Network and Hardware Recommendations

Use high-performance machines with half a CPU for each project they serve and with RAM size at least double the sum of the schematic design and PCB layout design.

Use machines with large-capacity hard drives (terabytes) and fast data access protocols in the event the operating system pages out of RAM.

Use a machine that you will leave on continuously and have backed up with uninterruptible power supplies.

Use machines that have stable access to your file server.

For best results, use machines that are connected to the high-speed backbone of your network.

Your network bandwidth and latency should meet the recommendations given in Table 1, but you can use slower networks successfully depending on network traffic and depending on which tools you are using. The recommendations in the table are for the Whole Flow Concurrent Design.

The numbers in the table for WLAN and WAN networks assume the network is dedicated to the concurrent design environment and serves no other processes. But as WLAN and WAN are usually shared resources, you must account for such factors when estimating your network capacity.

See iCDB Server Monitor for information about tracking network performance issues.