Using 64 bit Windows vs. 32 bit

Posted March 6th, 2007 by Ian Wann

Question:
Is there an advantage to putting a 64 bit windows on our server vs. 32 bit.

Answer:
Yes there is an advantage to running the 64 bit version of Windows provided all of the software you are running it supports and you have 64 bit hardware. 64 bit hardware is pretty new on the market. ASI has not tested iMIS on 64 bit version of windows with iMIS so we don’t support it. For now clients should run the 32 bit version of windows. In the future iMIS will support a 64 bit operating system.

From an SMR reference on 64 bit support for iMIS
We do not yet test or support running iMIS on a 64 bit operating system. We have had reports of some clients running iMIS on a 64 bit SQL Server version without issue, but this has not been tested nor is it supported by ASI at this time.

If you really want to know a bunch of technical stuff about the differences between 64 and 32 bits read here:

http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5709#toc0

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FYI... We have the iMIS 10.6

On March 6th, 2007 JB says:

FYI...
We have the iMIS 10.6 client running on a Win64 machine and have not had any problems with it.

The win64 machine is our new application server.

Well, there is one BIG advantage to 64-bit over 32-bit...

On July 27th, 2007 Mark Breland says:

The number one advantage of 64-bit operating systems over 32-bit ones is the greater natively addressable physical memory space you get at your disposal.

In simple terms, 32-bit client OS' (Vista, XP) have a high end physical memory limit of 4GB, only about 3.3GB of which is truly recognized as available to user applications. 32-bit Windows Server 2003 has a high end physical memory limit of 128GB, when you use the Datacenter version with address extension modes turned on.

For 64-bit systems, Windows Vista and XP can go as high as 128GB, while Server 2003 Datacenter and Enterprise Editions can go as high as 2TB of physical memory.

HOWEVER, the price one pays is the limited range of solid peripheral drivers written for 64-bit systems. One must temper their hunger for lots of memory with the realization that all the drivers they need may NOT be available for their installed printers, cards, displays, etc

More info on 32 vs. 64-bit Windows OS memory support/limitations can be found here:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778.aspx

As for ASI support of x64 OS versions in the future, we do have this issue in front of us and are investigating what impacts (if any) would be involved in extending our support to 64-bit systems.

iMIS 15 Support of 64-bit application and SQL server

On September 16th, 2007 Mark Jones says:

Has anyone successfully implemented iMIS15 application software under a 64-bit OS/ There is no mention in the newly released documentation concerning the 64-bit OS support, and our customers are buying these servers. I was unsuccessful at setting up iMIS15 on a 64-bit application server, but used a 32-bit OS on VM for the interim. SQL server running 32-bit on a 64-bit OS appears to be working, but no VeriSign credit card transactions will process.

A client of ours installed

On August 6th, 2008 TMulcahy says:

A client of ours installed SQL Server on 64bit..

There were some problems with decryption/encryption because of SQL server's inability to call 32bit DLLs from a stored procedure.. We used Fisher Technology's Web services to overcome the problem.. I suspect that, as you are having problem with credit card payments, we could be talking of the same problem..

Tony

Using 64 bit on the desktop

On July 29th, 2008 cmarsch says:

Has anyone used iMIS on a 64 bit workstation? If so, any problems?
Christopher W. Marsch, Database Administrator
MEMA
10 Laboratory Dr
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
(919) 406-8813

Not supported, but...

On August 5th, 2008 Courtney Robertson says:

Running any piece of iMIS on 64 bit has not been tested and therefore not supported. But I was able to do a full iMIS install (including the iMIS desktop) on my 64 bit Vista machine a couple days ago and haven't run into any problems yet. I'll keep you updated if I run into anything.

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