What sort of hardware do I need to run Access-It Library?
While it is undeniably a powerful application, Access-It's efficiency means
it can operate successfully on current entry level machines in the Windows,
Linux (server only) and Macintosh arenas. Although this is very feasible it
should of course be seen as a starting point for hardware procurement. It
is well known that database solutions are greedy of RAM, and when this is
added to the demands of an operating system such as Windows XP, the amount
of available RAM will play an increasingly significant role in overall performance.
Access-It's performance will be significantly improved if there is 1 GB RAM.
In the same vein, higher specification processors running at increased speeds
will markedly improve processing times.
It is also worth noting at this point that available RAM is more important that total RAM. For example, if you have 512 MB RAM but like to run several large programs at the same time, then there may not be enough left to run Access-It Library. As a general rule, Access-It Library should have at least 256MB RAM available to itself, over and above any other program or operating system requirements.
Other lower specification computers with Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape (versions 5.5) installed can be used as clients on the network for Guest browsing access. So, for machines which you feel are not suitable for operation as either server or client but are capable of running a web browser, you can set up an intranet and adopt an OPAC approach for searching. An additional bonus of this method of working is that Windows and Macintosh computers can happily access the same library information where necessary.
In the end, speed is a relative concept. An operation which takes 0.1sec to complete may be a factor of 10 times faster than one which takes 1sec but during operation of Access-It this difference would not present a significant problem. If you do not have a reasonably modern machine (less than two years old) in your library, you may like to negotiate with someone else in your organisation who does have a faster one. If you are unhappy with the speed on one machine, simply try it on another.
Does network speed come into the picture?
As with any network that sends data backwards and forwards between
computers, the speed of your network will make a difference when running Access-It
Library. For example, if your library server is also the main server for your
organization and if a lot of people are moving data backwards and forwards,
Access-It Library may have to wait or queue on occasions for network space.
From this perspective, it makes sense to have a dedicated library server that
can focus entirely on keeping the library network operating at optimum levels.
Another factor is the physical amount of data that can be transferred over the network. Clearly, if you are using 10 Mbit Ethernet cards, it will ultimately be slower than a 100 Mbit card. Also, even the quality of cabling in the signal path can affect the efficient transmission of data across a network. Of course, all issues related to the physical network are issues that go beyond the control of Access-It Library itself.