The Perfion solution consists of a central database, one or more Windows clients directly connected to the database and a browser based Perfion Web client connected to the database via the Perfion Client API.
The Perfion solution also contains an API Service essential for connecting Perfion with external systems, as well as an Application Server component for handling backend activities.
Perfion is based on Microsoft® standards. The Windows client is developed using the .Net framework, the database backend is a MS SQL Server database and the APIs run on MS IIS. The installation scenario can follow different ways depending on the customer’s preferences.
Perfion Database
A single (dedicated) server or virtual machine with MS SQL is required to run the Perfion database. Perfion fully supports installation of 32-bit or 64-bit Windows® Server in a Virtual Server environment (VMWare®, Citrix®, Hyper-V™, Azure™) or on dedicated hardware in a traditional server deployment.
The below information shows the minimum system requirements for the Perfion database server.
TECH NOTE: Please also check actual recommendations from Microsoft in terms of current versions.
Minimum system requirements, Perfion database server | |
Server | A single (dedicated) server or virtual machine is required to run the Perfion database. |
Processor | A modern quad-core core or better AMD® or Intel® Processor. |
Operating System | Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022. |
SQL Server | Microsoft SQL Server 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022. |
RAM | 16 GB or more is required, but 32GB or more is recommended for best performance when using Windows® Server (to provide optimized cache). |
Disk space | A Raid 1 (mirrored) or Raid 5+ Hard drive configuration for fault tolerance is recommended. An empty installation requires <500GB of free space available, but more space may be required depending on the number and size of files to be managed by Perfion. |
Configuring the database server with enough RAM can significantly increase the performance of the database server in high load scenarios. Depending on the setup, all images and files may be stored in the database. The amount and size of images and files that need to be stored is usually the most important factor to consider for dimensioning storage space.
From the 2024-R1 release, Perfion will begin using the Snapshot Isolation database transaction isolation level. This is a more optimistic isolation level, that results in fewer database locks and will thus enable better and more consistent performance when there are few updates and many reads. Snapshot Isolation will make a copy of the data targeted for updates, into the TempDb database. From 2024-R1 you may see increased data sizes and throughput to the TempDb and its files.
Microsoft Azure
When opting to place the database in Microsoft Azure, there are various deployment principles to choose from (vCore-based, DTU-based).
It is not recommended to go below “standard” operational tiers, and the necessary amount of DTU’s will vary, depending on your configuration complexity and the amount of data in your system. For new customers, we recommend starting in the range of 250 DTU, but be prepared to scale up/down during the implementation, until you have determined the best balance between performance and cost.
Perfion Windows Client
The below information shows the minimum system requirements for the Perfion Windows client:
Minimum system requirements, Perfion Windows client | |
Processor | A modern dual core or better AMD® or Intel® Processor |
Operating system | Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11. Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022. |
.NET framework | Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 |
RAM | 8 GB or more is recommended. 16 GB or more is recommended when publishing big reports/catalogs |
Disk space | 500 Mb |
Perfion Web Client
The below information shows the minimum system requirements for the Perfion Web client:
Minimum system requirements, Perfion web client | |
Browser | Officially supported browsers are Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari in any recent (2021+) version. Other Chromium-based browsers can be used but we do not guarantee all functionality. Touchscreen input is not supported. |
Perfion Backend Services
The below information shows the minimum system requirements for the Perfion server-side services (Application Server, API, Web Client):
Minimum system requirements, Perfion Backend Services | |
Processor | A modern dual core or better AMD® or Intel® Processor |
Operating system | Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022. |
.NET framework | Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 |
Internet Information Services | Version 7.5 or later, with ASP.NET |
RAM | 8 GB is required. 16 GB or more is recommended when publishing big reports/catalogs through webservice. |
Disk space | 100 GB |
Backup
The customer is responsible for all backup proceedings. It is recommended to regularly back up the database and the report content (file system). Since Perfion is completely based on Microsoft standards - we refer to Microsoft's recommendations at this point.
See also: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/statements/backup-transact-sql