FAQs

Supported Platforms

• Windows - Intel compatible:
  • Windows 10 and 11
• Linux - Intel compatible:
  • RedHat Enterprise 8 and 9
  • Rocky Linux 8 and 9
  • Ubuntu LTS 22 and 24

Note: As we add support for newer versions of Linux, support for older versions may have to be withdrawn. If you are using a Linux version near the minimum that we support, we would recommend updating in the near future to ensure you are able to use future CSD software updates without interruption.

• macOS - Intel compatible or Apple ARM (via Rosetta 2 emulation)*:
  • macOS 13, 14 and 15

Note: Apple ARM-based (M1) systems are supported with this release via emulation with Rosetta 2, but with the caveat that there are some issues with certain functionality. We plan to improve support with subsequent releases. Please see this FAQ for more details on our compatibility with macOS Big Sur.

If you choose to use a version other than those listed above we cannot guarantee that the CSD Portfolio software will work correctly, although we will attempt to assist you with any problems you may encounter.

Linux platforms will require the Network Security Services (NSS), OpenGL, Fortran and libXScrnSaver packages to be installed (see Linux Installation in the CSD Release and Installation Notes for more details). Ubuntu 22 requires libxcb-xinerama0 to be installed to run the installer.

Shared Home Directories And Licensing

On Linux and macOS, there may be licensing issues if you use the software on multiple computers which share a home directory. If you have an unlimited licence you can work around this by using a local licence server instead. See this FAQ for more details:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of activating via a local licence server?

Changes to Supported Platforms

CentOS and RedHat 7 are now unsupported platforms having reached the end of their support cycles on 30th June 2024. The CSD Portfolio will no longer function on these platforms starting with 2024.2 due to improvements to the underlying technologies that the CSD Portfolio uses. If you are using CentOS or RedHat 7, then do not upgrade past 2024.1. If this will cause you difficulties, please contact support@ccdc.cam.ac.uk to discuss further.

Additionally, in accordance with our policy to support the latest two releases, the 2024.1 release was the last to support Ubuntu 20.04 as we have added support for Ubuntu 24.04.

Windows 10 is due to reach end of life for Microsoft support at the end of October 2025 and it is anticipated that CCDC will also drop support at this time. Please contact support@ccdc.cam.ac.uk to discuss further.

The 2025.1 release will see us change the version of the CSD Python API installed with the desktop software to use Python 3.11 rather than 3.9.

Changes to Supported Products

DASH is no longer a core CCDC product and is no longer distributed as part of the CCDC Software Portfolio. In order to support development for its enthusiastic user base, we are opening DASH up for others to contribute to. DASH certainly won't be going away, it will simply be moving to a different home–in particular, an open-source project on GitHub. To find out more about the future direction of DASH, please visit this page: https://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/solutions/open-source/dash-open-source/.

The cqbatch and mogulbatch command line utilities are now deprecated - while these remain a part of the CSD Release software during 2024, their use is no longer recommended, and we would instead encourage switching to the use of the CSD Python API. We anticipate that cqbatch will be removed entirely in a future release.

If any of the above will cause difficulties, please contact us at support@ccdc.cam.ac.uk to discuss possible solutions.

System Requirements

In addition to the requirement of one of the supported platforms detailed above, the CSD Portfolio software suites also have the following hardware requirements:

• Disk Space:
  • A complete install requires 37GB (7GB software, 30GB data)
  • Approximately 50GB free disk space will be required during installation to allow for the cache
  • By default the software will be installed in your home directory - if you have a quota you will probably need to install it elsewhere and change the location of the cache too
• Minimum recommended RAM: 8 GB
  • Minimum recommended RAM for use of CSD-CrossMiner: 32 GB
• Graphics card and drivers that support OpenGL version 2 (see this support database entry for more details)

The above supported platforms and system requirements, taken together, form the minimum recommended specification for any system that is planned to be used for a CSD Portfolio software install.

For running GOLD in the cloud, see this FAQ:
How can I run GOLD in parallel?

Graphics System Requirements

Products with 3D graphical display functionality are supported only on graphics cards and chipsets that have up-to-date installers and are still in support by the graphics system manufacturers. The graphics drivers in use should support OpenGL 2.1.

Recommended Specification for Improved Performance

The CSD Portfolio software suite is varied in terms of the types of action each software component will perform. There are thus several areas of a computer system where the improved specification of a particular hardware component will improve the performance of the CSD Portfolio software:

• CPU: Improves any aspect of the software that is carrying out calculations, for example, a GOLD docking
• Disk Access Speed: The greatest performance increase will be seen in any aspect of the software that requires access to large data files, such as ConQuest database searches
• RAM: Increased RAM over 8 GB will help when either looking at large datasets or large complex structures or else when using multiple CSD Portfolio programs at the same time. For CSD-CrossMiner use we recommend a minimum of 32 GB RAM as this program requires holding large datasets in memory.
• GPU: A dedicated modern GPU graphics card, such as those available from NVidia or AMD, will improve performance when visualising large complex structures or large packing diagrams.