Software Update Notifications
It is critically important that you provide access to both of the following sites to every Windows user who will run LinkFixer Advanced:
- https://www.LinkTek.com/ Port 443
- https://s3.amazonaws.com/ Port 443
Important Note: Lack of access to either of those sites could prevent you from being notified about critical updates to LinkFixer Advanced.
We strongly recommend that you ensure your firewall does not block access to these sites.
To confirm that these sites are not blocked by your firewall or inaccessible for any another reason, choose {☰} | Check for Updates. If there is a problem, you will be notified when you press this button that there was a problem checking for updates.
Hardware and Software Requirements
Software Requirements
- Windows 10 or newer operating system, or Windows Server 2012 R2 or newer.
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP4 or higher is required for optimal performance.
- .NET Framework 4.8 is required. This will be installed along with LinkFixer Advanced if not already present.
- Ports that must remain open are: (80 (HTTP, TCP),443 (TCP, HTTPS, Amazon S3)
Minimum Hardware Requirements
Important Note: The hardware requirements below are minimums. For optimum hardware requirements, please contact LinkTek Support at 727-442-1822 or email: Support@LinkTek.com so that we can discuss your specific needs.
- 8 processors minimum. Using 16 processors is strongly recommended for faster processing.
- 16 gigabytes minimum. Using 32 gigabytes of RAM is strongly recommended for a greater (faster) experience.
- Recommended: 200 gigabytes of available hard disk space. System free space should be at least 150 GB after installing LinkFixer Advanced unless you have a separate partition for logging and Reports.
Microsoft SQL Server Requirements
The exact requirements for an SQL Server install vary depending upon the overall data size and scope of your migration.
General SQL Server specifications:
Windows Server 2016 standard or above (with 2 HD partitions)
(Note: SQL Server 2016 Express will underperform but is functional)
partition 1: 50 GB of free space on the system drive partition
partition 2: 100 GB of free space or more on the data drive partition
8 CPU cores minimum (16 Cores preferred for 5 Terrabytes or more)
16 GB RAM (32 GB RAM is preferred for 10 Terrabytes or more)
Note: Memory should be limited to 8 or 16 GB RAM for the SQL Server instance
Please read the following article: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/configure-windows/server-memory-server-configuration-options?view=sql-server-ver15
The account for LinkFixer must be a DB_Owner.
File System Permissions
- Full control access to the folder “C:\ProgramData\LinkTek\LinkFixer Advanced\”. Access should include all files and subfolders.
- Full control access to the folder “C:\Users\Public\Desktop\LinkFixer Advanced\”.Access should include all files and subfolders.
File-level Passwords and Encryption
- You need to remove any file-level password protection or encryption from your files in order for LinkFixer Advanced to be able to process them.
SharePoint On-Premises Permissions
- Domain user account which must be a Site Collection Administrator and must have read/write access to the Active Directory Domain
Internet Access for License Activation
- Access to https://secure.softwarekey.com
SharePoint Online Permissions
- Domain user account which must be a SharePoint Online Site Collection Administrator and must have read/write access to the Active Directory Domain
- Access to https://sharepoint.com
- Access to the domain https://microsoftonline.com
Important: Your Windows user account must have read and write access to every network location, server, share, directory, and file that LinkFixer Advanced will be instructed to process.
Database Requirements
The default database installed by LinkFixer Advanced is SQLite, which is suitable for testing and for small production jobs up to 100 gigabytes. SQLite is a file-based database and is not sufficient for processing larger numbers of files and links. Since it is a flat database, it will process your files far more slowly than with a SQL Server database installation.
All Production installations will require that you connect LinkFixer Advanced to a Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP4 or newer SQL Server. We do not recommend using Microsoft SQL Express. It has limitations which are very likely to result in performance bottlenecks. Installing SQL Server 2016 on domain controllers is not recommended, since it can cause security conflicts. The Evaluation version gives access to all of the SQL Server features, as well as trial license limited to 180 days.
SQL Server Advantages
NOTE: Microsoft SQL Server 2012 express or above is required for migrations over 1 TB in size
There are some very important advantages to using SQL Server.
- LinkFixer Advanced will process your files and links 5- 10 times faster because it allows LinkFixer Advanced to process more files using multiple threads at the same time. Multi-threading will automatically be enabled as soon as you switch from SQLite (default) to SQL Server.
- SQL Server allows you to connect your multiple servers to the same database which is required for the Inoculate process.
Configuring your Microsoft SQL Server
If you already have SQL Server installed, have your database administrator make a new database specifically for LinkFixer Advanced. LinkFixer Advanced will automatically create the necessary database schema when it first accesses the database. The exact steps to install a SQL server vary slightly, but a basic installation using the defaults is provided by Microsoft.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/install-windows/install-sql-serverfrom-the-installation-wizard-setup?view=sql-server-ver15
Memory Configuration:
Please limit the amount of SQL Memory growth to 50% of the overall RAM installed on that VM Server
Important:
Setting max server memory value too high can cause a single instance of SQL Server to compete for memory with other SQL Server instances hosted on the same host. However, setting this value too low could cause significant memory pressure and performance problems. Setting max server memory to the minimum value can even prevent SQL Server from starting. If you cannot start SQL Server after changing this option, start it using the -f startup option and reset max server memory to its previous value. For more information, see Database Engine Service Startup Options.
Note: LinkFixer Advanced requires Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or newer.
Also, the following is important to know regarding the SQL Server database:
- LinkFixer Advanced requires a blank database to which the LinkFixer Advanced user has read/write access.
- LinkFixer Advanced requires the default schema to be used for the database.
- When LinkFixer Advanced creates its schema, it does not use named schemas and expects its own schema to be the default (“dbo”). There should not be any conflict with other schemas, as LinkFixer Advanced only uses and requires a single schema for its operation. For more information, see the following article under the section titled “Default Schema”: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd283095%28v=sql.100%29.aspx
Microsoft SQL Server database configuration:
- SQL Database initial size: 1 GB or more
- SQL Log initial size: 500MB or more
- Database Autogrowth: 500 MB or more
- Database LOG Autogrowth: 500 MB or more
- Windows Account must have read/write permissions
- SQL Account must have read/write permissions
SQL Server Database Permissions
The database permissions of the LinkFixer Advanced user should be set to “db_owner”.
Detailed instructions for provisioning and configuring SQL Server are automatically presented in a pop-up screen in LinkFixer Advanced when you select SQL Server as the database provider in the “Options | Database” screen.
Testing the Connection
Be sure you select the database from the dialog and test that your database connection is communicating.
Where to Install LinkFixer Advanced
Where on your network you install LinkFixer Advanced can have a profound effect on the speed at which LinkFixer Advanced can process your files and links. In general, you should install LinkFixer Advanced as close as possible to both the data you intend to process and your SQL Server database. The images below illustrate the relative speed and efficiency of various network configurations.
LinkFixer Advanced will always work fastest when it is installed in the same location as the data and your SQL Server.
Processing speeds will always be relatively slower if you install LinkFixer Advanced in your local data center but configure it to process files that are located in a remote data center. This occurs as a result of network latency between the data centers.
We strongly recommend that you avoid installing LinkFixer Advanced at a distance from your SQL Server. LinkFixer Advanced communicates even more frequently with the SQL Server database than it does with your data. So, any network latency introduced between LinkFixer Advanced and the database will have even more of a negative effect on speed than distance between LinkFixer Advanced and your data set.
The worst-case scenario would be if you install LinkFixer Advanced in a location that is remote from both the SQL Server database and your data.
Notice also that running only one instance of LinkFixer Advanced will always be slower than running multiple instances with each instance pointed to a different segment of your data.
Antivirus Warning when Updating LinkFixer Advanced
Antivirus software vendors usually have methods to prevent legitimate software programs from giving a false positive and being mis-identified as a virus. LinkFixer Advanced has been registered with the top antivirus vendors and should not be identified as containing a virus or as being malware.
As a result, if you updated LinkFixer Advanced by clicking “Check For Updates” inside the program, or by downloading an update from our official download site (LinkTek.com), and you receive a warning from an antivirus program during the installation or an upgrade of LinkFixer Advanced, it is likely to be a false positive.
If you do receive a false-positive warning from an antivirus program, please inform LinkTek support of the situation by following these steps:
- Take a screen shot of the warning message or notification.
- E-mail that screen shot image to Support@LinkTek.com.
- Continue running LinkFixer Advanced.
Important: Running an antivirus program on a machine that is running LinkFixer
Advanced can result in a dramatic degradation of LinkFixer Advanced’s performance. If your antivirus software attempts to scan files before allowing LinkFixer Advanced to process them, this additional “overhead” will significantly reduce processing speeds.
Basic Installation Information
Note: You must have Administrator privileges to install LinkFixer Advanced on your computer. If you do not have Administrator privileges, you will need to get an Administrator to install LinkFixer Advanced for you. We also strongly recommend that LinkFixer Advanced be operated only by a user with Administrative privileges, as
LinkFixer Advanced requires “read-write” access to any files it will be processing.