HYDSTRA runs under Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000. We recommend Windows 2000. Windows ME has not been comprehensively tested, but HYDSTRA has been seen to run under it.
Will HYDSTRA run under Windows 3.1?
No. HYDSTRA is a 32 bit application and will not run under Windows 3.1.
Will HYDSTRA run under Windows NT 3.51?
No. It requires NT 4.0.
Will HYDSTRA run under Unix, or on a Mac, or under OS/2?
Not unless they accurately emulate Windows 95, 98 or NT.
Can I load the system files on to a server and run from a networked PC?
Yes.
Can I store the program files and the data files on different servers?
Yes.
Can I mount the program files read-only for normal users?
Yes.
What network software can I run HYDSTRA under?
HYDSTRA will run under any Microsoft compatible network, including NT Server, Novell, Rhumba (Sun Unix servers), etc. Older version of PC-NFS are very slow and may cause performance problems, although HYDSTRA will run under PC-NFS. Novell may need some patches applied and settings made to function correctly.
What network speed do you recommend?
HYDSTRA runs fine on a 10Mb network, though it runs much better on a 100Mb network! If you are installing a new network now, go straight to 100Mb. Below 10Mb you will notice performance limitations, and at 64Kb HYDSTRA will be virtually unusable. If you really have to run over a slow network try and have local copies of the programs at least, so you are only going over the network for data.
Which network should I use?
HYDSTRA will run under any standard networking system. It is developed and tested using Microsoft Networking over NT servers. Novell networking may require some configuration and possibly some patching to get it to work correctly. PC/NFS is not recommended because of performance limitations.
Does the application run on the server or the client?
HYDSTRA applications actually run on the client PC, with the programs and data being pulled down from the server. No HYDSTRA code actually runs on the server, unless you are running under Citrix.
How do I provide remote access to HYDSTRA users?
One way of overcoming limited network bandwidth is to run the applications at the server end of the network under Citrix Winframe or NT Terminal Server and use the network only to transmit screen mouse and keyboard changes to and from the client. This model makes the application server behave like a mainframe, with users needing only low-powered PCs or PC terminals to access the server.
For one or two remote users you might even get away with products like PC-Remote, Carbon Copy, or Close Up, which allow a single users to run applications on a remote PC via dialup or a slow network.
What loads will HYDSTRA put on the network and server?
HYDSTRA uses file services only. On startup of the menus HYDSTRA will load about 6Mb down to the client, then about 100Kb to 1Mb per program after that. Time-series data is compressed, so data transfers are typically under 100Kb for a program.
Can I use Windows NT security to limit access to certain files or directories?
You can, but HYDSTRA is not really robust when denied access to a file by the operating system which it expects to be able to access. Ideally you should use HYDSTRA security as your primary security mechanisms, and back it up with operating system restrictions.
One powerful technique available to corporate users is that they can mount a read-only copy of HYDSTRA on their network. This can give data access to everyone without risking data corruption.
Will HYDSTRA run across a Wide Area Network (WAN)?
Probably not, unless you have a very fast WAN. The amount of data and program which needs to be transferred to the client means that WAN implementations are generally too slow to be usable.
How do I manage data across several offices?
If you can limit each office to dealing only with the stations under their control you can use IMPEXP, a powerful replication facility provided with HYDSTRA. IMPEXP allows you to routinely update a corporate archive from a series of separate distributed regional archives. HYDSTRA provides tools to enforce the separation of stations between regional offices, so that only one office is allowed to modify data for any given station.
Will HYDSTRA run under Citrix Winframe or NT Terminal Server?
We believe so. You will need hefty applications servers with plenty of memory and plenty of horsepower if you plan support more than a few concurrent users on an applications server.
Can I run HYDSTRA from a CD-ROM?
Yes, but you require a special license and a specially configured HYDSTRA system to do that. Contact HYDSTRA Systems for more details.
What are typical client PC requirements for HYDSTRA?
HYDSTRA will run on any reasonably modern PC. As a rule of thumb, the normal off-the-shelf PC from your local store will be fine, as would the same machine bought two years ago.
HYDSTRA runs best with 32 Mb of memory, we expect a CD-ROM drive to install it, and the faster the Pentium the better HYDSTRA will run, although HYDSTRA 7 will run on a Pentium 90, albeit a bit slowly. We are developing new programs to work best with an 800*600 screen.
Will HYDSTRA run on my 486?
Yes, but it may be a bit too slow to be useful, particularly in the Data Managers Workbench.
Is there an Oracle version of HYDSTRA?
Not yet, although we are working on one. The Oracle version will store time-series data either as compressed BLOBs or as normalised database records.
Will I be able to upgrade to the Oracle version in future?
Yes, for a fee. The data conversion from the file-based HYDSTRA to an Oracle-based version will consist of a one-line command to transfer all your existing data into Oracle (or out again). All time-series files and database files will be transferred at the same time.
Will I be able to mix Oracle and file-based version of HYDSTRA within my organisation?
Yes. You may wish to run Oracle at your head office and at larger branches, and stay with the file-based systems for smaller offices. We will support some sort of data transfer between the different systems.
What other SQL databases might be supported?
We plan to complete Oracle support before looking at other databases. However SQL Server is likely to be the next product supported after Oracle. After that we will be driven by demand from the user community and an assessment of whether it is worth the effort and is technically feasible.
Does HYDSTRA limit the number of concurrent users?
Yes, your licence limits how many concurrent users you can have, and HYDSTRA enforces that through software and sometimes through a hardware 'dongle'.
Can I load a single user system onto a network and access it from any PC?
No, single user systems are locked to a single client PC. You can load the software and data onto a server, but you can only access it from one PC. You need at least a 2-user licence before you can run from any PC on the network.
