Terminal Server & Remote Desktop — System Requirements
This article covers recommended system specifications for running Cubit Estimating on a Terminal Server or Remote Desktop Server. For standalone and network client requirements, refer to the System Requirements for Cubit Estimating article.
Running Cubit Estimating in a terminal server or remote desktop environment places higher demands on shared infrastructure than a standalone workstation. The specifications in this article reflect the recommended baseline for a stable, performant multi-user deployment. Requirements will vary based on project complexity, the number of concurrent users, and other applications sharing the same environment.
Choose a high-performance multi-core processor capable of handling the demanding calculations and rendering required by Cubit Estimating across multiple concurrent sessions.
- Intel Xeon — server-grade multi-core processors
- AMD Ryzen / EPYC — or equivalent in virtual infrastructure
- High core count and clock speed are both important — Cubit Estimating benefits from per-session thread performance
- Scale vCPU allocation with concurrent user count
- Allow headroom for operating system and background process overhead
- Avoid over-provisioning vCPUs beyond physical core availability on the host
See the System Requirements article for desktop processor compatibility including Intel Core and AMD Ryzen generations.
Allocate sufficient RAM to accommodate both Cubit Estimating and multiple concurrent users. Adjust based on the complexity of Cubit Estimating projects, additional concurrent applications, and the total number of simultaneous users.
Use fast, reliable storage for both the operating system and Cubit Estimating installation. Storage performance directly impacts load times, file open/save speeds, and overall responsiveness in a multi-user environment.
- Operating system drive: SSD (Solid State Drive) — fast read/write speeds are essential for a responsive terminal server experience
- Cubit Estimating installation: SSD recommended
- Project / job files: Sufficient capacity for current and archived Cubit Estimating project files
- Maintain at least 2.5× the total size of the database as free disk space for backup operations
- Maintain an additional 10% of total storage as free disk space to accommodate growth and changes in storage requirements
Insufficient free space can cause backup failures, database corruption, and unexpected application errors.
Cubit Estimating relies on graphics processing power for plan rendering, PDF display, and visualisation tasks. In a terminal server environment, the GPU is shared across all concurrent sessions — correct selection and configuration is critical.
- Professional-grade GPU from NVIDIA or AMD
- Dedicated VRAM — shared or integrated graphics are not suitable for multi-user server deployments
- OpenGL 2.0 support with up-to-date vendor drivers installed on the server
- GPU must be correctly configured for the display/remoting stack in use (e.g., RDS, Citrix, VMware Horizon)
- Windows Server does not include OpenGL support by default — it is provided by the GPU driver
- Remote Desktop Services may disable hardware graphics acceleration unless a supported GPU and the correct driver are present
- Compute-only GPU deployments (no display driver / WDDM) are not suitable for Cubit Estimating
- Verify OpenGL 2.0 is available and functional after driver installation before deploying to users
For NVIDIA data centre GPUs, graphics API support including OpenGL requires a vGPU-capable Windows graphics stack — not a compute-only configuration.
| Graphics Type | Terminal Server Suitability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Professional NVIDIA GPU (Quadro / RTX Ada / A-series) | ✅ Recommended | Dedicated VRAM, OpenGL 2.0+, designed for multi-session server use |
| Professional AMD GPU (Radeon Pro / FirePro) | ✅ Recommended | Dedicated VRAM, OpenGL 2.0+, with current AMD drivers |
| NVIDIA A10 with vGPU / RTX Virtual Workstation | ✅ Suitable | Designed for graphics-rich VDI and virtual workstations. Requires vGPU-capable Windows graphics stack |
| Consumer NVIDIA / AMD GPU (GeForce / Radeon) | ⚠️ Limited | May function on smaller deployments but not designed or tested for server multi-session use |
| Integrated / Intel IRIS graphics | ❌ Not suitable | Insufficient for multi-user terminal server deployments |
| Compute-only GPU (no WDDM / display driver) | ❌ Not suitable | Graphics APIs including OpenGL are not available without a WDDM-based graphics stack |
A stable and high-speed network connection is critical for smooth collaboration and data transfer in a terminal server environment.
- Use a reliable Ethernet connection with adequate bandwidth to handle the expected user load
- Avoid remote links between the database and the Terminal Server — the database and terminal server should be on the same local network segment wherever possible
- Network latency and packet loss directly impact the responsiveness of Cubit Estimating sessions for remote users
Select a server-grade operating system specifically designed for terminal server environments to ensure stability, security, and efficient resource utilisation.
| Operating System | Terminal / RDS Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2025 | ✅ Supported | Recommended for new deployments |
| Windows Server 2022 | ✅ Supported | Recommended for new deployments |
| Windows Server 2019 / 2016 | ✅ Supported | |
| Windows Server 2012 | ⚠️ Limited | Limited support only. Plan migration to a current Server version |
Virtual environments are supported for use with Cubit Estimating version 10 or above. Virtualisation allows for better resource management, scalability, and easier maintenance of the terminal server environment.
- Microsoft Hyper-V
- VMware vSphere / ESXi
- Other hypervisors supporting Windows Server guest VMs with GPU passthrough or vGPU capability
Cubit Estimating version 10 or above is required for virtual environment support.
- Ensure the virtual machine has access to a GPU with OpenGL 2.0 support and up-to-date drivers
- GPU passthrough or vGPU (e.g., NVIDIA GRID / vGPU, AMD MxGPU) must be correctly configured
- Validate that OpenGL 2.0 is available within the guest OS after driver installation — higher OpenGL version support in the driver does not automatically guarantee functional compatibility with Cubit Estimating
Cubit Estimating relies on environmental security practices. Ensure the following are in place:
- Appropriate security perimeters and access controls for the terminal server environment
- Suitable user access settings and permissions scoped to Cubit Estimating data and application directories
- Active monitoring of user activity and resource utilisation within the environment
- Establish a comprehensive backup strategy to protect critical Cubit Estimating project files and ensure business continuity
- Implement redundancy for critical components — power supplies and network connections
- Maintain at least 2.5× the total database size as free disk space for backup operations
- Maintain an additional 10% of total storage as free disk space for growth and changes
Use appropriate tools to monitor system performance, user activity, and resource utilisation so that issues can be identified and addressed promptly before they impact Cubit Estimating users.
- Monitor CPU, RAM, and storage utilisation across all concurrent sessions
- Watch for resource contention under peak user load
- Track concurrent session counts against hardware capacity
- Monitor for abnormal session behaviour or resource spikes
- Monitor free disk space — alert before falling below the 10% and 2.5× database thresholds
- Verify backup jobs complete successfully after each run
For personalised system specifications or assistance with your terminal server deployment, contact the Buildsoft support team.
Contact support@buildsoft.com.au
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