Below are minimal software requirements for successful DotNetPanel installation.

• Windows Server 2003
• Web Server
• ASP.NET 2.0
• Database Server

Windows Server 2003

DotNetPanel can be installed on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operation system only. Windows Server 2003 has Web, Standard and Enterprise editions. You can install DotNetPanel on any edition, but we recommend purchasing at least Standard edition, because Web edition has some limitations that may cause problems in the future.

Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows editions can be used for DotNetPanel installation. DotNetPanel has been built using ASP.NET 2.0 which is available for both platforms (see the section below).

You should disable password complexity policy  before DNP installation: Start->Settings->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Local Security Policy->Security Settings->Account Policies->Password Policy->Password must meet complexity requirements. Otherwise DNP may work unpredictable.

Web Server

DotNetPanel is built as a set of web applications (Portal, Enterprise Server and Server) and those web applications should be run on web server.

We recommend using Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 to host DotNetPanel web applications. IIS 6.0 is bundled with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 distributive and does not require a separate download.

Internet Information Services should be installed prior to DotNetPanel installation.

ASP.NET 2.0

Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 is required for DotNetPanel to install and operate. We recommend installing .NET Framework 2.0 right after IIS installation, so correct ASP.NET 2.0 permissions will be set.

For 32-bit systems you can download .NET Framework 2.0 from the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=en

For 64-bit systems you can download .NET Framework 2.0 from the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=b44a0000-acf8-4fa1-affb-40e78d788b00&displaylang=en

Database Server

DotNetPanel Enterprise Server requires SQL Server 2005 compatible engine for internal databases.

You can download and install SQL Server 2005 Express edition which is free and has enough power to host DotNetPanel databases.

Please note, in order to provide SQL Server 2005 database hosting to your customers SQL Server 2005 Express edition is not suitable for that purposes and you should purchase SQL Server 2005 commercial license.

Despite the fact DotNetPanel should be installed on SQL Server 2005 it can freely manage both SQL 2000 and 2005 engines when providing database hosting to the customers.

Please, see separate document SQL Server 2005 Express Installation and Configuration Guide.pdf for installing and configuring SQL Server 2005 Express.