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SOLAR System Requirements

SOLAR System Requirements – Delivering Assessments

Standard (HTML) Assessments – Web Delivery

System requirements for standard SOLAR (HTML) assessments delivered via a web browser. SQA tests standard HTML web delivery on Windows 10 laptops, MacBooks, iPads, Android-based devices and Chromebooks using Google Chrome or Safari and our recommended system requirements are based on this.

Devices

 

Minimum

Recommended

Desktop/laptop devices

Windows-based devices

Macs

iMacs

MacBooks

Chromebooks

Windows-based devices

MacBooks

Chromebooks

Tablet devices

Android-based devices

iPads

Android-based devices

iPads

 

Operating systems

 

Minimum

Recommended

Operating System (Desktop/Laptop Devices)

Chrome OS

macOS

Windows 10

Windows 11

Chrome OS

macOS

Windows 10

Windows 11

Operating System (Tablet Devices)

Android

iOS

iPadOS

Android

iOS

iPadOS

 

Operating systems must be up to date and must always be upgraded to the latest release to ensure continuing compatibility.

 

Web browsers

  Minimum Recommended
Web browser

Google Chrome

Safari

Microsoft Edge

Mozilla Firefox

Google Chrome

Safari

Web browsers must be up to date and must always be upgraded to the latest release to ensure continuing compatibility.

 

Device requirements

  Minimum Recommended
Processor speed 2.33 GHz 2.33 GHz
Graphics memory 64 MB 64 MB
RAM 1 GB 1 GB
Screen resolution 1280 x 720 pixels 1920 x 1080 pixels

 

Internet requirements

 

Minimum

Recommended

Internet speed

512 Kbps

512 Kbps

 

Testing

Before scheduling and delivering any live SOLAR (HTML) assessments, you must check that any devices being used to deliver assessments meet the minimum requirements and have been tested to ensure they function correctly.

Legacy (Flash) Assessments – Desktop/Laptop Delivery

System requirements for legacy SOLAR (Flash) assessments which require the use of the Surpass Viewer app. SQA tests legacy Flash desktop/laptop delivery on Windows 10 laptops and our recommended system requirements are based on this.

Devices

 

Minimum

Recommended

Desktop/laptop devices

Windows-based devices

Macs

iMacs

MacBooks

Windows-based devices

 

 

Operating systems

 

Minimum

Recommended

Operating system

macOS

Windows 10

Windows 11

Windows 10

Windows 11

 

Operating systems must be up to date and must always be upgraded to the latest release to ensure continuing compatibility.

 

Testing

Before scheduling and delivering any live legacy SOLAR (Flash) assessments, you must check that any devices being used to deliver assessments meet the minimum requirements and have been tested to ensure they function correctly.

Legacy (Flash) Assessments – Tablet Delivery

System requirements for legacy SOLAR (Flash) assessments which require the use of the Surpass app. SQA tests legacy Flash tablet delivery on iPads and our recommended system requirements are based on this.

 

Devices

 

Minimum

Recommended

Tablet devices

Android-based devices

iPads (64-bit)

 

iPads (64-bit)

 

 

Operating systems

 

Minimum

Recommended

Operating system

Android

iOS

iPadOS

iOS

iPadOS

 

Operating systems must be up to date and must always be upgraded to the latest release to ensure continuing compatibility.

 

Device requirements

 

Minimum

Recommended

RAM

1 GB

1 GB

Screen resolution

1024 x 600 pixels

1024 x 600 pixels

 

Internet requirements

 

Minimum

Recommended

Internet speed

2 Mbps

2 Mbps

 

Testing

Before scheduling and delivering any live legacy SOLAR (Flash) assessments, you must check that any devices being used to deliver assessments meet the minimum requirements and have been tested to ensure they function correctly.

Secure/Offline Assessments – Desktop/Laptop Delivery(SecureClient)

System requirements for assessments delivered using SecureClient on a desktop or laptop. SecureClient is a standalone delivery app which provides options to deliver assessments securely in lockdown mode or to download and deliver assessments offline. SQA tests SecureClient desktop/laptop delivery on Windows 10 laptops and our recommended system requirements are based on this. You must request access to SecureClient. Find out further information and request access to SecureClient.

 

Devices

 

Minimum

Recommended

Desktop/laptop devices

Windows-based devices

Windows-based devices

 

Operating systems

 

Minimum

Recommended

Operating System

Windows 10

Windows 11

Windows 10

Windows 11

 

Operating systems must be up to date and must always be upgraded to the latest release to ensure continuing compatibility.

 

Device requirements

 

Minimum

Recommended

Processor speed

1.80 GHz

1.80 GHz

Graphics memory

64 MB

64 MB

RAM

4 GB

4 GB

Disk space

1 GB

1 GB

Screen resolution

1024 x 720 pixels

1920 x 1080 pixels

Microsoft .NET Framework

4.7.2

4.7.2

Redistributable Package

(Visual C++)

X86 (download)

X86 (download)

 

Internet requirements

 

Minimum

Recommended

Internet speed

2 Mbps

2 Mbps

 

Configuration

SecureClient may require configuration of your device and/or network to ensure it functions correctly.

 

Testing

Before scheduling and delivering any live assessments via SecureClient, you must check that any devices being used to deliver assessments meet the minimum requirements and have been tested to ensure they function correctly.

Additional Apps

Some assessments may contain media or attached files eg PDFs, text documents, spreadsheets, audio, and video that require additional apps to open these files, eg Adobe Reader, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel.

Surpass

SOLAR runs on the Surpass platform. SOLAR system requirements are based on Surpass system requirements. Access Surpass system requirements at https://help.surpass.com/resources/system-requirements/.

 

SOLAR System Requirements – Administering Assessments

Administering Assessments

System requirements for administering SOLAR assessments in a web browser and in the Surpass Viewer app. Some administrative functions in SOLAR require the use of the Surpass Viewer app. SQA manages SOLAR on Windows 10 laptops and our recommended system requirements are based on this.

Devices

  Minimum Recommended
Desktop/laptop devices Windows-based devices Windows-based devices

 

Operating systems

  Minimum Recommended
Operating system

Windows 10

Windows 11

Windows 10

Windows 11

 

Operating systems must be up to date and must always be upgraded to the latest release to ensure continuing compatibility.

 

Web browsers

  Minimum Recommended
Web browsers

Google Chrome

Microsoft Edge

Mozilla Firefox

Google Chrome

 

Web browsers must be up to date and must always be upgraded to the latest release to ensure continuing compatibility.

 

Internet requirements

  Minimum Recommended
Internet speed 512 Kbps 512 Kbps

 

Additional apps

When administering assessments, some functions generate files, eg PDFs, and external apps are required to open these files, eg Adobe Reader.

Surpass

SOLAR runs on the Surpass platform. SOLAR system requirements are based on Surpass system requirements. Access Surpass system requirements at https://help.surpass.com/resources/system-requirements/.