Tekla Structures 2020 hardware recommendations

Tekla Structures
2020
Tekla Structures
hardware recommendations
Hardware Requirements
hardware specifications

Tekla Structures 2020 hardware recommendations

Operating system requirements

Tekla Structures 2020 runs on the following operating systems:

  • 64-bit Windows 10

  • 64-bit Windows 8.1

Running Tekla Structures 2020 on Windows 11 is also possible. No major operating system-related issues have been found, and Tekla Structures should work in the same way as on Windows 10. Tekla Structures 2022 and newer are officially supported and tested on Windows 11. If you use Windows 11, we recommend running Tekla Structures 2022 or newer.

Other operating systems are not supported.

Tekla Structures can be used with application and desktop virtualization. For more information, see Using Tekla Structures with application and desktop virtualization.

Recommended hardware for Tekla Structures workstations

The table below presents two different hardware configurations. The recommendations are mainly for desktop computers, but the same guidelines can also be applied when purchasing laptops. These hardware recommendations are based on proven set-ups that are used in testing Tekla Structures. Other set-ups can be used if they are more optimal for your intended use.

Before purchasing a large number of computers for your Tekla Structures users, test and verify the set-up first with one or two computers.

Note:

Tekla Structures does not support Itanium processors.

Recommendation Best performance
Operating system Windows 10 (64-bit) Windows 10 (64 bit)
Memory 16+ GB 32+ GB
Hard disk 240-480 GB, SSD 1 TB, SSD
Processor Intel® Core™ i5 CPU 2+ GHz Intel® Core™ i7 CPU 3+ GHz
Graphics card* Two monitor support such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060/2070 Two monitor support such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080/2080 Ti or newer
Monitor(s) Two 27” 1920x1200 each 30” 2560x1600 or two 27” 2560x1440
Mouse** 3-button wheel mouse, optical 3-button wheel mouse, cordless & optical + 3Dconnexion SpacePilot
Backup equipment External hard drive External hard drive with scheduled backups
Network adapter 100 Mbit/s IPv4 or IPv6 1 Gbit/s IPv4 or IPv6

*Tekla Structures rendering can use DirectX or OpenGL technology. The DirectX rendering mode is better optimized for modern graphics cards, and you should prioritize DirectX performance when deciding on a graphics card. We do not have resources to test all cards on the market, so we have chosen cards based on the NVIDIA graphics processor to be our test platform.

**A 3-button wheel mouse is required in all cases (to be able to finish some commands, and to zoom, pan, and rotate). Tekla Structures also supports the following 3D mice provided by 3Dconnexion: SpaceNavigator, SpaceExplorer, SpacePilot and SpacePilot Pro to be used in tandem with a regular mouse to enhance zooming, panning and rotating. To use a 3D mouse, download the install files and instructions on how to use them from Tekla Warehouse: 3Dconnexion Device Installer.

Graphics card configuration

Make sure that your graphics card is set up to use a high performance profile with Tekla Structures. You can check and assign the profile in the configuration tool provided by the graphics card manufacturer, or in Windows settings in recent Windows versions. This is especially important on laptop computers, which may be configured to emphasize power saving. Many systems default Tekla Structures to use a less powerful integrated graphics processor instead of the more powerful dedicated graphics card unless you change the setting.

In addition to the main Tekla Structures software, other software components also affect how the 3D models are drawn on your computer:

  • Your computer uses the standard drivers provided by the graphics card manufacturer also when drawing the 3D view in Tekla Structures. We recommend that you regularly check for updates to the graphics drivers from the manufacturer's website.

    Before upgrading the drivers on a large number of computers, test the driver version first to make sure the update does not introduce problems in the 3D views in Tekla Structures.

  • Tekla Structures includes two alternative rendering engines: one based on OpenGL and one based on DirectX. Microsoft Windows includes support for both technologies.

Further tools to help you choose Tekla Structures workstation hardware

Join the discussion at Tekla Discussion Forum > Tekla Structures Forums > Hardware & operating system to exchange experiences with other users.

We also provide an application called Steelmark for testing and evaluating graphics cards for use with the Tekla Structures OpenGL rendering engine. Download it from Tekla Warehouse. This application does not measure performance of the DirectX rendering engine.

Requirements for connecting to Tekla Online services

Tekla Online services complement the Tekla software products with comprehensive learning and support resources, software installation package downloads, cloud-based sharing, and various add-on tools that enhance your use of the software.

To ensure full access, follow the requirements for connecting to Tekla Online services.

Tekla License Server

Tekla License Server is required for on-premises licensing.

  • We recommend that you upgrade to the latest available license server version. You can always install the license server on any computer that meets the Tekla Structures hardware recommendations.

  • If the license server is installed on a different computer, there are additional considerations for the hardware and operating system. See the separate Tekla License Server hardware recommendations .

  • If you use different versions of Tekla Structures, check the license server compatibility before you upgrade your license server.

Tekla Structures multi-user server

If you use the Tekla Structures multi-user server, we recommend that you always install the latest available version. At the time of writing, this is version 2.5.0.

For more information, see Tekla Structures multi-user server 2.5.0 hardware recommendations.

Printers

Tekla Structures uses the standard Windows printer drivers provided by the manufacturer of the printer. You can install the most recent driver from the manufacturer’s website.

Additional necessary software components

Tekla Structures needs the following redistributable packages that are automatically installed during the Tekla Structures software installation if they, or newer versions of the packages, do not exist on your computer:

  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.2
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable (x64) 10.0.40219
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable (x86) 10.0.40219
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x64) 12.0.40649
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x86) 12.0.40649
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x64) 14.0.23026
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x86) 14.0.23026

If your organization installs Tekla Structures centrally using .msi packages, it may be necessary to download the required .NET Framework and Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable components from Microsoft’s web site and install them separately.

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