RMS Store Operations System Requirements

Hardware & System Specifications for Microsoft RMS Store Operations

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Store Operations Basics (required)

  • Pentium class processor 500mhz or higher (Pentium 3 or higher for workstations; Pentium 4 or higher recommended for server; dual processor recommended for Windows 7) Note: You can run on lesser specs, but you will take a speed and performance hit.
  • 512 MB on XP Pro (especially if you will run POS and Manager at same time); double the RAM on your server; double these figures again for Windows 7 Pro; 32-bit is highly recommended for POS stations to support peripheral drivers (receipt printer, cash drawer, pole display); 32-bit may also be required for integrated credit/debit/gift card processing plug-ins or other RMS add-ins that run in the POS module. There is no advantage to running 64-bit on your POS lanes.
  • 10 GB free space on hard drive or greater (to ensure room for backups and free space)
  • VGA color monitor, 1024 x 768 recommended, especially on PCs running Manager
  • Pointing device (i.e. mouse)
  • Keyboard Note: POS register operation is completely keyboard driven, but a mouse can be used if desired.
  • Network: peer-to-peer (up to 5 stations); Windows XP Pro, Windows 7 Pro, or SBS recommended for server (if more than 20 users)
  • Full SQL Server license recommended for high volume locations with more than 10 POS stations and any multi-store systems running HeadQuarters (HQ) where demand is greater than 10G for the HQ database or number of locations greater than 10.

Note: Depending on your network set up, these requirements may vary and are subject to change without notice. Contact our sales office for more information.

Peripheral Devices/Software

  • Receipt Printers – Epson TM, Citizen, Star, and Ithaca thermal printers all perform well.  Problems have been experienced with the lower end models such as Epson TMU-200 (parallel) and Star-SP200 (parallel and serial). RMS is designed to work with OPOS. Windows drivers may work but you will not have full control over the cash drawer.
  • Report Printers – Any dot matrix, laser or inkjet printer will perform fine with the associated Windows driver. We recommend laser printers, especially for full page receipts.
  • Label Printers – Cognitive Barcode Blaster Advantage and Eltron/Zebra brands are all supported.  Laser printers will work with Avery-style labels.  Lexmark ink jet printers cause problems.
  • Cash Drawers – Serial & printer fired drawers work well.  Avoid parallel pass through configurations.  Supported brands include Logic Controls and MMF. Contact us for latest approved hardware. The cash drawer must be compatible with the receipt printer brand if you will be using a printer fired drawer.
  • Pole Displays – Look for Aedex/Ultimate compatible displays.  Avoid parallel pass through configurations.  Logic Control’s PD models works well. Contact us for latest approved hardware list.
  • Scanners & Portable Hand Helds – RMS will work with either a keyboard wedge or a serial scanner.  Using a keyboard wedge is suggested, as they are significantly easier to set-up and do not take a serial port slot.  Popular scanners include Symbol and Metrologic.
  • Mag-Stripe Readers – Keyboard wedge readers are the only type that will work. Mag-Tek and Cherry Keyboard card readers are also being used successfully. Contact us for latest approved hardware list.
  • Pin-Pad Machines/Check Readers – Contact us for latest approved hardware list.
  • Scales – Popular scale brands include Spectraphysics and Weightronix.  RMS also supports random weight UPC and EAN.
  • EDC – While RMS can interfaces with 3rd party middleware for card processing, we recommend utilizing the internal card processing in RMS which is also PCI compliant. Check to see if your merchant processor supports Vital/TSYS/Visanet if you want to deploy the internal card processing available in RMS. You will also need an always-on Internet connection to process authorizations (fast 4-6 sec approvals). We also recommend a thermal receipt printer with auto-cutter.

Microsoft RMS Store Operations System Requirements

RMS Store Operations is designed to run on any PC-compatible system under Windows XP Pro, Vista Business, or Windows 7 Pro. One central design goal for the package is to make the software scalable and extensible. It relies on Windows DNA and Microsoft SQL Server as framework and the architecture for scalability. SQL Server easily scales from desktop to enterprise server to accommodate a database of any size.

The minimum requirements below will yield a functional level of performance. Higher levels of performance can be gained with hardware upgrades as indicated above.

Database Requirements

RMS Store Operations requires Microsoft SQL Server for database storage. The SQL Server can be run on the same machine as Store Operations or on a dedicated database server for higher performance.

The vast majority of retailers are small to medium-size and do not have the budget or technical expertise to set up and maintain database servers. For this reason, the Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Express edition is provided with RMS Store Operations so retailers can start with a robust database engine even on desktop PCs. The following are some quick facts on MSDE:

  • SQL 2005 Express database is 100% compatible with Microsoft SQL Server
  • SQL 2005 Express supports only one CPU.
  • There is a 4GB data limit per database—more than adequate for most stores and small chains
  • It contains built-in scaling factors that limit the performance of the MSDE 2000 based on connections and data loads.
  • The SQL Server Express edition supports Microsoft® Microsoft® Windows® XP Pro, Vista Business, and Windows 7 Pro. We do not recommend running RMS on anything less than a XP Pro.

Client Requirements

RMS Store Operations can run on a stand-alone PC or in a networked environment. Any of the following operating systems can be used:

  • Windows XP (all versions) – XP Pro is recommended for all workstations on a peer-to-peer server
  • Windows Vista Business
  • Windows 7 Professional 32-bit or 64-bit (32-bit is recommended for POS register stations to ensure compatibility with POS peripherals)
  • SBS 2003/2008
  • Windows Server 2003/2008