Tekla Structures 20.

0 Hardware Recommendation
Updated:20140411|Created:20140103byTeklaGlobalSupport

Recommendations for Tekla Structures workstations

TeklaStructureshardwarerecommendationsarebasedonthesetupsthathavebeenusedin
testingTeklaStructuresandproventobecompatiblewithTeklaStructures.Inadditiontotheset
upspresentedinthisdocument,therearemanyothersuitablesetupsavailable.Youcanusethis
documentasaguidelineinchoosingnewhardware,butbearinmindthattheequipmentandlabels
presentedinthisdocumentarenottheonlysuitablehardwaresetup.
Themaincriterionwhenchoosinghardwareisreliableperformance.Ifyouareconsideringanew
hardwarecomponent,forexample,agraphicscard,testitbeforehandtoensurethatitfulfillsthe
requirements.IfyouareconsideringpurchasingalargenumberofcomputersforyourTekla
Structuresusers,testandverifythesetupfirstwithoneortwocomputersbeforepurchasinga
largebatch.TeklaStructuresisdesignedtobeusedonadesktoporlaptopcomputer.Tekla
Structureshasnotbeentestedforserverinstallationsorforvirtualization.

Operating system
TeklaStructures20.0issupportedinthefollowingoperatingsystems:
32bitand64bitWindows8.1
32bitand64bitWindows8
32bitand64bitWindows7SP1
Note:Sincethebeginningof2014TeklaisnolongersupportingWindowsXPnorWindowsVistain
TeklaStructures.Youcangetmoreinformationfromthisproductbulletin:WindowsXPandVista
SupportinTeklaStructures.

Additional software components

TeklaStructures20.0usesMicrosoft.NETFramework4.5.1andMicrosoftVisualC++2005and
2010Redistributables.ThesesoftwarecomponentsareinstalledautomaticallybytheTekla
Structures20.0installationpackage,ifneeded.However,ifyouaredistributingTeklaStructures
20.0inacentralizedmannerusing.msipackages,thenyouneedtodownloadthesesoftware
componentsfromMicrosoftswebsiteandinstallthemseparatelybeforedistributingTekla
Structures.

Internet connection
TeklaUserAssistanceserviceistheonecentralizedplacethatcollectsTeklaStructureshelpand
supportmaterial.YouneedtohaveanInternetconnectioninordertousetheTeklaUser
Assistanceservice.
IncaseyourInternetconnectionisrestricted,youneedtoallowcommunicationstotheTeklaUser
Assistanceservers.UsethefollowingTeklaUserAssistanceserveraddressesinyourfirewall
settings:
https://teklastructures.support.tekla.com
http://d1qgmj57nx6cid.cloudfront.net

http://d1or939hrid1jl.cloudfront.net
http://d81e6fb454707.cloudfront.net

Hardware components
Everycomponentplaysaroleinthereliability,performanceandusabilityofthecomputer.The
importantcomponentsforreliabilityandperformancearepowersupplyunit,memory,graphics
card,andprocessor.Fromanergonomicpointofview,theimportantcomponentsaremonitor(s),
graphicscard,keyboard,andmouse.
IncaseyouareusingWindows8.1,makesureyourhardwareisalsoWindows8.1compatibleto
ensurethebestuserexperience.

Power supply unit

Thepowersupplyunit(PSU)isoneofthefewitemsinthecomputerthatwillaffectthereliabilityof
yourentiresystem.Itisoftenthemostundervalued,underappreciatedcomponent,yetoneofthe
firstcomponentstocausefailure.Yourcomputerhasaspecificamountofpowerthatitneedsto
drawtowork.WhatyouneedtoconsiderwhenchoosingaPSUistheaveragerunningloadthat
yourPCconsumeswhenrunning.OntheInternettherearemanypowersupplycalculatorsthat
youcanusetocalculatetherunningload.Werecommendtousea>600WPSU.

Memory
Memoryrequirementsdependonthesizeofthemodel.Largemodelsrequiremorememory.
Anaveragesetupforlighterprojectsisa32bitoperatingsystemwith3to4GBofRAM.
Ifyouareworkingwithheavierprojects,youshouldconsiderhavingaproperPCinstallationof64
bitTeklaStructures20.0ona64bitoperatingsystemandatleast8GBofRAM.Itisnotunusual
tohave16GBorevenmoreRAMwhenworkingwithlargemodels.
NotethatthesupportedamountofRAMvarieswithindifferent64bitWindowseditions.Alsonote
thatespeciallywithlaptopsthephysicallimitofsupportedRAMmodulesmaybelow.
Memoryproblemsareusuallydifficulttotrace.Donotbuythecheapestkindmemory,butconsider
somequalitybrand.

Processor
"Thefaster,thebetter"istherulethatapplieswithprocessors.InTeklaStructures20.0some
commands,suchasclashcheck,referencemodelhandlingand.NETapplications,arerunasa
separateprocess,andthereforeamulticoreprocessormakesyourworkmoreefficient.Please
notethatTeklaStructuresdoesnotsupportItaniumprocessors.

Graphics card
TeklaStructuresrenderingusesOpenGLtechnology,andgraphicscardswithgoodhardware
supportforOpenGLgivethebestperformance.Tekladoesnothaveresourcestotestallcardson
themarket,sowehavechosencardsbasedontheNVIDIAgraphicsprocessortobeourtest
platform.
In3Dsoftwaretheimportanceofagoodgraphicscardishighlighted,butuptodatedisplaydrivers
areequallyimportant.Youcaninstallthemostrecentgraphicscarddriverfromthemanufacturers
website.
GraphicscardmanufacturershaveslightdifferencesintheirOpenGLimplementation,andthere
mightbedifferencesinthepicturequalityevenbetweencardsusingNVIDIAchips.Therefore,itis
goodtoevaluateandtestthecardsbeforepurchasing.Teklahasdevelopedaspecialapplication

fortestingandevaluatinggraphicscardsforTeklaStructurespurposes.Theapplicationiscalled
SteelmarkandyoucandownloaditfromTeklaStructuresExtranet>Product>Testhardware
performance.
Ifyouwanttoshareyourexperiencesofdifferentgraphicscards,feelfreetopostyourexperiences
ontheTeklaExtranetDiscussionForum:HardwareandOperatingSystem.

Monitor(s)
The24LCDmonitorwithfullHDsupportisagoodsolutionbothfromthetechnicalandergonomic
pointofview.
ManycustomersareusingtwomonitorswithTeklaStructuresasitenhancesproductivity.
Therefore,wehaveincludedtwomonitorsintherecommendationtable.Toequiptheworkstation
withtwomonitorsyouneedagraphicscardthatiscapabletodrivetwomonitors.Thereisawide
selectionofdualmonitorcapablegraphicscardsonthemarket,andmanyofthosecancombine
goodperformancewithareasonableprice.

Mouse
SomeTeklaStructurescommandsrequireaclickonthemousemiddlebuttontofinishthe
command.Alsozooming,panningandrotatingareexecutedwiththemiddlebutton.Therefore,a3
buttonwheelmouseisneededwhenworkingwithTeklaStructures.
TeklaStructuresalsosupportsthefollowing3Dmiceprovidedby3Dconnexion:SpaceNavigator,
SpaceExplorer,SpacePilotandSpacePilotPro.A3Dmousecanbeusedbesidesaregularmouse
toenhancezooming,panningandrotating.A3Dmousedoesnotreplacetheordinarymousebutit
mayimproveergonomicsandproductivity.
Totakea3Dmouseintouse,youneedtoinstalltheconfigurationfileswithwhichyoucan
configurethemousefunctionality,dependingonthe3Dmouseyouareusing.Theconfiguration
filesandinstructionsonhowtousethemareavailableinTeklaStructuresExtranet>Product>
Extensiondownloads.

Printers
TheprincipleofplottingintheWindowsenvironmentisthatallapplicationscanuseWindows
printers,andtheprinterdrivertakescareoftherest.Softwareprovidersmayalsobypassthe
Windowsdriverinterface,andwritetheirownplotterspecificdrivers.
TeklaStructuresreliesonWindowsdrivers,whichareprovidedbythehardwaremanufacturer.The
qualityandthefunctionalityofthedriveristhereforedependantonthehardwaremanufacturer.
BecausesomemanufacturerspaymoreattentiontotheirWindowsdriversthanothers,thequality
ofthedriversvariesquitemuch.Therefore,itisessentialtotesttheplotterwithTeklaStructures
beforepurchasingit.

Recommended hardware
Thefollowingtablepresentstwodifferenthardwareconfigurations.Therecommendationismainly
fordesktopcomputers,butthesameguidelinescanalsobeappliedwhenpurchasinglaptops.

Recommendation

Bestperformance

Operatingsystem

Windows8.1(64bit)

Windows8.1(64bit)

Memory

8GB

16+GB

Harddisk

250500GB,7200rpm

500+GB,SSD

Processor

IntelCorei5CPU2+GHz

IntelCorei7CPU3+GHz

Graphicscard

OpenGLsupport
twomonitorsupport
e.g.NVIDIAGeForceGTX770/780

OpenGLsupport
twomonitorsupport
e.g.NVIDIAQuadroseries

Monitor(s)

Two24/271920x1200each

302560x1600ortwo272560x1440

3buttonwheelmouse,optical

3buttonwheelmouse,cordless&
optical+3DconnexionSpacePilot

InternetExplorer(32bit)

InternetExplorer(32bit)

Externalharddrive

Externalharddrivewithscheduled
backups

100Mbit/s

1Gbit/sfullduplex

Mouse

Webbrowser
Backupequipment

Networkadapter
(multiuserfunct.)

Recommendations for Tekla Structures license server

TheserecommendationsapplyforTeklaStructuresLicenseServer20.0.
TheserverthatisusedastheTeklaStructureslicenseserverdoesnothavetobeveryefficientor
havemaximumperformance.Reliabilityisthekeyword.Thereforeitisgoodtorememberthat
serverhardwareitselfisanimportantissueintermsofreliability,butmaintainingtheserversystem
isequallyimportant.

Operating system
TheFlexnetlicensingsystemforTeklaStructuresisdesignedtoworkin:
MicrosoftWindows7(Professional,Enterprise,Ultimate)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2008(includingSP1,SP2andR2)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2012
MicrosoftWindowsServer2012R2Enterprise
TeklaStructuresLicenseServerhasalsobeentestedandproventoworkwithWindows8and
Windows8.1.
Supportedvirtualmachineplatforms:
VMwareWorkstation9.0
VMwareESX4.1
VMwareESXi4.1and5.0
MicrosoftWindowsServer2008R2HyperV
MicrosoftHyperVServer2008R2(includingSP1)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2012
CitrixXenServer6.0and6.1

LinuxorUnixbasedserversarenotsupported.Cloudenvironmentsarenotsupported.
YoucaninstallTeklaStructuresLicenseServeronanormalworkstation,butthemostreliable
solutionforservingmultipleclientsistouseaseparateservercomputerwithaserveroperating
system.Serversaredesignedtooperateproperlyforalongertimeperiodwithoutrebootingas
oftenasnormalworkstations.

RAID
RAID(RedundantArrayofIndependentDisks)isatechnologythatemploysthesimultaneoususe
oftwoormoreharddiskdrivestoachieveagreaterlevelofreliability,performanceand/orlarger
datavolumesize.HardwarebasedRAIDisagoodwayofincreasingthereliabilityofyourlicense
server.
RAID1isamirroredsolution,whichcanberecommendedforaTeklaStructureslicenseserver.
RAID1protectsdataagainstthelossofonedisk,sothedataisnotlostaslongasoneofthedisks
survives.RAID6canbeconsideredasahighendsolutionforalicenseserver.Itprotectsthedata
againstthelossofanytwoofthedisks.
HardwarebasedRAIDrequiresspecialcontrollers.SCSI,SATAorSAScontrollerscanbe
recommended.Mostofthecontrollerscontainsomekindofmonitoringsoftwarethatenables,for
example,popupmessagesifoneofthedisksinthesystemfails.Thatkindofsoftwareisvery
usefulinthemonitoringandmaintainingpointofview.

Internet connection
YouneedtohaveanInternetconnectioninordertoactivate,deactivateorrepairyourTekla
Structureslicenses.Licenseactivation,deactivationandrepairingaretheonlycaseswhenyour
licenseservercontactsTeklasactivationserver,andanInternetconnectiononyourlicenseserver
isneeded.
DirectcommunicationfromtheservercomputertotheInternetneedstobeallowedwhilethe
licenseserveratyourcompanycontactstheactivationserveratTekla.Theactivation
communicationisdoneusingSimpleObjectAccessProtocol(SOAP)overHTTPonTCPport80.
Yourfirewallshouldnotblockanyincomingoroutgoinginformationduringtheactivation.Toallow
theactivationcommunication,usetheactivationserveraddressinyourfirewallsettings:
http://activate.tekla.com:80/flexnet/services/ActivationService?wsdl

Other infrastructure
TeklaStructureslicenseserverandTeklaStructuresworkstationsneedtobeinthesamelocal
areanetwork.Theworkstationsneedtobeabletocontactthelicenseserver.Theinternalfirewall
ofyourcompany(forexample,WindowsFirewall)mustallowthecommunicationbetweenthe
servercomputerandtheTeklaStructurescomputers.Youneedtoallowtheapplicationstekla.exe
andlmgrd.exetooperatethroughthefirewall.Theapplicationsarelocatedinthe
..\TeklaStructures\License\Serverfolder.Ifthereisnolocalareanetworkinyourcompany,we
recommendthatyouinstallthelicenseserveroneachcomputerthatTeklaStructuresisrunning
on,andactivateonelicenseoneachcomputer.
TheMACaddressofyournetworkadapterwherethelicenseserverisinstalledshouldnotbe
changed.IncaseyouareusingavirtualenvironmentensurethatyouareusingstaticMAC
addressinginsteadofdynamicMACaddressing.
TheIPaddressofyourlicenseservershouldbefixed.

Recommendations for Tekla Structures multi-user server

TheserecommendationsapplyforTeklaStructuresMultiuserServer2.301s.
TheTeklaStructuresmultiuserserverenablesseveraluserstoworksimultaneouslyinonemodel.
TheTeklaStructuresmultiuserserverrunsasaservice.ThismeansthattheTeklaStructures
multiuserserverisalwaysstartedautomaticallywhenyoustartthecomputer,andisalways
availablewhenthecomputerisrunning.Thereisnoneedtologinandnoneedtostartitmanually
everytimeyoustartthecomputer.
TheserverthatisusedastheTeklaStructuresmultiuserserverdoesnothavetobeveryefficient
orhavemaximumperformance.YoucanruntheTeklaStructuresmultiuserserveronthesame
computeras,forexample,TeklaStructuresLicenseServer,aslongasyouhavededicated
differentTCPportsforeachoftheservers.

Operating system
TheTeklaStructuresmultiuserserveristestedinMicrosoftWindows7,Windows8,Windows
Server2003,WindowsServer2008,WindowsServer2008R2andWindowsServer2012.

Other infrastructure
ThecomputersonthesamemultiusernetworkneedtohaveauniqueIDnumberandidentical
Subnetmasks.
TheIPaddressofyourmultiuserservershouldbefixed.
Etiquetas:TeklaStructures20.0HardwareRecommendations

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