McIDAS-V should run on any platform that fully supports Java and Java 3D. It has been tested on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. AIX and IRIX support the requirements in certain configurations, but have not been tested.
To run McIDAS-V, a system will need to have a minimum of a 500 MHz processor and 512 MB of RAM free. However, if you are purchasing a new system, it is recommended that an Intel system running McIDAS-V have at least a 2 GHz processor and 4 GB memory (RAM). Please note that Java on 32 bit operating systems can only utilize 1536 MB, while 64 bit operating systems can utilize all of the available memory. Performance will be better with faster processors and more memory. We have seen the best results with NVIDIA hardware and drivers.
Detailed requirements for the following are listed below:
The chart below lists the software versions, by vendor, that McIDAS-V is known to run on, and that McIDAS User Services tests:
OS |
Known to Work |
Tested at SSEC (1) |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Red Hat Linux 4.0+ |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 5.7 (32 bit) Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 6.1 (64 bit) |
| Mac OS X(2) | Mac OS X 10.6+ | Mac OS X 10.6 Mac OS X 10.7 Mac OS X 10.8 |
| Windows | Windows XP, Vista, 7 | Windows XP with Service Pack 3 Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 Windows 7 Enterprise |
Notes:
(1)The local ADDE servers are distributed as binaries compiled only on these Operating System versions. If you are running versions other than those listed, the local ADDE servers may not work and give you an error message that the "Local Server is not running".
(2)Due to changes in the requirements of the netCDF package, McIDAS-V requires Java 1.6. Some Mac OS X systems do not support Java 1.6 and thus are unable to run McIDAS-V. These include:
- All with PPC processors
- Intel Core Solo and Core Duo running OS X 10.5 or earlier
McIDAS-V works on systems with graphics cards that support OpenGL (all systems) and Direct-X (version 8.0+, Windows only). On Linux, the driver must support GLX, an X windows system extension to OpenGL programs. McIDAS-V also works on systems with stereo graphics cards. We have seen the best results with NVIDIA hardware and drivers, and with the display configuration set to a high screen resolution and the maximum number of colors.
McIDAS-V utilizes the latest developments in graphics cards, drivers and Java3D. If you encounter any problems with system instability (such as using all of the memory or CPU on your machine, or frequent software crashes) or unusual data displays with "torn" or "gray" images, you should make sure you have the latest driver for your system. Even if the system is brand new, the driver may not be the most recent version available.
Please Note: We have received reports of McIDAS-V failing to start (i.e., the windows never appear) on some systems using integrated graphics chipsets, including:
- Intel GMA 4500MHD
- Intel GM965
- ATI Radeon X300 family (including X550, X1050 and R300)
To determine the brand and driver information of your graphics card, follow the guides for each platform below:
Once you have determined your graphics card brand and driver information, check the manufacturers web page for information on their updated versions. Here are links to some of the most common graphic card Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM):
McIDAS-V is packaged with the following versions included:
Versions Included with McIDAS-V |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
JRE (Java Runtime Environment) |
Java3D |
JOGL (Java OpenGL) |
|
| Linux(1) | 1.6.0 |
1.5.2 |
n/a |
| Mac OS X | included with Mac OS X(2) |
1.5.2 |
1.1.1 |
| Windows(3) | 1.6.0 |
1.5.2 |
n/a |
| other unix | none |
none |
n/a |
The necessary versions of the JRE, Java3D and JOGL are included with the Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows installers. On other platforms, you will need to install Java and Java3D before installing McIDAS-V. If other platforms fully support Java version 1.6+ and Java 3D version 1.3.1+ (e.g. AIX, IRIX), they should also work, but have not been tested.
Notes:
(1)The version of the Mesa library that comes with Red Hat Linux may be incompatible with Java 3D packaged with McIDAS-V. If you experience X server crashes when exiting McIDAS-V, you will need to build and install Mesa from source available at http://www.mesa3d.org.
(2)To find and/or update your default Java version, follow these steps:(3)You must have DirectX version 8.0+ installed on your Windows system if you use the DirectX rendering mode of Java 3D (the default is to use OpenGL).
- Open the "Java Preferences" application located in /Applications/Utilities
- Look for "Java SE 6" in the "Java Applications" section
- The version at the top of the "Java Applications" list is the version being used by McIDAS-V. If "Java SE 6" is not at the top of the list, click and drag it to the top of the list (using the 64-bit option, if available). If "Java SE 6" is not in the "Java Applications" list, you may need to manually run the Software Update feature in the Apple Menu.
McIDAS-V can be demanding of hardware speed and memory depending on the size of the datasets you wish to work with. It is recommended that the system have a minimum of 512 MB of RAM free for McIDAS-V use. Performance is significantly better with 1 GB RAM or more. Please note that 32 bit Java Runtime Environments (JRE) can utilize a maximum of 1536 MB RAM, while 64 bit JREs can utilize all of the RAM available to the operating system (64 bit OS required).
The recommended processor speed will vary by platform. You can run on a system as slow as 500 MHz or even less, but response will be correspondingly reduced. In general, the faster the processor, and the more memory your system has, the better the performance will be.
For reasonable performance, it is recommended that an Intel system running McIDAS-V have at least a 2 GHz processor and 4 GB memory (RAM). Performance will be even better with faster processors and more memory.
McIDAS-V is designed to access data on remote servers on the Internet, as well as from local files. Downloading data from remote servers benefits from a fast connection to the Internet, since many data fields are large.