System requirements

Quick links:Computer specificationsSupported operating systemsLinks with other softwareMicrosoft Office

Computer specifications

CERC's models are highly CPU-intensive. There are very few hard and fast rules for a PC specification to run CERC models, but the following points may be helpful.

• CPU cores
• Each run will use a single core
• Ensure you have sufficient cores for the number of concurrent runs you anticipate
• The maximum number of concurrent runs is determined by your licence. Please contact us if you want to change this.
• Some users have found it useful to keep the number of concurrent runs less than or equal to the number of physical cores rather than the number of logical cores.
• Fast CPU recommended
• RAM
• 2GB RAM per core used for model runs
• Fast RAM recommended
• Hard disk
• Plenty of free disk space on the working drives. Typically the amount of space required per run will be tens of MBs, but can vary greatly depending on the output requested, from a few MBs to over a TB.
• Keep at least 20% free disk space of the Windows drive for a healthy computer
• Fast hard disk. Generally CPU & RAM speed is more important than hard disk speed.
• Other
• Only run on supported operating systems
• Some products are supplied with a hardware key. The hardware key must be connected to a USB port (standard type A) which is available to the computer where the product is installed.
• Operational considerations
• Avoid running files over a network
• Defragment drives used for model runs, including the Windows drive
• Use a dedicated runs machine, and avoid doing other work at the same time
• Use Run Manager to schedule runs
• Turn off Windows screensaver
• Run the model minimised

Supported operating systems[top]

The latest versions of our software are supported on the following operating systems.

Software	Operating system1
ADMS 6	Windows 10, Windows 11
ADMS-Roads	Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11
ADMS-Urban	Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux2
MAQS	Linux
ADMS-Airport	Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11
ADMS-Screen	Windows 10, Windows 11
EMIT	Windows 10, Windows 11
FLOWSTAR-Energy	Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11
GASTAR	Windows 8
ADMS-Puff	Windows 8
ADMS-STAR	Windows 8, Windows 10
Run Manager	Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11
WRFtoMet	Windows 8, Windows 10, Linux

¹ Professional, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions only. Starter and Home editions are not supported. Windows 8 refers to Windows 8.1 only. The version of Windows you are using must be supported by Microsoft. All CERC software released before January 2020 is compatible with Windows 7. Linux versions of software have been developed and tested on CentOS 7 operating systems, they have also been successfully used on Red Hat, Debian and Azure Linux. Linux operating systems must be 64-bit for compatibility with CERC software.

² The ADMS-Urban interface is not available on Linux. ADMS-Urban Linux licences are currently only available for MAQS users.

Links with other software[top]

The CERC software listed below can interact directly with other software, which improves productivity.

Software	Links with other software
ADMS 6	ArcGIS, MapInfo, Surfer
ADMS-Roads	ArcGIS, MapInfo, Surfer
ADMS-Urban	ArcGIS, MapInfo, Surfer
MAQS	ADMS-Urban, WRF, CMAQ, CAMx, CHIMERE, EMEP, WRF-Chem
ADMS-Airport	ArcGIS, MapInfo, Surfer
ADMS-Screen	ArcGIS, MapInfo, Surfer
EMIT	ADMS-Urban, ADMS-Roads, ADMS-Airport
FLOWSTAR-Energy	Surfer
GASTAR	-
LSMS	GASTAR
ADMS-Puff	Surfer
ADMS-STAR	ArcGIS, Surfer
Run Manager	ADMS 6, ADMS-Urban, ADMS-Roads, ADMS-Airport, FLOWSTAR-Energy, ADMS-Puff, GASTAR
WRFtoMet	WRF, ADMS, ADMS-Urban, ADMS-Roads, ADMS-Airport, ADMS-EIA, FLOWSTAR-Energy

Supported versions

Software	Supported versions3
ArcGIS4	Versions 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
Surfer	Versions 10 - 24
MapInfo	Versions 12, 12.5, 15, 15.2, 16, 17, 20195 and 2021

³ Use of third party software is only supported on those operating systems for which the manufacturer explicitly supports its use.

⁴ A patch is available from our user area to support ArcGIS 10.4 onwards. ArcGIS will also need the ESRI Spatial Analyst component to generate contours in ArcGIS.

⁵ A patch is available from our user area to support MapInfo 2019 onwards.

Microsoft Office[top]

Current versions of CERC software (including the links to ArcGIS and MapInfo Professional) do not require Microsoft Office to be installed with the following exceptions.

Emission inventories

Users of ADMS-Urban, ADMS-Roads or ADMS-Airport who wish to directly edit an emissions inventory database using the Excel templates, as described in the User Guides, will require Microsoft Access and Excel to be installed. These must be versions supplied with or equivalent to Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010.

Access 2007 and 2010 users should note that each time they open an emissions inventory database in Access, they will be asked whether to upgrade it to the latest format. It is important to always answer No. If the database is upgraded to the latest format it cannot be used.

We do not support the direct editing of data in inventory databases using Access 2013 or later.

Surfer Automation and Slideshow Creator Utilities

These utilities are Microsoft Excel templates that use macros, so in order to use them you need to have Excel 2016 or later installed.