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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 5 Server requires the following:

  • Microsoft Windows Server® 2003 or 2008 or Linux
  • Dedicated Web server (IIS with Windows®, Apache with UNIX)
  • Intel® Pentium® 4 class compatible processor or higher
  • Minimum 1 GB RAM. Recommended 2GB+ RAM. 4GB RAM required for Level 3 licenses.
  • 300 MB 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 audio/video files require additional disk space.)

Note: CONTENTdm can, and usually does, coexist on systems with other Web sites and applications. The CONTENTdm Server should have its own Web server (IIS or Apache) instance.

See our frequently asked questions for more about platform compatibility

Multi-Site Server

The CONTENTdm Multi-Site Server can run on UNIX 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 UNIX)
  • 32-bit x86 processor (Intel® Pentium® 4 class compatible processor or higher)
  • Minimum 512MB RAM. Recommended 1GB+ RAM

Project Client

CONTENTdm Project Client

The CONTENTdm Project Client requires the following:

  • Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.5 (or Internet connection for downloading .NET 3.5)
  • Microsoft® Windows XP with SP2 or SP3 32-bit or 32-bit editions of Windows Vista
  • Intel® Pentium® 4 class compatible processor or higher
  • Minimum 512MB RAM on Windows XP. 1GB RAM recommended. Minimum 1GB RAM on Windows Vista. 2GB RAM 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
  • Acrobat Reader® 7.0 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 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.