MicroStation CONNECT Edition System Requirements

	Product:	MicroStation
	Version:	CONNECT
	Environment:	N\A
	Area:	FAQ
	Subarea:	N\A

NOTE: This is accurate as of the date it was published. Advancements in technology may supersede what is identified below. Please refer to this article's history for changes and updates.

Overview

This document outlines the minimum system configuration for installation and minimum recommended workstation profile for running MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

This information can also be found in the "Readme" file of MicroStation CONNECT Edition, which can be downloaded here: MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 3 Readme
or in the installed MicroStation CONNECT Edition by selecting File > Help > Readme.

Installation Requirements

A CD drive or access to the Internet is required for product installation. The minimum system configuration for installation is:

Supported Operating Systems	Windows 10 (64-bit) - Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education Windows 8 (64-bit) - Standard, Pro, and Enterprise Windows 8.1 (64-bit) - Standard, Pro, and Enterprise Windows 7 SP1 (64-bit) - Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate Windows Server 2016 (64 bit) Windows Server 2012 (64 bit) Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1(64 bit) - Standard and Enterprise Note: Windows 7 operating system is supported only if you have its service pack (SP1) installed. Bentley does not support its software running on Microsoft operating systems versions that Microsoft has "retired". For more information see Microsoft's application retirement policy and the Bentley Application Support Lifecycle.
Internet	Internet connectivity is required to use some of the features of the product and installation of software pre-requisites, if not already installed on the machine.
Communications Protocols	Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)
Virtualized Environments	Citrix XenApp 7.6 64 bits on Windows server 2012 R2 or Windows server 2008 R2 Sp1. Citrix XenApp 7.8 64-bit on Windows Server 2008 R2 (for MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 3) Note: Check on Readme file of the version you have, for exact environment version, since this will change from version to version.
Software Prerequisites	The Prerequisites for Bentley Desktop Applications are automatically downloaded and installed to your workstation while you install MicroStation. The contents of the Prerequisites for Bentley Desktop Applicationsinclude: Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications core Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications localized Microsoft Internet Explorer, minimum v8.0, recommended v9.0 or later, with 128-bit cipher strength is also required. It is not installed as part of the product pre-requisites. Copyrights in all components are owned by Microsoft Corporation or one of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or licensors.
Supported Databases	The database versions supported by MicroStation are subject to updating after the product release. You can search for MicroStation CONNECT Supported Databases for the latest information.

Minimum Profile

The minimum recommended workstation profile for running MicroStation CONNECT Edition is:

Processor	Intel® or AMD® processor 1.0 GHz or greater. MicroStation is not supported on a CPU that does not support SSE2.
Memory	4 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended. More memory almost always improves performance, particularly when working with larger models.
Hard Disk	9 GB free disk space (which includes the 5.6 GB install footprint for a complete installation)
Video	See the graphics card manufacturer for latest information on DirectX drivers. 512 MB of video RAM or higher is recommended. If insufficient video RAM or no graphics card supported by DirectX can be found, MicroStation attempts to use software emulation. For optimal performance, graphics display color depth should be set to 24-bit or higher. When using a color depth setting of 16-bit, some inconsistencies will be noted.
Screen Resolution	1024 x 768 or higher.

Graphics Card Support

Below is list of current generation Graphic Cards that have been tested to work with MicroStation CONNECT Edition in addition to these cards the previous generation cards that work with MicroStation V8i SS4 will also work fine. That list can be found here MicroStation V8i Requirements note that for best performance we recommend the newer cards listed below for CONNECT Edition, LumenRT and ContextCapture Products.

Make	Card number	Tested for	Recommended
NVIDIA	P600 P1000 P2000 P3200	MicroStation CONNECT Edition LumenRT ContextCapture	P3200 and above when working with LumenRT and ContextCapture
NVIDIA	P3200 P4000 P5000 P6000 RTX6000 GP100 GV100	MicroStation CONNECT Edition LumenRT ContextCapture	For High end visualization, Path Trace* rendering, ContextCapture, and LumenRT VR
AMD Radeon Pro	WX2100 WX3100 WX4100 WX5100 WX7100	MicroStation CONNECT Edition LumenRT ContextCapture	WX7100 and higher for LumenRT and ContextCapture
	WX7100 WX8200 WX9100	MicroStation CONNECT Edition LumenRT ContextCapture	For High end visualization, Path Trace* rendering, ContextCapture, and LumenRT VR

*Note: e-on VUE Path Tracer will be included in a future release of MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

Before You Start

When installing or uninstalling this product, you must be logged on with Administrator rights.
It is highly recommended that you close any programs and disable any antivirus software that is running prior to the installation of this software. Be sure to turn on your antivirus software when you are finished.
MicroStation CONNECT Edition is designed so it can be installed and safely coexist on the same workstation as an existing MicroStation V8i or MicroStation V8 XM Edition commercial release. It will not attempt to upgrade or uninstall the existing commercial release, and by default it installs its program and configuration files to different locations than the other commercial release. When you install MicroStation CONNECT Edition it creates the registry entries responsible for file associations. If you do not want this to happen, during installation, in the Select Features to install list, turn off the File Association check box. MicroStation CONNECT Edition also creates the registry keys for VBA-initiated launching. Windows architecture allows for only one program to own these registry keys and the existing MicroStation V8i or MicroStation V8 XM Edition Commercial Release should continue to function normally by default.
If you installed MicroStation V8i and MicroStation CONNECT Edition on the same workstation and then uninstalled MicroStation V8i, you must run the Repair tool to make sure the registry and file associations are correct. Note: If you used Microsoft's program to uninstall, the Repair tool will work correctly. However, if you used a third-party's product to uninstall, it may have removed files needed by MicroStation. For the procedure to repair MicroStation, refer to the topic To Repair MicroStation.
MicroStation CONNECT Edition will not install if any technology preview (Â“betaÂ”) release of MicroStation CONNECT Edition already exists on the machine. You will have to uninstall the technology preview (Â“betaÂ”) release before installing MicroStation. You should always back up your data prior to installation.
When you install MicroStation CONNECT Edition , the following applications are installed with it:
- Product Documentation
- Example WorkSpace
- Visualization Content
- CONNECTION client
- Bentley DGN IFilter
- Bentley DGN Index Service
- Bentley DGN Preview Handler
- Bentley DGN Thumbnail Provider
- HDR Preview Handler
- Bentley i-model ODBC Driver
- Bentley DgnDb i-model Importer 1.5 (64 bit)
Examples WorkSpace contains optional downloadable examples, selected to install by default. Unselecting will avoid download of these examples.
Visualization content in the form of ready-to-render cell libraries is selected to install by default.
The Bentley DGN Reader for Windows 7 is an application that can be downloaded from Bentley iWare section on http://www.bentley.com/en-us/free+software/. When you install this application on your system, the following applications are installed along with it:
- Bentley DGN IFilter
- Bentley DGN Preview Handler
- Bentley DGN Thumbnail Provider
Bentley DGN Thumbnail Provider is required to correctly view DGN thumbnails on the Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 operating systems. Immediately after installing Bentley DGN Thumbnail Provider, you still may not see the correct thumbnails for DGN files. This will be corrected by rebooting or re-logging onto the system.
The Bentley i-model ODBC Driver is used to expose properties in i-models as an ODBC data source. It offers direct access of i-models from ODBC-compatible third-party applications such as Microsoft Office, reporting systems, and Business Intelligence applications. It allows application developers to use familiar tools to access and present i-model data from databases. When the driver is installed, the Bentley i-model ODBC Driver User Manual (Bentley_i-model_ODBC_Driver_User_Manual.pdf) is also installed.
Bentley DGN IFilter, Bentley DGN Thumbnail Provider, Bentley DGN Indexer, HDR Preview Handler, Bentley i-model ODBC Driver, and Bentley DgnDb i-model Importer are installed as separate applications. When you uninstall MicroStation CONNECT Edition (v10.0.0), these applications are not removed. If you do not need them, you will have to uninstall them separately.