2.1 Novell Service Desk Requirements

The following sections list the Novell Service Desk requirements:

2.1.1 Server Requirements

The server where you install Novell Service Desk must meet the following requirements:

Item

Requirements

Server Usage

Your server might be capable of handling tasks in addition to the tasks expected for Novell Service Desk. However, we recommend that any server where you install the Novell Service Desk software be used only for service desk purposes.

For example, you would not want the server to do the following:

  • Host Novell eDirectory / Active Directory

  • Be a terminal server

  • Be a GroupWise / Exchange server

  • Be an SQL Server

Operating System

Windows:

  • Windows Server 2008 SP1/SP2 64-bit (Enterprise and Standard editions)

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 /R2 SP1 64-bit (Enterprise and Standard editions)

  • Windows Server 2012 64-bit (Enterprise and Standard editions)

Linux:

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 and 12 SP1/SP2 64-bit

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0/6.1/6.2/ 6.5 64-bit

Processor

Minimum: Pentium IV 2.8 GHz (x86 and x86_64), or equivalent AMD or Intel processor

RAM

2 GB minimum; 4 GB recommended

Disk Space

5 GB minimum for installing; 10 GB recommended for running. Depending on the amount of content you store as attachments, this number can vary greatly.

Display resolution

1024 × 768 with 256 colors minimum

Hostname Resolution

Server names must support DNS requirements, such as not having underscores in their names. Acceptable characters are the letters a-z (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and the hyphen (-).

The server must be able to resolve its own hostname to its IP address by using a method such as DNS or an entry in the hosts file.

IP Address

The server must have a static IP address or a permanently leased DHCP address.

An IP address must be bound to all NICs on your target server.

The installation hangs if it is trying to use a NIC that does not have an IP address bound to it.

JDK/JRE

Sun 64 bit JDK 1.7 and 8.

Firewall Settings: TCP Ports

Port 80 is the non-secure port.

Port 443 is the secure port.

Virtual Machine Environments

The Novell Service Desk software can also be installed on virtual machines running any of the above mentioned operating systems.

2.1.2 Database Requirements

Novell Service Desk requires an external database to function. The database must meet the following requirements:

Item

Requirements

Database Version

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SP3, 2008 R2 SP1 and higher

  • MySQL v5.0 to v5.6

  • Oracle 12c R1/R2

  • PostgreSQL v8.3 to v9.1

TCP Ports

The database server must allow communication on the database port. For MS SQL, make sure to configure static ports for the database server.

The default ports are:

  • 1433 for MS SQL

  • 3306 for MySQL

  • 5432 for PostgresSQL

  • 1521 for Oracle

IMPORTANT:You can change the default port number if you have a conflict. However, you must make sure that the port is opened for the Novell Service Desk to talk to the database.

WAN

The Novell Service Desk server and the database must reside on the same network segment. If they are separated by a WAN, this configuration is not supported.

Default Character Set

UTF-8 character set.

Collation

Make sure that the database is case insensitive before setting it up.

Database User

When you create a user account to be used by Novell Service Desk to communicate to its database, ensure the following:

  • For MS SQL, the user account requires the DBO privilege

  • For Oracle, the user account requires ACCESS_ANY_WORKSPACE, CREATE_ANY_WORKSPACE, UNLIMITED TABLESPACE, CONNECT, and RESOURCE

    NOTE:Create a separate user account for Novell Service Desk.It is recommended not to create Novell Service Desk objects under SYSDBA or System account.

All databases must use password-based authentication. Integrated authentication with Active Directory or eDirectory is not supported.

Database Settings

Regardless of the SQL environment, the database sizing must have a minimum of 10 MB for data and 5 MB for the associated transaction log. It is advisable to let these grow as needed unless you want to spend time directly managing them. If you think you will log large numbers of cases with Novell Service Desk, start with larger sizes.

Database Schema

When you use a browser to connect to Novell Service Desk for the first time after installation, you can choose the desired database type. You are also provided with a script to create the schema. For more information on the schema creation, see Section 3.3, Creating the Schema.