System Requirements

Windows Systems:

• .NET 10 (May be installed automatically)

• System Performance: We recommend running server applications on appropriately equipped hardware (multi-core processor, at least 8 GB of RAM, and SSD storage).

• CPU with AVX2 support

• Operating System: We recommend Microsoft Windows Server operating systems. Client operating systems (64-bit) may also be used for testing purposes.

  The following Windows versions are supported:

  • Windows Server 2016 x64
  • Windows Server 2019 x64
  • Windows Server 2022 x64
  • Windows Server 2025 x64
  • Windows 10 x64
  • Windows 10 IoT x64
  • Windows 11 x64

note

A web browser is required to access OPC Router 5 Management.

Supported web browsers include:

• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge

The versions must be up to date as of the OPC Router 5 release date. (Minimum version 100)

note

Please check your local firewall to ensure a connection to OPC Router 5 Management is possible. By default, OPC Router Management is installed on port 5000 (http://localhost:5000), and HTTPS access is on port 5001.

If these ports are already in use, the setup will use the next available port. For a list of other ports used by the OPC Router, see Network Ports.

warning

Production Use with Client Operating Systems: Due to technical limitations, inray strongly recommends using server operating systems.

note

Client operating systems, such as Windows 10, can lead to unexpected behavior and unplanned system restarts due to unforeseen forced upgrades, resulting in incomplete recordings. Other technical limitations, such as the limited number of incoming TCP/IP connections, can lead to connection failures, especially in large-scale projects.

Please verify before installation whether running the OPC Router on a client operating system meets your requirements and is compatible with Microsoft’s licensing terms.

warning

If you are using antivirus software, we strongly recommend defining an exception for the OPC Router directory in the antivirus settings. Antivirus software can impair system performance and, under certain circumstances, may incorrectly flag OPC Router files as threats. Such false positives can be triggered by updates to virus definitions and, in the worst case, lead to unexpected production downtime. By setting an exception for the OPC Router directory, you minimize the risk of performance degradation and prevent false positives that could disrupt operations.

Hardware-Based Stack Protection (CET)

The OPC Router runs on .NET 10. Starting with .NET 9, the launchers for .NET applications are marked as CET-compatible (Intel Control-flow Enforcement Technology; referred to as Shadow Stacks by AMD). On systems with a CET-capable processor (Intel starting with the 11th generation Core processors or AMD starting with Zen 3) and Windows 10 version 2004 (Build 19041) or Windows Server 2022, Windows maintains a second “shadow stack”—which cannot be written to by application code—in parallel with the normal call stack and verifies the return address against it during every function return. This enhances security against ROP (Return-Oriented Programming) exploits.

CET is not a prerequisite for running the OPC Router. If the processor or operating system does not support stack protection, the OPC Router runs unchanged, simply without this additional protection.

warning

On systems with a CET-capable processor, Windows must be fully updated. If stack protection is enabled but the operating system is not up to date with the latest patches, the OPC Router’s .NET processes will terminate immediately upon startup with the message “Your Windows doesn’t fully support CET. Please install all available Windows updates.” In this case, install all available updates—including optional updates—via Windows Update and then restart the system.

note

Kernel-mode Hardware-Enforced Stack Protection is a Windows security feature in its own right and is not required for the OPC Router to operate. It provides additional protection for driver stacks and, in addition to CET-capable hardware, requires Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) and Hardware-Verified Integrity Control (HVCI) to be enabled. Microsoft describes the prerequisites and activation process at Kernel Mode Hardware-enforced Stack Protection .

Docker Systems:

• Single-core 600 MHz 64-bit CPU; architecture requirements vary depending on the image:
  • Runtime image (with integrated MongoDB):
    • x86_64 processors with AVX2 instruction set
    • ARM64 processors starting with ARMv8.2-A
  • Service image (without integrated MongoDB):
    • x86_64 processors with AVX2 instruction set
    • ARM/ARM64 processors starting with ARMv7
• Minimum 512 MB RAM. For the runtime image with integrated MongoDB, at least 4 GB of container RAM is recommended; the allocation between the MongoDB cache and the application is described in Configurable Environment Variables.
• 3 GB of free disk space

tip

The OPC Router uses an internal database to display data transfers in real time and historically.

For optimal performance, the OPC Router should be run on a system with a multi-core CPU and at least 4 GB of RAM.

Database (MongoDB)

The OPC Router stores project data and transferred values in a MongoDB database. The internal database is installed along with the OPC Router or is included in the runtime image and does not require a separate installation.

If an external MongoDB is connected instead (see External Database ), the following applies:

• At least MongoDB 4.2 (Wire version 8). Starting with OPC Router 5.7, an updated MongoDB driver is used that rejects older MongoDB versions when establishing a connection.
• Recommended starting with MongoDB 6.0. Starting with MongoDB 5.0, the OPC Router creates the status and diagnostic storage as a time-series collection; however, existing storage can only be reconfigured retroactively starting with MongoDB 6.0.
• MongoDB must be configured as a replica set.
• MongoDB is not compatible with 32-bit systems. The external database must therefore run on a 64-bit system.