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CONTENTdm : Overview : System requirements

System requirements

CONTENTdm runs on standard systems—chances are you already have everything you need to get started today.

Server requirements

CONTENTdm Server

The CONTENTdm 6.1 Server requires the following:

  • Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 or 2008 R2; Linux 32-bit or 64-bit (2.6 kernel). Operating system must be 64-bit for Level 3 licenses. Dual-core processor is required but quad-core is recommended. CONTENTdm 6.1 Server has been tested on Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 5 (32-bit and 64-bit), Ubuntu 10.04 LTS 64-bit, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10. The CONTENTdm 6.1 Server has been successfully installed on Linux distributions based on the 2.6 kernel.
  • Dedicated Web server (IIS 7 or 7.5 with Windows® 2008 or 2008 R2, Apache with Linux). Note: CONTENTdm can, and usually does, coexist on systems with other websites and applications. The CONTENTdm 6.1 Server may be installed on the same or on a separate machine from the CONTENTdm 6.1 website. It should have its own Web server (IIS or Apache) instance if it is installed on the same machine.
  • PHP 5.3 with Linux. Note: PHP 5.3 is required for both Server and website if installed on the same Linux machine.
  • 1 GB RAM minimum. 2+ GB RAM recommended. 4 GB RAM required for Level 3 licenses, but 8-12 GB recommended for large installations, especially those with full-text transcriptions.
  • 1 GB of available hard-disk space for installation.
  • Adequate disk space to hold your collection. (For example, if you have JPEGs with an average file size of 100KB, 500 JPEG images would require about 50MB of disk space. Larger image files or audio/video files require additional disk space.)

See our frequently asked questions for more about platform compatibility

CONTENTdm website

The CONTENTdm 6.1 website requires the following:

  • Dedicated Web server (IIS 7 or 7.5 with Windows® 2008 or 2008 R2, Apache with Linux).
  • PHP 5.3 with Linux. Note: PHP 5.3 is required for both Server and website if installed on the same Linux machine.
  • 1 GB RAM minimum. 2+ GB RAM recommended.
  • 1 GB of available hard-disk space for installation.

Multi-Site Server

The CONTENTdm Multi-Site Server can run on Linux or Windows. It can run on the same Web server as your CONTENTdm installation or it can run on a separate Web server. Server requirements are detailed below.

  • Microsoft Windows Server® 2000 or 2003 or Linux
  • Dedicated Web server (IIS with Windows, Apache with Linux)
  • 512 MB RAM minimum. 1+ GB RAM recommended.

Project Client

CONTENTdm Project Client

The CONTENTdm Project Client requires the following:

  • Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.5 or higher (or Internet connection for downloading .NET 3.5).
  • Microsoft® Windows XP with SP2 or SP3 32-bit, Windows Vista 32-bit or 64-bit, or Windows 7 32-bit or 64-bit. For sites processing large volumes of files, 64-bit operating system is recommended.
  • Windows XP: 512 MB RAM minimum; 1 GB RAM recommended. Windows Vista and Windows 7: 1 GB RAM minimum; 2 GB RAM recommended. For sites processing large volumes of files, 4 GB RAM is recommended.
  • 2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation (a portion of this disk space will be freed after installation if the original download package is removed from the hard drive).
  • Minimum display resolution of 1024 × 768.
  • 256Kbps or faster connection.
  • Adobe® Reader 8 or later.

See our frequently asked questions for more about platform compatibility

Additional technical information

  • Standards-based—CONTENTdm supports industry standards such as Dublin Core 1.1, the VRA Core (Visual Resources Association metadata element set), Unicode, XML, JPEG2000, METS/ALTO and EAD, as well as open exchange protocols—HTTP, Z39.50 and OAI (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting).
  • Open, extensible and interoperable—While most users run the CONTENTdm software “out-of-the box,” it also has an API that allows for custom development. The open architecture supports extensions and the Web interface is fully customizable. Additionally, CONTENTdm works with other software such as federated search applications.