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Installation & Upgrade

Installation and Upgrade of Idealpos

The installation of Idealpos 10 requires two files:

Idealpos10-Framework.exe – approx. 210Mb
Idealpos10-Build-xxxx.exe – approx. 13Mb

Note!

When upgrading an existing v8/v9 site, run the Idealpos v10 Framework Patch, then run the Idealpos v10 Build installer (without running the v10 Framework).

When performing a clean install of Idealpos v10, run the Idealpos v10 Framework installer, then run the Idealpos v10 Build installer.

The file size and build number of the installer files will change as new builds are released.

For most PCs and POS Terminals, the Idealpos 10 Framework file will install all system components required to run the software.

The time to install Idealpos can vary significantly depending on the performance of the hardware.

Upgrading Idealpos can also vary depending on the size of the database and any potential data conversions that take place during the upgrade.

For those customers who are upgrading from a previous version of Idealpos, we strongly recommend you test the conversion process first as there is a possibility that your data will fail the SQL conversion process.

Operating System Compatibility

The following Operating Systems are compatible with Idealpos 10:

Windows 8.1 - 32/64bit [the Idealpos Framework can only successfully install SQL Server Express 2014 on this version of Windows]
Windows 10 [Version 1607 or newer] - 32/64bit
Windows 11 (64bit only)

Any versions of Windows older than Windows 8.1 are not supported by Idealpos v10.

Note!

Idealpos is not supported on PCs running Windows 11 on Arm (ARM64 based processors).

E.g. Some Microsoft Surface devices use Microsoft SQ1, SQ2, SQ3 processors which are ARM64 based and run Windows 11 on Arm; Idealpos cannot be installed on these types of PCs.

Idealpos v10 Minimum System Requirements and Framework Components

Idealpos Framework will attempt to install several system components including:

.NET 2.0 Service Pack 2
.NET 4.8 [only supported on Windows 8.1 and newer or Windows 10 Version 1607 or newer; Idealpos v10 not supported on Windows versions older than Windows 8.1]
Windows Imaging Component
Windows Installer 4.5
Visual C++ 2008 Runtime
Available SQL Server Express versions for 32-Bit Operating Systems - SQL 2008 R2 Express or 2014 Express (select the required version of SQL Server)
Available SQL Server Express versions for 64-Bit Operating Systems - SQL 2008 R2 Express, SQL 2014 Express, SQL 2019 Express or SQL 2025 Express (select the required version of SQL Server)
Business Objects 11 Reports and more.

The minimum system requirements for Idealpos are typically the same as the minimum system requirements for the Operating System installed and the minimum requirements for the version of SQL Server.

Idealpos minimum system requirements

Depending on your Operating System and other programs already installed, these minimum systems requirements may not be adequate to run Idealpos.

Intel Celeron 1Ghz CPU
1GB RAM for 32BIT Operating Systems/2GB RAM for 64BIT Operating Systems (Windows 11 requires a minimum of 4GB RAM)
10GB Free Hard Disk Space
1024x768 Screen Resolution

Note!

The performance of Idealpos will vary depending on the size of data that is being stored in the database.

Idealpos may perform slower on systems with larger databases compared to systems running smaller databases.

Terminal Services and Remote Desktop

Idealpos is compatible with Remote Desktop applications.

Idealpos is not compatible with Terminal Services.

Differences between SQL Server Editions

The Idealpos Framework will install a version of SQL Server Express which can be chosen during installation (i.e. 2008 R2, 2014, 2019 or 2025).

SQL Server Express is free and will be sufficient for smaller sites with smaller databases and less transactions/records.

SQL Server Express has limitations which will prevent utilising the maximum available RAM/Processor and Storage available on higher spec systems which will result in slower performance when running reports on larger data sets.

Therefore, sites with larger databases containing more transactions will be better suited with using SQL Server Standard or Enterprise.

SQL Server Standard or SQL Server Enterprise can be installed on sites that require larger databases with larger sets of data and transactions/transaction history.

SQL Server Standard and Enterprise are paid products which will need to be purchased if they are required.

The differences between the SQL Server Editions are outlined as follows:

Feature/Limit	Express 2025	Standard Edition	Enterprise Edition
Max Database Size	50GB	524PB	Enforced only by OS
Max Buffer Pool RAM	1.4GB	128GB	OS Maximum
Max CPU Capacity	1 Socket/4 Cores	4 Sockets/24 Cores	OS Maximum
CPU Impact on Queries	Express forces queries to share minimal CPU resources.	Standard scales across 4 Sockets/24 Cores	Enterprise scales across hundreds of cores
Memory Impact on Queries	Express cannot keep large tables in memory. Queries must constantly read from slower disks.	Standard can keep up to 128GB of table data in memory (limited by available RAM)	The maximum table size that Enterprise can keep in memory is only limited by the OS maximum

In-place SQL Server Edition Upgrade

For the simplest method to upgrade from SQL Server Express to Standard or Enterprise, follow the below process:

Install the Idealpos Framework on a clean system without SQL Server and choose the SQL Server version (e.g. 2025 Express).
Then run the SQL Server setup for the same version > perform an in-place upgrade to the desired SQL Server Edition (e.g. Standard or Enterprise).
To perform an in-place upgrade, run the SQL Server installation > in the SQL Server Installation Center > choose "Maintenance" on the left-hand side menu > select "Edition Upgrade" > Enter the Product Key > Proceed through the SQL Server installation wizard.

After performing an in-place upgrade, the following query can be run via SQL Cmd Line to confirm the SQL Server Edition installed (open IPSUtility > Advanced > SqlCmd Line).

SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('edition') AS [SQL Server Edition];

The Edition of SQL Server that is installed will be returned (e.g. Express Edition (64-bit), Standard Edition (64-bit), etc.)

After performing an in-place upgrade of SQL Server, it is recommended that the maximum memory configuration cap that is currently in use is checked to ensure that it hasn't been limited to a smaller value that may have been set by the Express Edition.

From SQL Cmd Line, run the following command:

SELECT

name AS [Configuration Option],

value_in_use AS [Configured Value (MB)]

FROM sys.configurations

WHERE name = 'max server memory (MB)';

The value will be returned.

If this returns 2147483647, it means SQL Server is set to its default value and will dynamically use as much memory as the OS provides.

SQL Server Information and Database Size Limitations

The Idealpos v10 Framework adds the ability to install SQL Server Express 2025 when performing a clean installation.

SQL Server Express 2025 increases the maximum database size to 50GB.

Versions of SQL Server Express between 2008 R2 and 2022 are limited to a maximum database size of 10GB.

If required, the SQL Server instance can be upgraded to SQL Server 2025 Express to take advantage of a maximum database size of 50GB.

Prior to upgrading SQL Server Express, note that you cannot do IPS Client Overwrites from a PC/POS Terminal running a later SQL Server version to a PC/POS Terminal running an earlier SQL Server version!

The process for completing the upgrade is outlined by clicking here.