🖥️ System Requirements¶

NewWaves Hospital Management System requires specific server configurations and software dependencies to function properly.

📋 Minimum Server Requirements¶

Web Server¶

Apache: 2.4+ or Nginx: 1.18+
SSL Certificate: Required for HTTPS (recommended for healthcare data)
Document Root: Public folder access
URL Rewriting: mod_rewrite (Apache) or equivalent (Nginx)

PHP Requirements¶

PHP Version: 8.1, 8.2, or 8.3 (recommended)
Memory Limit: 512MB minimum, 1GB recommended
Execution Time: 300 seconds minimum
Upload Size: 100MB minimum (for file uploads)
Post Size: 100MB minimum

Required PHP Extensions¶

✓ OpenSSL PHP Extension
✓ PDO PHP Extension  
✓ Mbstring PHP Extension
✓ Tokenizer PHP Extension
✓ XML PHP Extension
✓ Ctype PHP Extension
✓ JSON PHP Extension
✓ BCMath PHP Extension
✓ Fileinfo PHP Extension
✓ GD PHP Extension
✓ Zip PHP Extension
✓ Curl PHP Extension

Database Requirements¶

Primary Database (Choose One): - MySQL: 8.0+ or MariaDB: 10.3+ - PostgreSQL: 13+ (alternative) - SQLite: 3.8+ (development only)

Database Configuration: - Storage Engine: InnoDB (MySQL/MariaDB) - Character Set: utf8mb4 - Collation: utf8mb4_unicode_ci - Max Connections: 100+ concurrent - Query Cache: Enabled (recommended)

Server Resources¶

Minimum Configuration: - RAM: 2GB - CPU: 2 cores - Storage: 10GB SSD - Bandwidth: 100Mbps

Recommended Configuration: - RAM: 4GB+ - CPU: 4+ cores - Storage: 50GB+ SSD - Bandwidth: 1Gbps

🚀 Recommended Hosting Environments¶

Shared Hosting¶

cPanel/WHM with PHP selector
Softaculous installer (if available)
File Manager access
Database management (phpMyAdmin)
SSL certificates included
Daily backups recommended

VPS/Dedicated Servers¶

Ubuntu: 20.04+ or CentOS: 8+
LAMP/LEMP stack configured
Composer installed globally
Node.js: 16+ (for asset compilation)
Git access (for updates)
Cron jobs access

Cloud Hosting (Recommended)¶

AWS EC2 (t3.medium or higher)
Google Cloud (e2-standard-2 or higher)
DigitalOcean (4GB+ droplet)
Vultr (Regular Performance 4GB+)
Linode (Nanode 4GB+)

🔧 Software Dependencies¶

Composer Dependencies¶

The system uses Laravel 10 framework with the following key packages:

{
  "php": "^8.1",
  "laravel/framework": "^10.0",
  "laravel/sanctum": "^3.2",
  "laravel/tinker": "^2.8",
  "spatie/laravel-permission": "^5.10",
  "intervention/image": "^2.7",
  "maatwebsite/excel": "^3.1",
  "barryvdh/laravel-dompdf": "^2.0",
  "pusher/pusher-php-server": "^7.2"
}

Node.js Dependencies (Optional)¶

For asset compilation and development:

{
  "vite": "^4.0",
  "laravel-vite-plugin": "^0.7",
  "bootstrap": "^5.3",
  "jquery": "^3.7",
  "chart.js": "^4.2"
}

📧 Email Configuration¶

SMTP Settings¶

SMTP Server: Required for notifications
Authentication: Username/Password
Encryption: TLS/SSL recommended
Port: 587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL)

Supported Email Providers¶

Gmail SMTP
SendGrid
Mailgun
Amazon SES
Custom SMTP servers

💾 Storage Requirements¶

File System¶

Writable Directories:
storage/ (logs, cache, sessions)
bootstrap/cache/ (framework cache)
public/uploads/ (user uploads)
public/assets/images/ (system images)

File Upload Support¶

Patient Documents: PDF, DOC, DOCX, JPG, PNG
Medical Images: JPG, PNG, DICOM (if configured)
Profile Photos: JPG, PNG, GIF
Department Images: JPG, PNG, WebP
System Logos: PNG, JPG, SVG

Backup Storage¶

Database Backups: Daily recommended
File Backups: Weekly recommended
Off-site Storage: Cloud backup recommended
Retention: 30 days minimum

🔐 Security Requirements¶

SSL/TLS¶

SSL Certificate: Required for production
TLS Version: 1.2 or 1.3
HTTPS Redirect: Mandatory for patient data
HSTS Headers: Recommended

Server Security¶

Firewall: Enabled with appropriate rules
Fail2Ban: Recommended for brute force protection
Regular Updates: OS and software patches
Access Control: SSH key authentication

Application Security¶

CSRF Protection: Enabled by default
XSS Protection: Built-in Laravel protection
SQL Injection: Protected via Eloquent ORM
File Upload: Validated and sanitized
Session Security: Secure session configuration

🏥 Healthcare Compliance¶

HIPAA Considerations¶

Data Encryption: At rest and in transit
Access Logging: All patient data access
User Authentication: Strong password policies
Session Management: Automatic timeout
Audit Trails: Complete activity logging

Data Protection¶

Regular Backups: Encrypted and tested
Access Controls: Role-based permissions
Data Retention: Configurable policies
Privacy Settings: Patient consent management

🧪 Development Environment¶

Local Development¶

# Minimum requirements for development
PHP 8.1+
Composer 2.5+
Node.js 16+
MySQL 8.0+ or SQLite 3.8+

Development Tools¶

Laravel Artisan: Command-line interface
Vite: Asset bundling (optional)
PHPUnit: Testing framework
Laravel Telescope: Debugging (optional)

⚡ Performance Optimization¶

Caching¶

OPcache: Enabled for PHP
Redis: Recommended for sessions/cache
Application Cache: Laravel cache enabled
Database Cache: Query result caching

Asset Optimization¶

CSS/JS Minification: Production builds
Image Optimization: Compressed uploads
CDN Support: Static asset delivery
Gzip Compression: Web server level

📊 Monitoring & Logging¶

Error Logging¶

Laravel Logs: storage/logs/
Web Server Logs: Apache/Nginx access logs
Database Logs: MySQL/PostgreSQL logs
PHP Error Logs: System PHP errors

Performance Monitoring¶

Response Times: < 2 seconds recommended
Database Queries: Optimized queries
Memory Usage: Monitor PHP memory
Disk Space: Regular cleanup required

🔄 Backup & Recovery¶

Automated Backups¶

Database: Daily automated backups
Files: Weekly file system backups
Configuration: Environment settings backup
Testing: Regular restore testing

Disaster Recovery¶

Recovery Time: < 4 hours target
Data Loss: < 24 hours maximum
Failover: Manual or automated
Documentation: Recovery procedures

📱 Mobile API Requirements¶

API Server¶

Same server requirements as web application
API Rate Limiting: Configured appropriately
CORS Headers: Mobile app domains
JWT Authentication: Token-based auth

Mobile App Support¶

Android: API level 21+ (Android 5.0+)
iOS: iOS 12+
API Endpoints: RESTful JSON API
Real-time Updates: WebSocket support (optional)

🆘 Support & Troubleshooting¶

Common Issues¶

Permission Errors: Check file permissions (755/644)
Database Connection: Verify credentials and connectivity
PHP Extensions: Install missing extensions
Memory Limits: Increase PHP memory_limit
Upload Failures: Check upload_max_filesize

Getting Help¶

Documentation: Complete user manual included
Installation Wizard: Automated system checks
Error Messages: Detailed error reporting
Log Files: Comprehensive logging system

✅ Pre-Installation Checklist¶

Before installing NewWaves Hospital Management System:

[ ] Server meets minimum PHP version (8.1+)
[ ] Database server available (MySQL 8.0+)
[ ] All required PHP extensions installed
[ ] Web server configured with URL rewriting
[ ] SSL certificate installed (for production)
[ ] File permissions set correctly
[ ] SMTP server configured for emails
[ ] Adequate storage space available
[ ] Regular backup system in place
[ ] Security measures implemented

Note: The installation wizard will automatically check most of these requirements and provide guidance for any missing components.

Last Updated: August 13, 2024
Version: 1.0.0
Compatibility: NewWaves Hospital Management System v1.0.0