Windchill Fundamentals > PDM Essentials and Global Product Development Package 1 > Windchill PDM Essentials > Prerequisites
  
Prerequisites
Windchill PDM Essentials is deployed on a single physical or virtual machine on which Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012 R2 is installed.
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Multi-core processors on a single physical or virtual machine eliminate the necessity for multiple machines in order to support up to 25 active CAD users and up to 200 active web browser users. For this reason, there is no provision for supporting a multi-machine deployment.
Server Hardware Requirements
12GB of available RAM (16 with concurrent server-side publishing)
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You must have a minimum of 8GB of available RAM on a physical or virtual machine in order for the installation environment to be verified by the Windchill Installation Assistant. Ensure that there is at least 8GB of available RAM.
If the server is intended only as a demonstration or test server, you can disable this check in the WindchillSetup.exe.config file before installation. After obtaining and opening the media (see Obtaining the Windchill PDM Essentials Media), this file is located in the media directory. Set the following parameter value:
<appSettings>

<add key="preCheckRAM" value="false"/>

</appSettings>
.
For customers that regularly work with larger assemblies that include more than 500 components and require more than 2 GB of RAM to open in Creo Parametric or another CAD application, use the following calculation to determine the amount of RAM required: add the total amount of RAM needed to open your largest assembly in Creo Parametric to the base configuration listed above. For example, if the largest assembly requires 8 GB of RAM to open in Creo Parametric, and concurrent server-side publishing is enabled, the calculation for the required amount of RAM is 16+8=24 GB.
2 processors (4 recommended with concurrent server-side publishing)
50 GB of disk space for software components
Disk space for file content (CAD documents and documents, such as Microsoft Word or text documents). Use the following steps to calculate required disk space:
1. Estimate current total file space used for CAD and office files
2. Estimate rate of growth over 3-5 years (for example, 30% per year)
3. Compute estimated total needs over 5 years
Disk space = [(Current file content) + (.3/year*Current file content)*(5years)]
Ensure that the media used for backups can also accommodate the projected growth.
The server name cannot include an underscore (for example, PDM_Essentials_Server). Rename the server, removing underscores, if necessary
Compressed volumes are not supported for Microsoft SQL Server and cannot be used for Windchill PDM Essentials
Server Software Requirements
Windows Server:
Windows Server 2012 R2 64-bit (Standard Edition or higher)
Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit (Standard Edition or higher)
Java Runtime Environment (JRE) Version 7, Update 51 or later
Windows update for Microsoft Universal C Runtime
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No existing versions of Windchill, Creo Parametric, or SQL Server can be currently installed. Double check for any installations and, if they exist, uninstall them and restart the server. After reboot, ensure that there are no Windchill, Creo Parametric, or SQL Server components installed before installing Windchill PDM Essentials.
Client Software Requirements
Windows Operating System
Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)
Windows 8.1 (32-bit or 64-bit)
Windows 10 (64-bit)
Macintosh OS X 10.10.x (Creo View is not supported on Macintosh OS X 10.10)
Web Browser
Internet Explorer
For Windows 7: Internet Explorer 10 (32-bit or 64-bit)
For Windows 7, 8, and 10: Internet Explorer 11 (32-bit or 64-bit)
Mozilla Firefox ESR 38.x or higher
Google Chrome 41 or higher, 32-bit or 64-bit
Apple Safari 8.0 or higher
Java Plugin: Version 8 update 60 or higher
Windchill Desktop Integration (Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10):
Microsoft Office 2007, 2010, or 2013
Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2010, or 2013
Client CAD Application Compatibility
Windchill PDM Essentials is optimized for use with Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server to support up to about 25 CAD users and up to about 200 web users.
The following CAD application versions are bundled with Windchill PDM Essentials:
Creo View 4.0 F000
Creo Parametric 3 M120
Refer to the following link for the latest Creo Parametric compatibility matrix: http://www.ptc.com/view?im_dbkey=168117.
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You must use the same major version of Creo Parametric for both server-side publishing and the CAD client working with Windchill PDM Essentials. For example, if you use Creo Parametric 3 for server-side publishing, you must use Creo Parametric 3 as the CAD client.
The following lists other CAD-related compatibility information:
Version compatibility for other PTC products:
Creo Elements/Direct Modeling 19.0 and 20.0
Creo Elements/Direct Drafting 19.0 and 20.0
Creo Illustrate 3.1
Creo Schematics 3.0 and 3.1
PTC Mathcad 15 M020, M030 or later
PTC Mathcad Prime 3.0 F000 or later
Refer to the following link for the latest Windchill Workgroup Manager compatibility matrix: http://www.ptc.com/view?im_dbkey=168115.
Version compatibility for third–party CAD applications:
SolidWorks 2014 and 2015
AutoCAD 2014 and 2015 (AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical, and AutoCAD Electrical)
Autodesk Inventor 2014 and 2015
Refer to the following link for the latest third-party CAD applications compatibility matrix: http://www.ptc.com/view?im_dbkey=168115.
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For a detailed list of all available software and hardware compatibility matrices, see http://www.ptc.com/partners/hardware/current/support.htm.
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Integration of Windchill PDM Essentials with a third-party CAD application requires the installation of a workgroup manager (which is included) and the registering of the CAD client with the server. For more information, see Integrating with Your CAD Application.