Timemaster Technical Information & Supported Platforms
Database server
Timemaster uses Microsoft SQL Server® for its back-end database. For new installations of Timemaster it is possible to use the Express edition of SQL Server, which is free. Larger installations of Timemaster will require the fully licensed version of SQL Server.
The Express edition has some restrictions. SQL Server 2019 Express is limited to the lesser of one CPU socket or four cores. The maximum memory for the database engine is limited to 1GB and the maximum relational database size is 10GB. However SQL Server 2019 Express has no limits on incoming connections or workload. It comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
Timemaster can also be used with earlier versions of SQL Server, i.e. 2017, 2016, and 2014.
Server hardware requirements
It is difficult to give a definitive guide to server hardware requirements as it depends on what other systems are running on the server (if any) and network speeds. Microsoft publishes minimum hardware specifications for SQL Server, however increasing memory on database servers will always provide better performance and our recommendation is to install a minimum of 4GB RAM on a server and preferably 8GB or more.
Operating systems supported
The full range of operating systems capable of supporting SQL Server 2019 is available from Microsoft. The list below contains the most common operating systems capable of running SQL Server 2019.
- Windows 10 and 11 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Windows 8 and 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Server
Timemaster requires 100MB of disk space.
Disk space for data depends on the numbers of staff, projects, timesheet bookings, etc. It also depends on the amount of information entered on each record and the number of fields left empty. It is therefore very difficult to give an exact figure on the size to which a database will grow. The table below gives an approximation of the table sizes that can be expected:
|
Database table
|
Records
|
Size
|
|
Staff
|
200
|
1.0MB
|
|
Projects
|
1,000
|
2.0MB
|
|
Tasks
|
5,000
|
20.0MB
|
|
Timesheets at an average of six lines/sheet
|
62,400 p.a.
|
80.0MB p.a.
|
|
Invoices
|
1,000 p.a.
|
5.0MB p.a.
|
|
Resource Plans
|
25,000 p.a.
|
12.0MB p.a.
|
|
Audit Trails
|
10,000 p.a.
|
10.0MB p.a.
|
|
Static Codes
|
|
10.0MB
|
|
Summary tables for reporting
|
|
10.0MB
|
|
Sub-total
|
|
150.0MB
|
|
Annual increase
|
|
107.0MB
|
|
Total after five years
|
|
578.0MB
|
Ideally, Timemaster will be given its own disk partition. It can share a disk with other applications, but system partitions should be separate.
In addition to the above size, it is recommended that at least 500MB is available for temporary tables and working space for SQL Server.
Web server
Timemaster's web server software runs on Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). The requirements for the web server software are:
- A server running a Windows Server operating system (not a workstation operating system – see note below)
- Internet Information Services
- .NET 4.8 (not the compact version)
Please note that if you use the personal IIS version available with non-server operating systems such as Windows 7 or Windows 8, you will be limited to ten concurrent connections. To support more users, IIS must be installed on a server operating system.
Windows client
The minimum specification for a user workstation running the Timemaster Windows client is a Pentium III compatible class processor with at least 2Gb of Memory and screen resolution of 1280 x 800.
The only installation requirement at the client workstation is MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components), version 2.8 or above and Crystal Reports run-time files (download). MDAC is normally pre-installed on all current operating systems. The Crystal Reports files are provided as part of the standard installation of Timemaster. The installation consumes around 80MB of disk space. Running reports requires temporary files to be created on the client workstation, so a minimum of 1GB disk space is recommended.
Web client
The Timemaster web client is tested for compatibility with the latest versions of Internet Explorer and Chrome with minimum screen resolution of 1280 x 800. In practice, it usually runs without issue on older versions of these browsers below, and on other browsers, across both Windows and other platforms.
Desktop browsers
 |
Microsoft New Edge 104+
|
 |
Google Chrome 104+
|
 |
Mozilla Firefox 104+ |
 |
Safari 6+ on Apple iOS
|