The following specifications are meant as a basic reference for the requirements of Execu/Tech software products.  Individual hardware and/or operating system vendors may change their requirements from time to time.  Because of this, should Execu/Tech's minimum recommendations fall below your particular hardware and/or operating system vendor's requirements, we recommend that you follow your particular vendor's recommendations.

Compatible System Configurations:

• ANTIVIRUS
  Antivirus software must be installed on the server and all clients. Don't try to save money by not purchasing antivirus software, it will be a very costly mistake. You WILL get a virus without it.
• BACKUP
  Backup software and hardware are just as important as antivirus software. Without it, you risk losing all customer data, accounting information, reservations, advance deposit details, charge and payment details, etc.
  
  We see customers, again and again, lose days, months or years of data and sometimes all of their data because they didn't have antivirus software or a reliable backup system in place. Please don't let this happen to your property. We offer Execu/Vault as an onsite and cloud backup solution and encourage you to work with your IT professional to determine the best solution for your company.
   
• We do not offer support of our application software running on Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE and Windows Me.  Our software is written to take advantage of Microsoft's latest technology. Please contact our sales department if you have any questions about this.
• 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the following operating systems are supported.
• Windows XP Professional/Vista Business/Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate Peer to Peer Network (2 - 4 users).
• Windows 2003/2008 (R2) Server (Active Directory) with Windows XP Professional/ Vista Business /Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate Clients (2 or more users) with current service pack releases.
• Windows 2003/2008 (R2) Server with Terminal Services with Windows CE/XP/Vista/Windows 7 Remote Desktop or Citrix 'thin' client* workstations. Recommended for improved performance and/or multi-location networks.
  * Thin client stability cannot be guaranteed in all cases due to incompatibilities in serial and parallel printing issues concerning hardware, drivers and the operating system. It is the responsibility of the network administrator to configure and test these devices.
• We ONLY SUPPORT Professional or better and Server Windows operating systems. Home versions cannot properly share software folders because, by design, these operating systems do not save login credentials.
  
  All Microsoft operating system service packs, patches, fixes and .Net Frameworks should be installed before installing Execu/Tech software.

Compatible Network Protocol / Hardware:

• TCP/IP only (Execu/Tech will not install our products on networks configured with Netbeui, IPX/SPX, or any network protocol other than Tcp/Ip. Protocols other than Tcp/Ip WILL cause file corruption!)
• Execu/Tech recommends 100 Base-T or faster networks with interconnection via quality Switches. Execu/Tech does NOT support hubs and you shouldn't be using technology that old, anyway.
• We are only able to support the Windows VPN Client. There is no industry standard VPN device and our customers have chosen to use a variety including SonicWALL, NorTel, Cisco, Linksys, D-Link, Cyberguard, Symantec, Netgear, Juniper, Watchguard, Fortinet, and more. We cannot possibly install and operate all of these VPN clients at once and will not attempt to do so.
• Disable Offline Files. For information, Google "disable offline files"

Server (minimum):

• Business grade systems only. On site hardware maintenance recommended.
• A quality data backup and recovery system including necessary software is required. Consult your network administrator for assistance with this. Execu/Tech Systems is not responsible for your software backup and will not assist in extracting backed up data.  We will, however, assist your network administrator in determining what data should be backed up and restored in relation to Execu/Tech application software.
• RAM - Follow operating system guidelines.
• 2 GHz Pentium 4 Processor or higher.
• 250 GB Hard Drive.
• 100 Base-T Network Adapter, Gigabit Preferred.
• Dedicated high-speed Internet connection and remote access software (pcAnywhere, RDP, UltraVNC, or our Execu/Connect free remote support application.) for Execu/Care support. We understand that many of our customers prefer other methods such as GoToMyPC, GoToAssist, WebEx, LogMeIn, Bomgar, TeamViewer, SimpleHelp, etc. We can't maintain a nearly unlimited array of remote connection applications and still provide adequate support. We will assist you in installing our free remote support aplication.
• UPS (uninterruptible power supply) required.

Client workstations (minimum):

• Business grade systems only.  On site hardware maintenance recommended.
• RAM - Follow operating system guidelines.
• 128 MB Video Memory (Windows Vista/ Windows 7).
• 2 GHz Pentium 4 Processor.
• 100 GB Hard Drive.
• 100 Base-T Network Adapter, Gigabit Preferred.
• UPS (uninterruptible power supply).

RDP Terminal Services/Thin Client workstations:

• Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7, Mac OS X, Lynux, Unix, Android.

Shift4® DOLLARS ON THE NET® Requirements:

• Dedicated high speed internet access to the Execu/Suite server with a static IP address.
• Merchant Services Provider with a platform compliant with Shift4.  Shift4 works with all major platforms.
• Execu/Tech's i4Go interface utilizes Microsoft .NET Framework™ 2.0.

Execu/Vault™ Requirements:

• Execu/Vault utilizes Microsoft .NET Framework™ 2.0.

Execu/Spa™ Requirements:

• Execu/Spa utilizes Microsoft .NET Framework™ 2.0.
• Execu/Spa database utilizes Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005 Express or better.

WebRes Requirements:

• Windows IIS Web server installed on LAN with the Execu/Tech HOTEL server (can be on the same or different server than the server running Execu/suite).
• Dedicated high speed internet access to the web server with a static IP address.
• Web Server SSL Certificate.

Report Printers:

• Laser - HP Business Grade (Used for graphical plain paper folio, registration forms, and all other reports. Recommended for all Windows Users).
  Use ONLY HP printers that are network compatible and have full PCL support. DO NOT use HP models 1010, 1012, 1500, 3500, 3550 or any other HP printer which is host based. Contact HP for clarification on printer model descriptions.
• *Brother printers - Because of the number of complaints we receive involving Brother printers, we do not recommend them for use with our software. They are known to spool but never print, print only one copy when more than one is requested, drop multiple print jobs when they are sent rapidly. Not all Brother printers are affected but we can't test each one to be sure they work properly.
• Dot Matrix - Okidata 320 (Used for continuous feed, pre-printed forms, etc.)
• ***Ink Jet printers NOT recommended due to ink costs***

POS Receipt / Kitchen Printers / Credit Card Receipt:

• Impact Printers - Star SP200/300, Epson TM-U200, TM-U220 or similar Epson POS impact printer
• Thermal Printers - Epson TM-T88 (preferred for Credit Card Receipt printing), Star TSP series, NCR
  (parallel preferred)

Print Servers:

• Any

Cash Drawers (Execu/Touch POS Only):

• Epson, Star, or NCR Printer interface. Intelligent cash drawers attached directly to serial or parallel ports are not supported

Touch Screen Monitors (Execu/Touch POS Only):

• Microtouch, Elo, or any touch screen monitor with Windows drivers

Pole Displays (Execu/Touch POS Only):

• EMAX compatible

Magnetic Card Readers:

• Magtec PS/2, USB, or any swipe supporting track 1 & 2 with the standard track header and footer characters. Many newer inexpensive home computers will require USB swipe due to the lack of power provided by the PS/2 port.
• Cherry Keyboards (track 1 & 2 header/ footer characters must be programmed before the Cherry swipe will work)

Barcode Readers:

• Metrologic 9500 series, or any keyboard wedge scanner.

Optional Software:

• HTML Editor for modifying certain forms like Guest Folio, Confirmation Letter, Cancellation Letter, etc. Here's a short list of some. We will not train you in the use of these programs.
  *** DO NOT USE Microsoft Word to edit the HTML documents.
  Microsoft FrontPage
  Microsoft Expression Web
  PageBreeze
  CoffeeCup HTML Editor
  Alleycode
• Free Simple Backup Tool.
  Microsoft's SyncToy is a free backup utility. It is unsupported by both Microsoft and us and neither Microsoft or Execu/Tech will help you install or configure it, but it is better than nothing. There is a lot of information online that will help you install and configure it. Click Here for more information.

Common Gotcha's:

• Data Loss and Application Hangs. Check the System Log in the Event Viewer on every computer running Execu/Tech software. Look for Event IDs 26 and 50. If you see Delayed Write Failed or Virtual Memory errors you will experience data loss and application hangs.
• Be sure that all users running Execu/Tech software have full permissions to the software folder. Also, be sure that the files in the software folder inherit the permissions of the folder. Failing to do this will result in files created by one user being inaccessible by another user.
• If using Windows Vista, 7, 2008, 2010 or newer, you MUST NOT install the software to the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folder because of 'folder virtualization'.
• Exclude file with .COB and .FIL extensions from any virus scan.
• In your antivirus software on the CLIENTS, disable any 'on access' scanning or real time scanning of the software folder on the server. This is known to create severe slowdowns and corrupted data.
• In Windows Vista/Windows 7 and Server 2008, disable UAC (User Account Control) before attempting to register any ActiveX controls. You might also need to disable UAC if an application with an older installer doesn't seem to properly install. You may enable it after successfully registering the controls.
• "The publisher could not be verified" warning when you run our software over the network. IE security settings are just trying to protect you. Here's two ways your network administrator can remove the warning:
  1. Add the UNC of the share to Local Intranet Zone
  2. Run 'gpedit.msc', go to User Configuration, then Administrative Templates, then Windows components, then Attachment Manager. Once there, open the settings for Inclusion list for moderate risk file types. Add *.EXE to the list and enable the policy if it isn't already.
• Disable 'Power Saving' modes on all hard drives and network cards. This can cause communication interruptions that may cause errors and loss of data when you start using the software after a power saving state has been entered.
• In Remote Desktop, you may find that USB barcode scanners and magnetic card swipes do not seem to work properly. 90% of the time the solution is a simple change to the Remote Desktop Connection settings. Open Remote Desktop Connection then click Options. Go to the Local Resources tab and change the Keyboard setting to 'On the remote computer'. You'll have to successfully connect to the server after making this change for it to be saved.
• With Windows Server 2008R2 you may have an issue with DEP, or Data Execution Prevention, causing the application to crash when you attempt to start it. To fix this, go to your Advanced System Settings, then Performance Settings, then Data Execution Prevention, then change the setting to "Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only" and then restart the computer.
• If you suddenly experience issues that seem firewall related but you are sure your firewall settings are correct, try toggling the Microsoft Firewall on or off then back, again. We have seen cases where the Windows firewall is on even though it is set to off. Toggling this setting has fixed this issue.