for approximately 50 concurrent users. What would you recommend?

The recommended server specifications listed above are sufficient for approximately 50 users.

4. If the number of users increases to 100–150 in the future, will the server resources need to be expanded, or should additional servers be deployed? In other words, can your system be distributed across multiple servers?

The system operates on a single server. As the number of users increases, the server resources should be upgraded accordingly.

5. Since Microsoft SQL Server is used as the DBMS, additional information about the database would help optimize the database server configuration. What is the expected database size (initial and projected)? Will there be a single database or multiple databases? Will the physical database structure be the standard one (data file and transaction log), or will multiple files be used? Should the data file and transaction log be placed on separate disk arrays?

A single database is used. The initial database size is approximately 100 MB and increases gradually over time. For a typical airline, the database grows by approximately 1 GB per year. The physical database structure is standard and consists of a data file and a transaction log file.

6. What is meant by the web version? Does it require a separate server, or can IIS simply be installed on the SQL Server?

The web version (web application) is intended for displaying flight schedule information, notifying employees about upcoming events and flights, providing access to documents and the document library, delivering online testing, and other functions. IIS can be installed on the SQL Server, or the web application can be deployed on a separate virtual machine, depending on your preferred architecture.

7. Microsoft Office 2007 or later is recommended (for OLAP). Which Office applications are required? This will help determine whether the Standard or Professional edition is needed (is Microsoft Access required?). Will Office be used by every user working with OLAP, or only internally by the server? The answer will affect the number of licenses required.

Microsoft Office is required on each workstation used with the Aviabit information system for report generation and working with OLAP cubes, if needed. In practice, only Microsoft Excel is required. We also recommend installing a single Office license on the server, as this allows us to provide more effective assistance when developing custom reports based on OLAP cubes.

8. Regarding your recommendation that disk performance and reliability are much more important than capacity, I completely agree. How do your existing customers typically ensure disk subsystem performance and reliability? Do they use high-speed SAS drives (15,000 RPM) in RAID 1, RAID 5 arrays, SSDs, or another configuration?

One example is using SSD storage for the operating system with RAID 10, while storing all other data on SATA II drives. However, this is only one possible implementation.

9. Regarding your recommendation not to run the Aviabit information system together with other applications on the same server, we intend to follow that recommendation. However, to avoid dependence on specific hardware, we are considering deploying the system on a virtual machine running under Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012. The virtual machine would be dedicated entirely to your software, with virtualization used primarily to simplify migration, replication, and similar administrative tasks. Have any of your customers successfully deployed the system in such an environment?

Yes. Many customers use virtualization without any issues, although Microsoft does not recommend virtualizing SQL Server.

10. How is software licensing implemented (if applicable)? Specifically, is a hardware key (LPT, USB, or COM) used? On which server is the licensing component installed (the database server or the web server)? We ask because the servers will either immediately or eventually be migrated to virtual machines, and we do not plan to provide physical LPT, USB, or COM ports.

Licensing does not use hardware protection devices. The license is stored directly in the database.

11. Regarding database installation and configuration: I can install and perform the initial configuration of Microsoft SQL Server 2008/2012 myself (I only need to know the required default SQL collation). Will you create the databases and the required user accounts? How do you normally deploy the database, and what level of access is required (RDP or direct SQL Server access via port 1433)?

We normally create and deploy the database ourselves, including creating the required user accounts. However, if you wish to split the database into multiple data files, we can provide the database, and you can deploy it yourself. Based on our experience, support is most effective when customers provide both RDP access to the server and direct SQL Server access through port 1433.

12. If Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008/2012 are installed in English, will there be any compatibility issues with your software? Are local-language versions of any Microsoft products required? We plan to install only Microsoft Office 2010 in the local language but can install the English version instead if there are no specific requirements.

Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008/2012 may be installed in English without any issues. For Microsoft Office, the local-language version is more convenient, although this is not a strict requirement.

13. Can Microsoft SQL Server 2008/2012 and Microsoft Office 2010 be installed as 32-bit versions, or are 64-bit versions required?

Microsoft SQL Server 2008/2012 should be installed as x64. Microsoft Office may be either version.

14. The documentation does not specify any requirements for ensuring uninterrupted system availability. Are there any recommendations? How critical is system downtime? Could you share how your customers typically address this?

It is recommended to provide both primary and backup power supplies and to perform regular database backups. Customers implement different solutions depending on their IT infrastructure. Some perform backups once a month, while others use highly available clusters. The appropriate approach depends on your organization's IT policies and requirements.

15. Regarding database backups, do you provide any built-in functionality or tools for this, or do customers configure backup schedules themselves?

Customers typically configure their own backup schedules. Some perform backups once a week, while others run them every 10 minutes.

16. How can the client modules be run on Linux operating systems (Astra Linux, RED OS etc.) ?

The client applications are launched using the WINE compatibility layer.

In general, the installation process consists of the following steps:

• apt-get update
• apt-get install wine winetricks
• Create a 32-bit WINE prefix: WINEARCH=win32 WINEPREFIX=“/home/$USER/.wine_aviabit” winecfg
• Install MDAC: WINEPREFIX=“/home/$USER/.wine_aviabit” winetricks mdac28
• Install the client modules: WINEPREFIX=“/home/$USER/.wine_aviabit” wine msiexec /i AviacompanyFull.msi
• Install Wine Mono: WINEPREFIX=“/home/$USER/.wine_aviabit” wine msiexec /i wine-mono-7.4.0-x86.msi
• Replace the executable files with the updated versions.
• Launch the application: WINEPREFIX=“/home/$USER/.wine_aviabit” wine /path/to/run/Schedule.exe

Additional information is available on the following pages: Astra Linux RED OS

⇐ Back to the Information System Administration section.