.NET Framework System Requirements

To ensure adequate performance, the .NET Framework has the following minimum and recommended system requirements for client and server applications.

Operating System Requirements

The .NET Framework is supported on the following platforms.

Scenario Operating system
Client Microsoft® Windows® 98

Microsoft® Windows® 98 Second Edition

Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition

Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0 Workstation with Service Pack 6.0a or later

Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0 Server with Service Pack 6.0a or later

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Advanced Server

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Datacenter Server

Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional

Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 family

Note   On all these systems, Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5.01 or later and Microsoft® Windows® Installer 2.0 or later are also required.
Server Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional with Service Pack 2.0

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server with Service Pack 2.0

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Advanced Server with Service Pack 2.0

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Datacenter Server with Service Pack 2.0

Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional

Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 family

Additional Software Requirements

To use additional features such as ASP.NET, COM+ services, and SQL Server .NET Data Provider, you will need the following additional software.

Scenario Feature Required software
Client SQL Server .NET Data Provider Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.6 or later
  Access to system management information Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) (installed with operating system on Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition, and Windows XP)
  COM+ services Windows 2000 Service Pack 2.0
Server SQL Server .NET Data Provider Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.7
  ASP.NET Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0

Hardware Requirements

Scenario Required processor Recommended processor Required RAM Recommended RAM
Client (Windows Forms and Windows Services) Pentium 90 MHz* Pentium 90 MHz or faster 32 MB* 96 MB or higher
Server Pentium 133 MHz* Pentium 133 MHz or faster 128 MB* 256 MB or higher

*Or the minimum required by the operating system, whichever is higher.

See Also

Getting Started