Hardware and Software Requirements (PowerPivot for SharePoint and Reporting Services in SharePoint Mode)

PowerPivot for SharePoint and Reporting Services SharePoint mode run on application servers in a SharePoint 2010 farm and uses SharePoint features and infrastructure to support server operations. Use the information in this topic to learn about system requirements and recommendations for each feature component.

In this Topic:

  • SQL Server Edition Requirements

  • SharePoint Requirements

  • PowerPivot Hardware Requirements

  • PowerPivot Software Requirements

  • Software Requirements for non-PowerPivot Application Servers

  • PowerPivot Client Installation Requirements

  • Power View Requirements

  • Reporting Services add-in for SharePoint Products Requirements

  • Report Server Requirements

  • Report Server Database Requirements

SQL Server Edition Requirements

Business intelligence features are not all available in all editions of SQL Server 2012. For details, see Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2012 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=232473) and Editions and Components of SQL Server 2012.

The current release notes can be found at Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Release Notes (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=236893).

Arrow icon used with Back to Top linkTop

SharePoint Product Requirements

Business intelligence features are not supported on all editions of SharePoint products. For more information, see Guidance for Using SQL Server BI Features in a SharePoint 2010 Farm.

Arrow icon used with Back to Top linkTop

PowerPivot Hardware Requirements

Minimum system requirements are based on the hardware and software requirements of SQL Server 2012 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010.

For information on PowerPivot Hardware Requirements for SharePoint 2013, see Hardware and Software Requirements for Analysis Services Server in SharePoint Mode (SQL Server 2012 SP1).

The standard SharePoint hardware and software recommendations are for a web-based document management solution for a workgroup or team. Because PowerPivot processing is data intensive, the standard recommendation will be sufficient only if the overall number of users or workbooks being accessed is relatively small (for example, less than 100 concurrent users or workbooks). A larger PowerPivot deployment will require additional computing power.

PowerPivot for SharePoint runs best on new generation business servers that offer higher RAM thresholds and more processing capability. Large RAM is used to store PowerPivot data in memory, providing the ability to adapt to structural changes dynamically. Extra processors support long running scans of raw, un-aggregated data. The data assumes its structure in a dynamic environment, in response to user-driven data analysis initiated through an Excel front-end interface.

Tip

PowerPivot for SharePoint utilizes L2 and L3 caches. To improve performance, consider using Processors with larger L2 and L3 caches.

The following table describes a minimum and required hardware configuration:

Component

Minimum

Recommended

Processor

64-bit dual-core processor, 3 GHz

16 Cores

RAM

8 gigabytes of RAM 1

128 gigabytes of RAM

Storage

80 gigabyte storage

80 gigabytes or more

1 8 gigabytes of memory is sufficient for a single server test or development environment but more than 8 gigabytes of memory is recommended for a production environment.

PowerPivot System Service caches PowerPivot data files to the \Microsoft SQL Server\MSAS11.PowerPivot\OLAP\Backup folder to avoid roundtrips to the content database for the same data. Verify that the computer on which you are installing PowerPivot for SharePoint has a large amount of free space, and then monitor disk space availability on your new installation until you are satisfied that the available storage is sufficient for your deployment. For more information about setting maximum limits on disk space usage, see Configure Disk Space Usage (PowerPivot for SharePoint).

For more information on SQL Server licensing, see the following:

Arrow icon used with Back to Top linkTop

PowerPivot Software Requirements

A SharePoint farm supports a variety of topologies. If your farm includes dedicated application servers that run just Excel Services or just Central Administration, you must add additional software to support PowerPivot data connection requests that originate from those servers.

Minimum system requirements are based on the hardware and software requirements of SQL Server 2012 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010.

A summary of the software requirements for a PowerPivot for SharePoint deployment includes:

Component

Requirement

Operating system

  • Windows Server 2008 (64-bit)

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)

  • Windows Server 2012

SharePoint version

SharePoint 2010 Enterprise, with Excel Services, Secure Store Service, and the Claims to Windows Token Service configured in the same server farm.

SharePoint must be installed using the Server Farm option in SharePoint Setup (SharePoint's Standalone installation option is not supported). PowerPivot requires server farm infrastructure to support administrative and data access. The standalone installation does not provide these services.

The developer edition, which runs on Windows 7 or Windows Vista, is not supported for PowerPivot server installations.

Service Packs

SharePoint Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is required.

SharePoint 2010 Service Pack 1 is required for SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot for SharePoint features.

SharePoint 2010 August 2010 Cumulative Update, or later is required when Upgrading from a previous version of PowerPivot for SharePoint to SQL Server 2012. The August 2010 Cumulative update or later should be installed after installing SharePoint Service Pack 1. A new installation of SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot for SharePoint does not require the cumulative update. For more information, see August 2010 Cumulative Update for SharePoint has been released.

SharePoint web application

PowerPivot for SharePoint only supports SharePoint web applications that are configured for classic-mode authentication. If you are adding PowerPivot for SharePoint to an existing farm, be sure that the web application you plan to use it with is configured for classic-mode authentication. For instructions on how to check authentication mode, see the section “Verify the Web application uses Classic mode authentication” in Deploy PowerPivot Solutions to SharePoint.

Data providers required for PowerPivot server-side data refresh

Server-side data refresh repeats the same data retrieval steps used to originally import the data. This means that the data providers used to import the data on a client workstation must also be present on the PowerPivot for SharePoint server.

In addition, using data feeds on a SharePoint server requires that you have ADO.NET Data Services. The SharePoint Prerequisite Installer program does not install this software for you. The following software must be installed manually.

ADO.NET Data Services 3.5 SP1 runtime assemblies, used to export a SharePoint list as a data feed. Download and install the version that matches your operating system:

For Windows Server 2008 R2, use ADO.NET Data Services Update for .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 for Windows 7 and windows Server 2008 R2 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=182557). Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 already contains the updated provider.

For Windows Server 2008, use ADO.NET Data Services Update for .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 for Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=158125).

Software Requirements for non-PowerPivot Application Servers

PowerPivot data access in a SharePoint farm is supported through Analysis Services client libraries that are installed by SQL Server 2012 Setup. Application servers that have an installation of PowerPivot for SharePoint will get the latest version of the client libraries automatically. However, if your farm includes applications that support PowerPivot queries on servers that do not have the PowerPivot for SharePoint software, you must manually install the client libraries on those application servers.

Required software

Required for

Description

Analysis Services OLE DB provider (MSOLAP100.DLL), file version 11.0.<buildnumber>.

Excel Services, on an application server that does not have PowerPivot for SharePoint

The SQL Server 2012 version of the OLE DB provider is required for data connections to PowerPivot workbooks loaded on PowerPivot servers

For instructions on how to install the client library, see Install the Analysis Services OLE DB Provider on SharePoint Servers.

Microsoft Analysis Services ADOMD.NET

Central Administration, running as a standalone application on Web front-end server.

After you install PowerPivot for SharePoint, Central Administration will include a new PowerPivot Management Dashboard that accesses PowerPivot data from an internal reporting database. An Analysis Services client library is required to support PowerPivot data access used to populate reports and web parts in the dashboard.

For instructions on how to install this library, see Install ADOMD.NET on Web Front-End Servers Running Central Administration.

Arrow icon used with Back to Top linkTop

PowerPivot Client Installation Requirements

PowerPivot for Excel is an authoring tool for creating Excel workbooks that contain PowerPivot data. Computers used to create PowerPivot workbooks must meet the minimum hardware and software requirements for Office 2010.

PowerPivot Client Hardware Requirements

Component

Minimum Requirements

Processor

500 MHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor

RAM

2 to 4 GB of RAM. The add-in consumes approximately 25 MB of RAM. An additional 33 MB is consumed when the first PivotTable is added to the worksheet. Additional RAM is required for PowerPivot workbooks. The amount of RAM required will vary depending on the workbook you create.

PowerPivot supports files up to 2GB in size. The 64-bit version of PowerPivot enables you to work with up to 4GB of data in memory, and the 32-bit version enables you to work with up to 2GB of data in memory.

Disk space

100 MB disk space is required for the program files. Additional disk space is required to store data files. Although the files contain compressed data, you might require significant disk space if you create numerous workbooks that contain a very large amount of data. There is no way to know advance what your disk space requirements will be. Be sure to monitor disk space consumption as you create and save files to ensure you have sufficient space.

PowerPivot Client Software Requirements

PowerPivot for Excel can be installed on a computer that has 32-bit or 64-bit Excel 2010. If you have installed the 32-bit version of Excel, you must install the 32-bit version of PowerPivot for Excel. Likewise, if you have installed the 64-bit version of Excel, you must install the 64-bit version of PowerPivot for Excel.

Minimum Requirement

Operating system

  • Windows Server 2012

  • Windows Server 2008 R2, (64-bit only).

  • Windows Server 2008 SP2

  • Windows Server 2003 R2 with MSXML 6.0 (32-bit only)

  • Windows 7

  • Windows Vista SP2

  • Windows XP for PowerPivot for Excel 2010. For more information, see PowerPivot Add-in (Office.com) (https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/powerpivot-add-in-HA101811050.aspx).

If you are using Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, you must also install the Platform Update (https://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/971644) that is available from https://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/971644.

If you are using a Windows server operating system, adding the Desktop Experience feature is recommended.

Windows features

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=229476) (Install before installing Office)

Excel version requirements

Excel 2010 (32-bit or 64-bit) is required to install PowerPivot for Excel.

Office features

Office Shared Features must be installed with Excel 2010.

.NET Programmability Support, in Microsoft Excel, must also be installed.

Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=229475) (Install before or after Office, but before using PowerPivot for Excel).

Note

Excel 2010 and the PowerPivot for Excel add-in are required for creating and using PowerPivot data in a workbook. Excel 2007 can be used to open a PowerPivot workbook and make style and formatting changes (for example, applying different colors or fonts), but you cannot use Excel 2007 to interact with a PivotTable or PivotChart that is based on PowerPivot data or to change the underlying data.

Recommendations

SQL Server PowerPivot for Excel can be used with either the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Excel 2010. However, the 64-bit versions of Excel and PowerPivot for Excel will support significantly more data than the 32-bit versions. In particular, you must use the 64-bit versions if you are importing more than one million rows or columns of data. Otherwise, if datasets are not particularly large, the 32-bit versions should provide acceptable performance. Note that the 32-bit version of Excel is required if you intend to use the Data Mining Add-ins for Excel.

Component

Recommended

Platform and operating system

Windows 7 (64-bit) or Windows Vista with SP1 (64-bit) Business Edition or Ultimate Edition.

Excel version requirements

Excel 2010 (64-bit)

Arrow icon used with Back to Top linkTop

Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint Products

To install the Reporting Services Add-in, the computer must meet the following software requirements in addition to the software and hardware requirements of the SharePoint 2010 product you integrate with:

  • Microsoft Wiindows Installer 3.0 or newer.

  • SharePoint Foundation 2010 or SharePoint Server 2010. The SQL Server 2012 Add-in is not supported on earlier versions of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server2007.

  • The add-in is 64-bit only, which is a requirement of SharePoint 2010 products and technologies.

  • Supported SQL Server editions include Standard, and higher editions..

Arrow icon used with Back to Top linkTop

Power View Requirements

For the requirements of Power View, a feature of SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services Add-in for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise Edition, see System requirements for Power View

Arrow icon used with Back to Top linkTop

Report Server Requirements

A report server that runs in SharePoint mode has edition and software requirements:

  • Hardware and software requirements (SharePoint Server 2010) (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262485.aspx)

  • The report server computer must satisfy the hardware and software requirements for SQL Server installations. For more information, see. Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server 2012

  • To join a report server to a SharePoint farm, the report server must be installed on a computer that has an instance of a SharePoint 2010 product. You can install the report server before or after installing the SharePoint product.

  • The version of the SharePoint product that you install on the report server computer must be the same version that is used throughout the farm. If you are adding a report server to a SharePoint Server 2010 server farm, you must have at least a minimal installation of SharePoint Server 2010 on the report server computer. You cannot have a combination of SharePoint Foundation 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010 in the same server farm. For more information about how to join a report server to a SharePoint farm, see Add an Additional Report Server to a Farm (SSRS Scale-out).

  • Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint Products must be installed on all the Web front-ends. The Reporting Services Add-in provides server integration features and Web application pages for accessing report server items from a SharePoint site. The add-in must be installed on each Web front-end in the server farm through which users will access reports and other items.

  • Anonymous access cannot be enabled on the SharePoint Web application. If Anonymous access is enabled, you will be able to configure integration settings but users will get an error when they run a report. All other authentication providers and options are supported.

Arrow icon used with Back to Top linkTop

Report Server Database Requirements

Both Reporting Services and SharePoint products use SQL Server relational databases for internal storage. SharePoint “Basic Installation” installs the Embedded Edition for its database. Reporting Services cannot use this edition for its database. For more information on the supported versions of SQL Server Database Engine, see the “Reporting Services” Section of Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2012

If you want to install Reporting Services and a SharePoint product instance on the same computer, you can run SQL Server Express and another edition of SQL Server side-by-side on the same computer or you can use the same instance of the Database Engine for the SharePoint configuration and content databases if you choose the Advanced installation option when installing a SharePoint product . If you choose the Basic installation option instead, the SharePoint Setup program will install SQL Server Embedded Edition as an internal component and use that instance to host the SharePoint databases.

Arrow icon used with Back to Top linkTop

See Also

Tasks

Install PowerPivot for SharePoint

Initial Configuration (PowerPivot for SharePoint)

Deployment Checklist: Scale-out by adding PowerPivot Servers to a farm

PowerPivot for Excel Installation

Concepts

PowerPivot for SharePoint Installation (SharePoint 2010)

Install Reporting Services SharePoint Mode in a Single Server Farm

Install or Uninstall the Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint

Add an Additional Report Server to a Farm (SSRS Scale-out)

Add an Additional Reporting Services Web Front-end to a Farm