Client Side
The iDashboards Flash-based client application can run in any web browser that supports the Adobe Flash Player plug-in version 10.0 or above. This includes Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Opera. Any client operating system that can run one of the aforementioned browsers and the Flash Player plug-in can be used. Examples include Windows, Mac and Linux. For mobile devices, this includes Windows Phone 7 devices and most Android devices. iDashboards also offers an App for the iPhone and iPad.
iDashboards Application Server
iDashboards is a J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) Web Application, and must be deployed to a J2EE-compliant application server that implements the Servlet 2.3 and JSP 1.2 or later specifications. The Apache Tomcat application server is the most widely used application server with iDashboards, however it can also be deployed to IBM WebSphere, BEA Weblogic, JBoss, or a number of other J2EE application servers with the correct Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Application Server Host Operating System
Any server operating system for which the correct JVM is available. This would include, but would not be limited to, Windows, Solaris, Linux or AIX. Mac OS is not supported as the server operating system. iDashboards can be deployed on a virtual server.
iDashboards Repository Database
An enterprise-class relational database, such as Oracle, SQL Server or DB2 is required, along with the correct JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) or ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) drivers. The repository can be deployed on the application server or a separate server that has reliable network connectivity to the application server. Regular backups of the repository database should be performed using the database vendor's utilities.
External Data Sources
Any relational database for which JDBC or ODBC drivers are available can be used as an external data source to provide chart data. Excel spreadsheets can also be used if the iDashboards application server is installed on a Windows server.
Hardware Requirements
The following figures are estimates for minimum requirements. There are numerous outside factors that can affect performance of iDashboards and cannot be accounted for in suggested hardware requirements. Example outside factors include available network bandwidth between client and server, impact of third party applications installed on the same server as iDashboards, and ability of external datasources to process and return data in a timely manner. The following estimates assume average usage of iDashboards.
*Indicates free disk space. Estimates assume the iDashboards repository is deployed on the iDashboards application server. If the repository is deployed on a separate server, plan for 1 GB on the application server. This assumes default log settings, moderate Excel datasource file sizes and moderate file sizes of uploaded content to be used in dashboards (i.e. images). Allocate 500 MB for the iDashboards repository database for up to 500 users and 1 GB for a larger user base.
Architecture
