EMIS Web Hardware & Software Requirements

This document details the recommended minimum hardware/ software requirements in order to run the EMIS Web application independent of other applications running

1.    Purpose of this article

This document details the recommended minimum hardware/ software requirements in order to run the EMIS Web application independent of other applications running (See Section 2.1.2 Calculating Memory Requirements for third-party Applications).

It is an important document and should be utilised to help regional and local IT teams to specify PCs that have sufficient resources. It also provides the latest information on unsupported third-party applications (see section 4 for more details).

When necessary, EMIS may update this document to reflect new technological advances in hardware or software capabilities and to reflect changing requirements of EMIS Applications.

2.    EMIS Web Client requirements

2.1   Key information

1. It is the responsibility of the regional and/or local IT teams to specify PCs that have sufficient resources to run the applications that are required
2. TheEMISWebhardware specification includesrecommended minimum requirements to run the application independent of other applications running (See Section 2.1 Calculating Memory Requirements for third­ party Applications)
3. Newly released EMIS technologies (e.g. EMIS-X Assistant, Local Services) are 64-bit compatible and will benefit from greater RAM available.

Future roadmap

1. EMIS Web is currently a 32-bit application and as such is limited to 4 A 64-bit update is planned for the main application in 2023 or earlier, which will enable greater utilisation of memory.
2. Newly released and forthcoming EMIS technologies (e.g. EMIS-X components) are 64-bit compatible - this will continue to be released over time and identified in release notes. This document will be updated

2.2   EMIS Web client hardware specification *

 

Operating Systems	Windows 11 Professional	Windows 10 Professional (64-bit)
Required.NET version	.NET4.8
Processor	Intel Core i3 (6th Generation) equivalent or higher
Hard disk	10% free disk space (minimum 10GB) SSD
Memory	EMIS recommends at least 8GB RAM dedicated to EMIS Web (32-bit) and its other (64-bit) components. This provides a level of future proofing as more of these components move to 64-bit, however, any additional applications installed and in use will result in an increase in the RAM required on the PC (see section 2.2.1).
Display/monitor	Minimum resolution of 1024 x 768. For the best experience, EMIS recommends one or two widescreen monitors with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 or higher. Higher resolutions may be more appropriate, depending on the size of the screen being used.

* If you intend to use EMIS Mobile and EMIS Web on the same device, please see the EMIS Mobile specification.

Touch screens & On-Screen Keyboard (OSK) functionality is not supported on Windows 11 or Windows 10 devices.

 

2.2.1    Calculating memory requirements

It is the responsibility of the regional and/or local IT teams to specify PCs that have sufficient resources to run the applications that are required locally.

The installation of third-party applications such as Microsoft Office, Partner Products and anti-malware will consume memory resources on the target machine, which may affect performance.

The total amount of available resources required by all applications including EMIS Web should be taken into consideration when hardware procurement decisions are being made.

Information on the requirements for some of the more commonly installed Applications are given below in addition to EMIS Web:

Application	Recommended memory requirements *	Link to hardware requirements
Windows 10 64-bit	2GB	Windows 10
Office 2019	4GB	Microsoft Office
Microsoft Teams	4GB	Microsoft Teams
Docman	2GB	Docman
Ardens	1 GB	Ardens

*As at July 2022

This list is not exhaustive and is subject to change by third parties. CPU and other hardware specifications should also be considered. Please consult the third-party supplier websites for individual requirements - it is the responsibility of regional and local IT services to roadmap and plan hardware lifecycle.

2.2.2    Quality of Service

In a similar fashion to a home broadband connection, there are many services competing for the finite amount of network bandwidth that is available within a modern practice.

Quality of service (QoS) is a technique employed to maximise network bandwidth by controlling and managing network resources, as well as setting priorities for specific types of data. An example could be the prioritisation of video calling over e-mail traffic.

NHS Digital has applied this technique to the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN). NHS Digital is also responsible for setting the QoS Policy. This determines which data types get priority during times of congestion.

For more information detailing the NHS Digital QoS policy, please consult the NHS Digital website.       

2.3 EMIS Web and Virtual Desktop specification

                                                                                                                                      

EMIS supports customers who wish to benefit from a VDI implementation for their EMIS Web users. Due to the wide variety of potential configurations, EMIS requires customers to undertake a technical consultation about their particular requirements in order to ensure an agreed approach, which will be signed off by both parties.

Currently EMIS Web is supported on persistent virtual desktop configurations only; we are reviewing the application on an on-going basis to provide virtual application support in the future. For more information on this, please contact your local EMIS Web representative.

Operating Systems	Windows 10 Professional
Required.NET version	.NET4.8
Processor	2 vCPU's
Hard disk	At least 10GB free disk space
Memory	Minimum 4GB Start-up Memory with ability to expand to 8GB dedicated to EMIS Web

2.3.1    Partners and VDI

The EMIS Web Partner API is compatible with a VDI solution however; it is also possible that some partner software will rely on technology that is not compatible with the VDI environment. We recommend you contact any third-party provider for clarification.

2.4   EMIS Web Client Software License requirements

The customer must ensure that all software client licensing requirements for products used are met.

2.5   Anti-virus solution

An enterprise-class antivirus solution is required to be installed with vendor recommended configuration, and maintained on all EMIS Web Clients and Spokes.

2.6   NHS Digital Warranted Environment Specification (WES)

The EMIS Web Client and connectivity to NHS Spine Services is only supported by software version defined in the NHS Digital Warranted Environment Specification (WES) Update Version 3.2020.

The latest version of the NHS Digital WES can be downloaded from the NHS Digital website.

2.7   NHS Identity Agent

EMIS Web has been tested and is compliant with the following versions of the NHS Identity Agent:

• NHS Digital IA 3.0.0
• NHS Digital IA 2.3.9
• NHS Digital IA 2.3.7
• NHS Digital IA 2

2.8   Desktop Office Suite compatibility

EMIS Web is compatible with:

• Microsoft Office 2013 (all editions)
• Microsoft Office 2016 (all editions)
• Microsoft 365 (Desktop Versions Only)
• LibreOffice 4.6.2

More information regarding LibreOffice compatibility with EMIS Web is available here.

Statement on Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 has a number of derivatives, including:

• Microsoft N365 **
• Microsoft Office 365
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard
• Microsoft 365 Apps for Business/Enterprise

EMIS Web only supports desktop versions of these products.

** Owing to a new licensing agreement, NHS organisations in England can now access the Microsoft 365 product suite. More information is available on the NHS Digital website.

Clipboard management applications

Some clipboard management applications operate by maintaining exclusive use of the Windows clipboard. This action makes them incompatible with EMIS Web, and are therefore not supported. One example of this is Ditto which is available from the Microsoft Store.

3 Spoke Servers

A Spoke server implementation provides a patch distribution system for client updates and acts as a local cache. This means that your chosen spoke server should have enough resilience to ensure that, in the event of a failure, it can be recovered efficiently.

All attachments are stored centrally on the NHS Digital accredited hosted environment managed by EMIS. The local Spoke provides a valuable function within your organisation, by providing a local cache for patient records, business continuity, a repository for client patches and a document cache. It is always recommended to have a Spoke at each location, as this will provide the

maximum benefit when all of the additional services such as Document Caching and Business Continuity are activated.

EMIS recommends that your spoke is a dedicated device; however, if you use your spoke to perform other functions, such as act as a domain controller, store business documents or host other applications, then a Windows Server

operating system will be required, along with an appropriate specification of server hardware for the purposes defines locally. It is the responsibility of the regional and/or local IT teams to specify hardware that have sufficient resources to run the applications that are required locally.

Customers who wish to use their EMIS Web spokes with over 100 clients, or require hosting for more than one organisation on the same spoke, should consult with EMIS first for the best technical specification.

The Spoke requires hard disk space reserving for functionality such as attachment document caching, business continuity, local cache framework and EMIS Web system files. For each organisation or location sharing a spoke, 30GB of free space must be made available.

3.1    EMIS Web spoke requirements for a single organisation

 

Operating systems	Windows 8.1 Professional & above  Windows 10 Professional & above	Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Server 2016
Hardware Level	Desktop class system	Server class system
Required .NET version	.NET 4.8
Processor	Intel Core i3 (6th generation) equivalent or higher
Hard disk	At least 30GB free disk space
RAID level	Not required	RAID 1 (mirrored)
Memory (minimum)	8 GB RAM dedicated to EMIS Web (excludes operating system)
Number Of Clients	Up to 25	Up to 100
Other (Used for Business Continuity, care recording & local document cache)	Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Express	Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Express
Options	N/A	Additional RAID 5 disk redundancy.

3.3 Support for your spoke

EMIS offer a variety of Connectivity Packs to support your Spoke; Connectivity maintenance lite, Connectivity maintenance, Connectivity maintenance premium.

To arrange cover for your Spoke via a connectivity pack please contact your EMIS Representative or EMIS Customer Fulfilment on 0330 024 1276.

If none of these packages are purchased then it is the responsibility of the local IT to ensure effective support and available hardware to run spoke services.

Where Spoke services are managed and maintained by EMIS, no additional software should be loaded onto the spoke server provided.

3.4   EMIS Spoke Software License requirements

The customer must ensure that all software client licensing requirements for products used are met.

3.5   Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)

A UPS is required to ensure that the spoke can be shut down safely in the event of a power failure. The power rating of the UPS should be directly proportional to the power consumption of the attached devices and must be powerful enough to run the system for 20 minutes during a mains power failure; during this time, the system will be automatically shut down safely.

As most organisations have the Business Continuity service installed and configured on their Spoke it is recommended that at least one computer, any internal network devices and the HSCN routers be protected by a UPS. Consequently, even in the event of a total power failure, it will still be possible to access basic functions such as the appointment book and a read-only copy of the medical record.

For further information, please contact your EMIS Representative or EMIS Customer Fulfilment on 0330 024 1276.

4    End of Life products

The following products will no longer be officially supported by EMIS after the dates specified below.

Hardware/Software	Version	End of support
Microsoft Windows XP	All	14 April 2009
Microsoft Office Professional 2007	SP3	10 October 2017
Microsoft Windows Server 2003	All	14 July 2015
Microsoft Windows Server 2008	All	20 January 2020
Microsoft SQL Server 2008	All	9 July 2019
Microsoft Office 2010	All	13 October 2020
Microsoft Windows 7	All	14 January 2020

The following products will reach the end of their life cycle on the dates given below and at such point will stop being supported by EMIS:

Hardware/Software	Version	End of support
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional	SP1	10 January 2023
Microsoft Office 2013	All	11 April 2023
Microsoft Office 2016	All	14 October 2025
Windows 10 Professional	All	14 October 2025
Microsoft SQL 2016 Express	SP2	14 July 2026
Windows Server 2012 inc R2	ESU Year 3	13 October 2026
Windows Server 2016	All	12 January 2027

5    Peripherals

5.1   Printers

All Windows compatible printers are expected to work with EMIS Web.

Prescription printers should be capable of handling single cut sheet prescription paper, which is approximately A5/86 size and weighs 60 g/m2•

The printer must have the correct drivers, supplied by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), for use with the relevant operating system.

For security purposes, EMIS recommends printers that have an enclosed paper tray or cassette, to deter opportunist thieves from stealing the cut sheet prescription paper.

5.2   Scanners

All Windows USS compatible scanners are expected to work with EMIS Web.

EMIS Web has a Scanning module that is compatible with USB devices, so any scanner that works directly with a USB driver should be accessible from EMIS Web.

5.3   Barcode scanners

The EMIS Web dispensing module has been tested and is compatible with the following range of barcode scanners:

Manufacturer	Model
Datalogic	Heron D130
Honeywell	Voyager9540

6    Post-installation information

6.1   Permissions

Following the installation of EMIS Web, you need full read and write permissions over the following folders and their child objects:

• C:\ProgramData\SDS
• C:\ProgramData\EMIS
• C:\Users\<Your Username>\Desktop\

This is in order to maintain the EMIS Web BC Mode and EMIS Product Manager shortcuts.

6.2   Network requirements

Parts of the EMIS Web system currently rely on UDP to update client screens when local changes are made to data that is being viewed on multiple clients simultaneously.

In order for this to work all the clients and spoke must be on the same subnet. If this is not possible some EMIS Web functionality will not work. For more information on this please contact your local EMIS Web representative.

7    Contact EMIS

For further information, please contact your EMIS Representative or EMIS Customer Fulfilment on 0330 024 1276.

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