Technology Requirements
for Accessing the Repository

The NGDRS supercatalog is accessed using an Internet-based Java applet.  The system requires certain minimum capabilities to run.

Hardware:

• PC (minimum of 32mb memory and 133mhz cpu)
• UNIX workstation

Operating System:

• Windows 95 or later
• Windows NT 4.0
• AIX
• Solaris

Browser Software:

• Internet Explorer 3.02
• Netscape Navigator 3.01

Note: Running the supercatalog on MacOS-based computers has been found to be unreliable.  The Java virtual machine in the current releases of MacOS and the Mac browsers are not particularly stable.  From this, program performance is unpredictable.  As the Macintosh computer line evolves, we will continue to test and assess its stability.

All traffic is handled via the Internet. There are no direct private or public links to system. Users need to have access at a speed of 28.8 Kbps at a minimum. Higher speed access to the Internet optimizes performance.

It should be noted that many corporations have strict "firewall constraints" that will negatively affect access to data outside of the "firewall". Our current experience with the GeoTrek^TM software is that performance is downgraded significantly if accessed via a "firewall" protected environment.

Benchmark Applet

The following is an applet created to help NGDRS users test if their hardware/software platform will provide reasonable performance. If you believe performance seems too slow please click on "retry test" button to get performance feedback.