Middle Tier on Linux

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ki0ak
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:38 am

Middle Tier on Linux

Post by ki0ak » Fri Sep 04, 2015 12:02 pm

All:

I'm looking at adding a second location and wondering about connectivity. It appears (from my limited research) that the Middle Tier solution requires a Windows OS to run - is that correct? I'm currently using a Linux database and file server and would like to stay away from Windows if possible.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Brad
________________________
Brad Johnson, D.D.S.
Corridor Family Dentistry, PLLC
2120 Westdale DR SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319)396-7263

tgriswold
Posts: 122
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2013 8:52 am

Re: Middle Tier on Linux

Post by tgriswold » Fri Sep 04, 2015 4:17 pm

The middle tier service can only be run on a windows OS, but your machine running middle tier does not need to be the same one housing your database. Your database and file server can stay on a linux server with middle tier. Your machine running the middle tier will just need to have a direct connection to the machine that has the database.
Travis Griswold
Open Dental Software
http://www.opendental.com

ki0ak
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:38 am

Re: Middle Tier on Linux

Post by ki0ak » Fri Sep 04, 2015 8:37 pm

tgriswold wrote:The middle tier service can only be run on a windows OS, but your machine running middle tier does not need to be the same one housing your database. Your database and file server can stay on a linux server with middle tier. Your machine running the middle tier will just need to have a direct connection to the machine that has the database.

Hi Travis,

Thanks for the reply. How CPU/memory intensive is the middle tier serivce? What kind of specs are recommended for the computer/server running the middle tier service - can it be reasonably done with a desktop computer or should it be something more like a quad-core Xeon with 8GB of RAM? Are multiple NICs needed?

My situation is two small locations with approximately 5 users at each location.

Thanks!

Brad
________________________
Brad Johnson, D.D.S.
Corridor Family Dentistry, PLLC
2120 Westdale DR SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319)396-7263

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Ryan
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 10:29 am

Re: Middle Tier on Linux

Post by Ryan » Tue Sep 08, 2015 10:50 am

kiOak,

The short answer is that the middle tier service uses less CPU/Memory than a workstation and will run on a desktop computer or a server. The middle tier service is installed on top of Internet Information Services (IIS) which is a Microsoft product. Microsoft recommendations can be found here : https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Cc268240.aspx and they recommend 4GB of Ram, and a Xeon CPU with lots of L1, L2, and L3 cache.

Technically you can run the middle tier server on a simple desktop computer, but you will have a better overall experience if you use at least an entry-level dedicated server.
Ryan Meyer
Open Dental Software
http://www.opendental.com

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