iFIX 2023 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® 11 Professional or Enterprise Edition.
    • Microsoft® Windows® 10 (64-bit) Professional or Enterprise Edition.
    • Microsoft® Windows® 10 IoT Enterprise with LTSC enabled. Use of iFIX for IoT is further restricted by the iFIX Terms and Conditions, please see the iFIX Terms and Conditions 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.
  • 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 Microsoft 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 the I/O driver you purchase is compatible with your hardware and operating system. For example, if the driver is not supported on a specific operating system, then you cannot use this driver with iFIX running on that operating system. For more information on iFIX supported drivers and operating systems, refer to the GE Digital support web site at: http://ge-ip.force.com/communities/.
  • If using VisiconX and Proficy Historian, you must install the Proficy Historian OLE DB driver.
  • If using the Plant Applications Dynamos in iFIX pictures, Microsoft Office 365 Pro plus v16.0.12527.21104 or v16.0.4266.X is required.
  • 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.
  • To run the iFIX Plug-in for Configuration Hub, the following browsers are supported:
    • 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 the 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.

  • 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, Gigabit-Ethernet cards (or better) are required for Data Sync Transport communication. When using UDP, a dedicated card is required for Data Sync Transport communication. When using TCP, one card can be used for both iFIX and Data Sync Transport communication, although two are strongly recommended to avoid slower updates of data and alarms on clients. When using a network card dedicated for Data Sync Transport communication, it should be disabled as an available LAN Redundancy Path under the Advanced section of your Network Configuration. Additionally, the card dedicated for Data Sync Transport communication should be the only card enabled under SCADA Configuration's Data Sync Transport Options. 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, when using UDP, 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, when using UDP, the Primary and Secondary SCADA computers must be located physically next to each other, in the same location/room.
  • For Enhanced Failover, when using UDP, 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.
  • SVGA or better color monitor with a 24-bit (16,777,216 colors) graphics card capable of at least 1024x768 resolution. For Configuration Hub, is recommended to use a display setting at 1920x1080 or better, with scaling set to 100%.
  • Two-button mouse or compatible pointing device (such as a touch screen) that is capable of opening 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. For Configuration Hub, is recommended to use a display setting at 1920x1080 or better, with scaling set to 100%.
  • Two-button mouse or compatible pointing device (such as a touch screen) that is capable of opening 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, third-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 2023 product:

Product Required Version
Batch Execution 5.6.
CIMPLICITY 2022, 2023
Note: iFIX continues to support accessing CIMPLCITY data through OPC DA and OPC Alarms and Event.
Configuration Hub 2022, 2023
Proficy Authentication 2022, 2023
Operations Hub 2022 SP1, 2023
Historian

9.1, 2022, 2023

Note: If you are using VisiconX with Historian, you must install the Historian OLE DB driver.
MQTT OPCUA Translator 2023
Plant Applications Dynamos 2022 SP1, 2023
Task List 2.6 SP1, with latest SIM
Workflow 2.6 SP1, with latest SIM
Webspace

6.0, 6.2/2023

Note: When configured for WebSpace, none of the iFIX SCUs on the WebSpace Server should be configured to start iFIX as service, as this is an unsupported configuration.
Win911 4.20.10
DreamReport 2020 for Proficy
IGS 7.612 or later
Note: For a list of supported operating systems, refer to IGS article id 000004780 on https://digitalsupport.ge.com/ with the latest downloads and information on the IGS driver.
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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