The system requirements for fSeries vary depending on the platform used. fSeries is based on the Microsoft .NET 6 Core framework, which can run on a variety of environments and platforms including standalone server, VPS, or cloud-based services such as Microsoft Azure.

An fSeries installation is based on two main components:

• Website
• Microsoft SQL Server back-end database

fSeries requires a SQL Server database to be available for the application. This may be on a SQL cluster, held in the cloud, or locally. fSeries can be used with SQL Server Express, no additional functionality is required. SQL Server 2014 or later can be used.

Release notes for version 4 of fSeries can be viewed here.

• Processor: 1Ghz
• RAM: 512Mb
• Application Disk Space Required: 530Mb
• Database Disk Space Required: 150Mb

This does not take into account the requirement for .NET 6 Core Runtime, or SQL Server

• Processor: 2Ghz
• RAM: 3.5Gb
• Application Disk Space Required: 530Mb
• Database Disk Space Required: 150Mb
• SSL Certificate deployed to the fSeries website

This does not take into account the requirement for .NET 6 Core Runtime, or SQL Server

• Processor: 2Ghz+ Dual/Quad Core
• RAM: 8Gb
• Minimum Disk Space Required: 120Gb
• SSL Certificate deployed to the fSeries website

The recommended specification includes accounting for Windows including .NET 6 Core Runtime, SQL Server and the Application

fSeries can be hosted in the cloud, pointing to a cloud-based SQL Server Database. An example of Azure-based services includes:

• Minimum Platform: D1 VM / S1 Service Plan
• Recommended Platform: D2 VM / S2 Service Plan or above

fSeries requires the .NET 6 Runtime stack

fSeries communicates with the database via an ODBC connection string which can be configured within the application.config file, within IIS, or on Azure via the application configuration settings.

A user account must be configured within SQL Server - this can be a user with sufficient information to read, write, and make table/column changes. Trusted connections are supported.

fSeries manages its own table design through the application via Entity Framework. Therefore no administrative access is required to the database in order to create and update tables, or set up the database in the first instance.

In order for template designers to create document templates using fDocs, an add-on for Microsoft Word is available.

The add-on can be deployed on a per-user basis, or through Centralised Deployment. This is compatible with Microsoft Word 2016 (16.0.6769+) or later, or Office 365 (desktop and online).

The machine using Microsoft Word must have an Internet connection available in order to upload document templates (held as .DOCX files) via the add-on to the fSeries server, and the server website must have a suitable SSL certificate deployed.

End users require a chromium-based Internet browser, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or others. Safari is also supported.

In order to open generated documents, they may need a suitable DOCX or PDF document reader. Similarly, for generated spreadsheets or CSV outputs, they may need a suitable XLSX or CSV reader.

fSeries supports authenticating users via a variety of methods. These include:

• Forms (username/password manual entry)
• LDAP
• Azure AD
• Azure B2C
• Auth0

fSeries connects to third party data sources in order to combine data for reporting. fSeries can connect via a variety of methods:

• ODBC (using connection string or DSN)
• OLE (using connection string)
• API
• Microsoft Dynamics
• LDAP
• fSeries Plugins referring to third-party client libraries

In order to connect to some database formats such as Oracle, Postgres, Microsoft Access/Excel and others, suitable client-side drivers may need to be installed to the server on which fSeries is based. This can include Oracle ODAC, Microsoft MDAC, PostgreSQL, and others. Consideration should be taken for the systems you wish to connect fSeries to.

In addition, depending on where the databases sit, or whether the API resides, you may need to make firewall and/or VPN adjustments depending on your environment.

In Azure-based scenarios, you may use Azure Hybrid Connections in order to reach databases held on-premises.

There are two areas in fSeries where the application may need to contact end users:

• If you are using Forms to authenticate users and need to inform them of password changes
• You have purchased the Processes module and wish to use it to email user notifications

In these cases fSeries uses SMTP credentials that are configured through the application.config file. You must therefore have an SMTP server or SMTP relay available. SMTP-AUTH, SSL, and anonymous relay are all supported.

There are a number of areas in fSeries which support integration with third party services. Common ones include:

• fMaps, which are powered by Microsoft Azure. You will need to obtain an Azure Maps licence key, see here for more information.
• Chat-GPT integration. You can obtain a suitable OpenAI licence key here.

These keys can be added to the Settings page within fAdmin.