The current rockhopper implementation uses the MySQL database, running under RedHat Linux. It can also run on other “flavors” of linux. Various components of the package are written in C, php and java.

Depending on which module is in use, the user interface runs either on the ‘gnome’ graphical desktop (using a Linux workstation, or a Windows desktop running emulation software such as X-ThinPro or ReflectionX), or under a conventional web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera).

System hardware should be chosen in accordance with the size of the operation. Rockhopper can run in as little as 512Mb of RAM on a low-end Pentium processor for a small site. Recommendations on typical configurations are available from Penguin Blue on request.

Possible hardware platforms include anything that will run Linux. Thus, systems from IBM, HP/Compaq, Dell, Acer, and many others can be used. (See www.redhat.com for more details.)

The use of the MySQL database makes a number of disaster recovery strategies available as the database can be replicated on-the-fly at a remote location. Having a replicated database is also useful for running reports: the primary server’s processing load is spared occasional performance dips due to large reports being run.