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ACCA
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CBE architectural overview and system requirements
January 2013
2architectural overview example of cbe software installationThe following diagram shows the users, programs in use and the link between these for the operation of CBE.
The following terms describe the elements in the above diagram:
StudentAstudentwhoissittinginfrontofaPCrunningaliveACCAexam
ACCA ExaminerAnapplicationthatisinstalledoneachstudentworkstationthatenablesstudentstositexams
SNASecure Network Administrator;SNAenablesyoutobothmanagestudentaccesstoexamsanduploadexamresults
FileServerServerstoringquestionsandconfigurationfiles
CBEserverinstallationexamfiles,systemconfigurationfilesandstudentexamresults
Onlineadministrationsystemwebsiteusedformanagingexams,thatisaccessedviaastandardwebbrowser.
notes ThefileservermustbeusedtohosttheACCACBEserverfilesforonlyoneCBEcentre.
Theworkstationwiththeonlineadministrationsystemisusedbytheexaminationsco-ordinator/administratorto: registerstudents createaccesstokens runreportsandcheckresults. The online administration system is accessed via a web browser.
TheworkstationwiththeSNAinstallationisusedbytheexaminationsco-ordinator/administratororinvigilatorto: physicallydownloadtheaccesstokens monitorexamactivity uploadtheresultsimmediatelyaftertheexams.
ThediagramaboveshowsSNAandtheonlineadministrationsystemoperatingfromtwodifferentworkstations,however,pleasenotethatthose can operate on the same workstation providing all system requirements are met.
AsSNAonlyoperatesononePC,youmustconsiderthiswhenchoosingthelocationofthisPC,particularlyifyouholdCBEsinmorethanoneroomatyourcentre.ThePCwithSNAneedstobelocatedincloseproximitytotheexamroomstoallowfordownloadanduploadofaccesstokens,plusthemonitoringofexams,duringthesession.
DependingonhowyouwishtosetupyourCBEenvironment,theworkstationcontainingSNAcanresideintheexaminations co-ordinatorsofficeorintheexamroom.
IftheworkstationwithSNAresidesintheexaminationsco-ordinatorsoffice,thismustalwaysbeaccessiblebytheexaminations co-ordinator,administratorsorinvigilators,astheyrequiretodownloadtokensbeforetheexamsanduploadresultsaftertheexams.
TheworkstationwithSNAmustbesecureandpasswordprotected,especiallyifitresidesintheexamroom,asstudentsmustNOTbegiven access to this.
server
file server containingcbe server installation
Student
Examinationsco-ordinator/administrator/
invigilator
Examinationsco-ordinator/administrator
Workstation withACCAExaminer
Workstation withSNA
Workstation with web browser for online
administration system
Workstation withACCAExaminer
Workstation withACCAExaminer
Student Student
cbe centre acca hq
internet
architectural overview
3ThefollowingsystemrequirementsrelatetorunningtheCBEsystem,withSNA.
1 hardware and software requirements for workstation running sna
a Where installation image and results files are stored on the file server (as per the diagram and our recommendation), the workstation runningSNAshouldmeetthefollowingrequirements:
thelatestversionofoneofthefollowingoperatingsystems,keptup-to-datewiththelatestMicrosoftservicepacks:MicrosoftWindows2000,MicrosoftWindowsXPProfessionalEdition,MicrosoftVista(anyedition)orMicrosoftWindows7(anyedition)
Pentium4orequivalent
100MbRAMoverandaboveotherapplicationsrunningconcurrently
50MbavailableharddiskspaceabovetheminimumWindowsrequirements
1024x768,256colourvideocard
onenetworkcardoranothersingleconnectiontotheLAN(multiplenetworkcardswillcausethesoftwaretofail)
apermanentInternetconnection(oratleastwhileSecure Network Administratorisrunningandexamsarebeingheld).Itisarequirement that a broadband connection to the internet is used
wheninstallingthesoftwareyouhaveadministratorrights.InVistaorWindows7,ifUACison,youwillhavetoaskanadministratortoruntheSNAinstaller.
b WhereinstallationimageandresultsfilesarestoredonSNAworkstation(analternativesetup),theworkstationrunningSNAshouldmeet the following requirements:
thelatestversionofoneofthefollowingoperatingsystems,keptup-to-datewiththelatestMicrosoftservicepacks:MicrosoftWindows2000,MicrosoftWindowsXPProfessionalEdition,MicrosoftVista(anyedition)orMicrosoftWindows7
Pentium4orequivalent
100MbRAMoverandaboveotherapplicationsrunningconcurrently
1GbavailableharddiskspaceabovetheminimumWindowsrequirements
1024x768,256colourvideocard
onenetworkcardoranothersingleconnectiontotheLAN(multiplenetworkcardswillcausethesoftwaretofail)
apermanentInternetconnection(oratleastwhileSecure Network Administratorisrunningandexamsarebeingheld).Itisarequirement that a broadband connection to the internet is used
wheninstallingthesoftwareyouhaveadministratorrights.InVistaorWindows7,ifUACison,youwillhavetoaskanadministratortoruntheSNAinstaller.
2 hardware and software requirements for student workstations running ACCA Examiner
The minimum specifications for the student workstations running ACCA Examiner are as follows:
thelatestversionofoneofthefollowingoperatingsystems,andarekeptup-to-datewiththelatestMicrosoftservicepacks:MicrosoftWindows2000orMicrosoftWindowsXPProfessionalEditionorMicrosoftVista(anyedition)
Pentium4orequivalent
100MbRAMoverandaboveotherapplicationsrunningconcurrently
250MbavailableharddiskspaceaboveminimumWindowsrequirements
1024x768,16bithighcolourvideocard
anetworkcardoranothersingleconnectiontotheLAN
printerconnectedtoallworkstationsforstudentstoprintresultsnotificationsimmediatelyaftertheirexam
wheninstallingthesoftwareyouhaveadministratorrights.InVistaorWindows7,ifUACison,youwillhavetoaskanadministratortoruntheSNAinstaller.
exams must only be run on desktop pcs exams must not take place on laptops.
system requirements
43 hardware and software requirements for the File Server
The minimum specifications for the file server is as follows:
anetworksharewith1Gbofavailablespace.Note:AnetworksharecreatedonaWindowsworkstation(ratherthanaWindowsfileserver)doesnotallowforunlimiteduserconnections.ThisrestrictionisimposedbyMicrosoft,andhastheeffectthatonlyamaximumoffiveexamscanberunatthesametime
unlimiteduserconnectionstotheshareisrecommended
onlyMicrosoft-basednetworksmaybeused(Microsoftfileserver2000,2003or2008).
4 requirements for workstations running online administration system
ReliableInternetconnection.
5 network requirements
The minimum network requirements are as follows:
Atleast100Mbpsnetwork
ThestudentworkstationsrunningACCA Examiner,SNAandtheFile Server must all be able to communicate over a network in the same network domain
ExaminerandSNAmustbeabletocommunicateacrossthenetworkusingTCP-IPonport19284. This port must be open and availableinthenetwork.Allcommunicationbetweenworkstationsoverthisportisencrypted.Note:Intheunlikelyeventthatyoucannot use port 19284onyournetwork,ACCAmustbenotifiedwhenyousubmityourlicenceapplication
ThenetworkhastobecapableofresolvinghostnamestothecorrespondingIPaddresses
ThesharedinstallationdirectoryontheFile ServermustbeavailabletotheworkstationsrunningExaminerandSNAwithpermissionsspecified in the installation instructions which will be provided to you
TheworkstationrunningSNArequiresfast,permanentbroadbandInternetaccesswhileSNAisrunningonport443(SSL).Permanentisdefinedasafast(nondial-up)accesswhichreliablystaysopen,egbroadband(seeformulainsection6forcalculatingminimumspeed required)
whilst wireless networks can be used, exams cannot be guaranteed to run without interruptions if the wireless network is not stable (which can be the case). the exam software constantly monitors the network connection and logs any irregularities. if any interruptions occur, the exam is terminated (but can resume when the network problem has been corrected).
Theonlineadministrationprogramisaccessedviaastandardwebbrowser(preferablyMicrosoftInternetExplorerVersion7orabove.Netscape,Firefox,Opera,ChromeandSafariarealsoacceptable).Thisworkstationrequiresfast,permanentInternetaccessthroughport 443(SSL)
NotethattheworkstationrunningSNAandtheworkstationthattheonlineadministrationprogramisaccessedfrommaybethesameworkstation
Adequatefirewallandvirusprotectionmustbeinplaceandmustbeupdatedregularly
Printer.Studentsrequireprinteraccessviathenetworktoallowthemtoprintresultsnotificationsimmediatelyaftertheexams.Theresults notifications will be printed to the default printer.
PleasenotethatyouarepermittedonlyoneinstallationofACCAsSecure Network Administrator program.
InordertodownloadtheCBEsoftwarefromtheonlineadministrationsystem,youmusthaveoneofthefollowingprograms: Winzip8.0orabove;or WindowsXP,VistaorWindows7compressionfacility;or StuffitExpander9.5forWindows Winrar
6 broadband upload speed ThesoftwaredoesnotrelyontheInternetinanywaywhilestudentsareansweringexamquestions.
TheuploadspeedtotheInternetmustbeatleast2KB/secperstudentatthetimeswhen exams are started and exams are finished. To calculatetherequiredspeed(inKB/sec),usethefollowingformula:
upload speed = 2 x number of students
Example:Fivestudentsarestartingorfinishingexamssimultaneously.Uploadspeedmustbeatleast10KB/sec Example:20studentsarestartingorfinishingexamssimultaneously.Uploadspeedmustbeatleast40KB/sec.
WerecommendthatyoucheckyourInternetuploadspeedusingoneofthemanyonlineservicesforthispurposebeforeagreeingthatyour setup meets our minimum requirements.
Asanexample,a1Mbpsbroadbandconnectiontypicallyprovides1Mbit/sdownloadand125Kbit/suploadwhichequalsapproximatelyseven students.