iFIX 2022 System Requirements

Software Requirements

GE recommends using the latest service packs for Windows operating systems. The minimum iFIX software requirements include:

  • One of the following operating systems:
    • Microsoft® Windows® Server 2022.
    • Microsoft® Windows® Server 2019.
    • Microsoft® Windows® Server 2016.
    • Microsoft® Windows® 11 Professional or Enterprise Edition.
    • Microsoft® Windows® 10 (64-bit) Professional or Enterprise Edition.
    • Microsoft® Windows® 10 IoT Enterprise with LTSC enabled, or an operating system released under Long Term Service Channel for iFIX for IoT. Use of iFIX for IoT is further restricted by your End User License Agreement (EULA), please see your EULA for details.
Note: Only English Windows IoT, with English regional settings, is supported with English iFIX; other language operating systems or regional settings for Windows IoT are not supported.
Tip: Since Microsoft Windows has continuous updates, you should run the Windows update feature to get the latest Windows software for use with iFIX. Some operating systems require Microsoft KB2999226 to be installed before you can install iFIX. For Windows Server 2012 R2, you must have KB2919442 and then KB2919355 installed before installing KB2999226. For Windows 8.1, you just need KB2999226.
  • Network interface software for TCP/IP network communication and certain I/O drivers.
  • If you are using third-party software along with iFIX, make sure that the third-party software is also supported for the operating system you are running iFIX on. For instance, if you are running iFIX on Microsoft Windows Server 2019, your third-party software must also be supported on Windows Server 2019.
  • If using iFIX and Historian on the same machine, it is highly recommended to install iFIX first.
  • An I/O driver for iFIX SCADA servers. GE supplies I/O drivers for many programmable controllers or you may purchase a driver separately.
Important: Be certain that before you purchase an I/O driver, that the driver is compatible with the hardware and operating system that you intend to run it on. For example, if the driver is not supported on a specific operating system, then you cannot use that driver with iFIX running on that operating system. For more information on iFIX supported drivers and their respective operating systems, refer to the GE Digital support web site at: http://ge-ip.force.com/communities/.
  • If using VisiconX and Historian, you must install the Historian OLE DB driver.
  • To run the iFIX Plug-in for Configuration Hub, the following browsers were tested:
    • Google® Chrome
    • Microsoft® Edge based on Chromium
    • Mozilla® Firefox
    • Apple® Safari (MAC OS)
Note: Sometimes the MAC OS cannot resolve the system name. In this case, update the hosts file. Also, you will be required to manually install the Configuration Hub root certificate on the MAC OS.
  • One of the following relational database applications, if relational database software is used with iFIX:
    • Microsoft® SQL Server 2017
    • Microsoft® SQL Server 2019
    • Oracle® 19c
    • Microsoft® Access 2000 (or higher). Microsoft Access is supported for local installs only

Hardware Requirements - iFIX SCADA Server

For an iFIX SCADA server, the recommended minimum hardware requirements are:

Important: The minimum requirements below assume that you are running a SCADA server without additional applications (such as EDA applications) and a minimal amount of tags. If you want to run more applications or increase your tag count, you will need to increase your hardware support for better performance. You should scale your system based on number of tags. For Enhanced Failover, the following requirements apply to both the primary and secondary computers.

  • A 3.0 GHz Intel® Core™ i5 Processor or equivalent with 8GB of memory. For better performance, please consider using a faster processor and more memory. When running Proficy Authentication or Historian on the same server at the iFIX SCADA Server, we recommend at least 16 GB of memory.

  • SpeedStep® technology is not supported and must not be enabled.
  • For time synchronization, the Windows Net Time and W32tm commands are both supported. However, if using the W32tm command, be sure to use the /nowait instruction when resynchronizing the clock. For example: W32tm /resync /nowait. The /nowait parameter instructs the operating system to make a stepping adjustment against the time server.
Note: With virtual machines, the host and guest operating system need to synchronize against an external physical Network Time Protocol (NTP) Server.
  • The power save settings on your computer must be disabled. Do not use any power setting features that affect CPU clock speed. For Enhanced Failover, the power save settings on both computers and dedicated network card (NIC) must be disabled.
  • For Enhanced Failover, you need one additional Gigabit-Ethernet card (or better) dedicated for SCADA-to-SCADA traffic (for a total of at least 2 network cards), or the VMXNET 3 network adapter NIC. The dedicated SCADA-to-SCADA network card should be excluded from the iFIX-to-iFIX network (not enabled for LAN redundancy), and used exclusively for Enhanced Failover synchronization. Both network cards must be of the same speed, and appear on the compatibility list for each card. It is strongly recommended that the cards be of the same make and model number, and use the same drivers.
  • For Enhanced Failover, you must use a direct connection via a Cat6 crossover cable, without going through any switches, hubs, or routers. Due to limited bandwidth and latency, wireless networking technology should not be considered.
  • For Enhanced Failover, the Primary and Secondary SCADA computers must be located physically next to each other, in the same location/room.
  • For Enhanced Failover, Jumbo Frames technology must be used on the dedicated network. Jumbo Frames technology allows for an Ethernet frame of 9000 MTU for the payload, compared to a frame of 1500 bytes without the Jumbo Frames.
  • A minimum of 40 GB of free hard drive space for iFIX pictures, databases, alarm files, and other data files, in addition to the free disk space required by the operating system for Windows Updates. It is strongly recommended that many GBs of additional free space exist on the hard drive to avoid performance issues.
  • Be aware that iFIX alarm and historical data files grow dynamically. If you plan to perform extensive alarm or data collection on a node, you may need more disk space on that particular node.
  • Other GE products, such as Proficy Plant Applications and Proficy Historian, impose additional requirements. Refer to the System Requirements in the associated product's electronic books for that product's specific system requirements.
  • 100 MBit or faster Full Duplex TCP/IP-compatible network interface adapter for iFIX network communication between SCADA and Client nodes.
    Note: iFIX does not support NetBIOS or IPv6.
  • One free direct-connect USB port. Some touch screens, pointing devices, and I/O drivers require a serial port. Additional ports for I/O hardware should be ordered with the computer.
  • For Enhanced Failover, ensure that the following ports are open on your firewall: UDP port 53014 needs to open for the Sync Card and TCP 2010 needs to open for the SCADA NIC.
  • SVGA or better color monitor with a 24-bit (16,777,216 colors) graphics card capable of at least 1024x768 resolution.
  • Two-button mouse or compatible pointing device (such as a touch screen) that can open a context menu.

Hardware Requirements - iFIX iClient (View)

For iFIX client computers, the recommended minimum hardware requirements are:

  • A 3.0 GHz Intel® Core™ i3 Processor or equivalent with 4GB of memory. For better performance, please consider using a faster processor and more memory.
Note: To use more than 4 GB of memory on a 32-bit platform you need to use Physical Address Extension (PAE). For more information on PAE please reference: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366796%28v=vs.85%29.aspx.
  • SpeedStep® technology is not supported and must not be enabled.
  • For time synchronization, the Windows Net Time and W32tm commands are both supported. However, if using the W32tm command, be sure to use the /nowait instruction when resynchronizing the clock. For example: W32tm /resync /nowait. The /nowait parameter instructs the operating system to make a stepping adjustment against the time server.
Note: With virtual machines, the host and guest operating system need to synchronize against an external physical Network Time Protocol (NTP) Server.
  • The power save settings on your computer must be disabled. Do not use any power setting features that affect CPU clock speed.
  • A minimum of 20 GB of free hard drive space for iFIX pictures, databases, alarm files, and other data files, in addition to the free disk space required by the operating system for Windows Updates. It is strongly recommended that many GBs of additional free space exist on the hard drive to avoid performance issues.
  • Be aware that iFIX alarm and historical data files grow dynamically. If you plan to perform extensive alarm or data collection on a node, you may need more disk space on that particular node.
  • Other GE products, such as Proficy Plant Applications and Proficy Historian, impose additional requirements. Refer to the System Requirements in the associated product's electronic books for that product's specific system requirements.
  • 100 MBit or faster Full Duplex TCP/IP-compatible network interface adapter for iFIX network communication between SCADA and Client nodes.
Note: iFIX does not support NetBIOS or IPv6.
  • One free direct-connect USB port. Some touch screens, pointing devices, and I/O drivers require a serial port. Additional ports for I/O hardware should be ordered with the computer.
  • SVGA or better color monitor with a 24-bit (16,777,216 colors) graphics card capable of at least 1024x768 resolution.
  • Two-button mouse or compatible pointing device (such as a touch screen) that can open a context menu.

Wireless Devices and iFIX

It is strongly recommended that you do not run SCADA nodes on wireless devices. Running an iFIX SCADA on a wireless device may impact performance, as some wireless protocols fall below the recommended bandwidth requirements.

Virtual Machine Support

As part of our development testing and qualification, we make extensive use of virtualized environments. iFIX does not target any specific hardware or virtualized platform.

GE Digital will support the functional operation of the product that is running on a supported Operating System in a virtualized environment and will address any functional issues related to the software.

GE Digital cannot guarantee performance of the software in the virtualized environment due to the wide range of parameters associated to the hardware, configuration, memory settings, 3rd party software, and the number of virtual sessions running on the same hardware, all of which can affect performance.

It is the responsibility of you, the customer, to ensure that the performance of the GE HMI/SCADA software and application are adequate to meet the needs of their runtime environment. GE does not support issues related to functionality that is not available as a result of running in a virtual machine. Examples include the functionality of card level drivers such as Genius, RMX, SA85 and functions requiring direct video access, or functionality of other software running in the same environment. It is your responsibility to check with the vendor of those applications for their ability to run in a virtualized environment.

Each virtual machine instance that is using our software is required to have a valid license. The licensing in a virtualized environment will depend on the access to a hardware key or a license server depending on the selected license type.

Remote Desktop (Terminal Server) Support

The following Remote Desktop Client configurations were tested with iFIX:

Note: Remote Desktop Services should only be used for Remote Desktop (Terminal Server Client) Connections to run iFIX in a remote desktop client session. Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection is not supported for installing software. If you need to install software, use tools such as Team Viewer, VNC, or vSphere Web Client software.
  • Microsoft Windows 10: Remote Desktop Connection Version 10.0.19041 – Remote Desktop Protocol 10.8
  • Microsoft Windows 11: Remote Desktop Connection Version 10.0.22000 – Remote Desktop Protocol 10.10
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2016: Remote Desktop Connection Version 10.0.14393 – Remote Desktop Protocol 10.2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2019: Remote Desktop Connection Version 10.0.17763 – Remote Desktop Protocol 10.6
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2022: Remote Desktop Connection Version 10.0.20348 – Remote Desktop Protocol 10.9

Compatibility with other GE Products

Several GE products work with iFIX. The following is a general set of versions tested to work with the iFIX 2022 product:

Product Required Version
Plant Applications Dynamos 2022, 8.2.
Batch Execution 5.6.
Operations Hub 2022, 2.1.
Historian

2022, 9.1, 9.0.

Note: If you are using VisiconX with Historian, you must install the Historian OLE DB driver.
Task List 2.6 SP1.
Workflow 2.6 SP1.
Webspace

6.0 and 5.0.

Note: When configured for WebSpace, none of the iFIX SCUs on WebSpace Server should be configured to start iFIX as service, as this is a unsupported configuration.
Win911 4.20.10
DreamReport 2020 for Proficy
IGS 7.610 or later
Note: For information on product compatibility with critical Microsoft security patches, go to the GE Digital support web site:

https://digitalsupport.ge.com/communities/en_US/Article/Information-on-Product-Compatibility-with-Critical-Microsoft-Security-Patches

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