Note: This page provides the system requirements for the original release of Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1. If you need the system requirements for another version of Symantec Endpoint Protection, please see "Release Notes and System Requirements for all versions of Symantec Endpoint Protection and Symantec Network Access Control," TECH163829.

To check if the computer in question meets the system requirements, download and run a pre-install check with SymHelp.

These requirements apply equally to the Enterprise and Small Business Editions of Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1, except where noted.

Network Access Control is a component of the Enterprise Edition only.

Unless otherwise specified, all updates, editions, and Service Packs (SPs) for a listed Windows version are supported, e.g. Windows 7 = Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate editions, all SPs. As Microsoft releases new Service Packs for Windows, these requirements may need to be re-evaluated--the newest Service Pack may require an updated version of the Symantec Product.

Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager (SEPM) system requirements

Processor

• 32-bit processor: 1-GHz Intel Pentium III or equivalent minimum (Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent recommended)
• 64-bit processor: 2-GHz Pentium 4 with x86-64 support or equivalent minimum

Note: Intel Itanium IA-64 and PowerPC processors are not supported.

Physical RAM

1 GB of RAM for 32-bit operating systems, 2 GB of RAM for 64-bit operating systems, or higher if required by the operating system

Hard drive

4 GB or free space for the server, plus 4 GB for locally installed database

Display

800 x 600

Operating system

• Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit, RTM and SP1; all editions except Home)
• Windows XP Professional (32-bit, SP3 or later; 64-bit, all SPs)
• Windows Server 2003 (32-bit, 64-bit, R2, SP1 or later)
• Windows Small Business Server 2003 (32-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 (32-bit, 64-bit, R2, RTM, SP1, and SP2)
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 (64-bit)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (64-bit)

Note: Clients before version 12.1 can be managed by this version of the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager, regardless of the client operating system.

Web browser

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, 8, or 9
• Mozilla Firefox 3.6 or 4.0

The Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager includes an embedded database, and this is the only choice in Small Business Edition. In the Enterprise version, you may use the embedded database or one of the following versions of Microsoft SQL Server:

SQL Server 2000, SP4 or later
SQL Server 2005, SP2 or later
SQL Server 2008, all service packs
SQL Server 2008 R2, all service packs [SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 for 12.1 Release Update 1 (RU1)]

Note: If you install the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager and the SQL database on the same computer, a minimum of 4 GB of RAM is recommended.

Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) client, Windows and Macintosh system requirements

Processor

• 32-bit processor for Windows: 1-GHz Intel Pentium III or equivalent minimum (Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent recommended)
• 32-bit processor for Mac: Intel Core Solo, Intel Core Duo
• 64-bit processor for Windows: 2-GHz Pentium 4 with x86-64 support or equivalent minimum. Itanium processors are not supported.
• 64-bit processor for Mac: Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Quad-Core Xeon Processor

Physical RAM

512 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended), or higher if required by the operating system

Hard drive

Hard disk: 700 MB or more free space

Display

800 x 600

Operating system

• Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit, RTM and SP1; all editions except Home)
• Windows XP Professional (32-bit, SP3 or later; 64-bit, all SPs)
• Windows Server 2003 (32-bit, 64-bit, R2, SP1 or later)
• Windows Small Business Server 2003 (32-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 (32-bit, 64-bit, R2, RTM, SP1, and SP2)
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 (64-bit)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (64-bit)
• Windows Home Server 2011 SP1
• Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 

• Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6 (32-bit, 64-bit)*
• Mac OS X Server 10.5 or 10.6 (32-bit, 64-bit)*
• Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" is supported in SEP 12.1 RU1 and newer.
• Mac OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" is supported in SEP 12.1 RU2 and newer. 

For information about the system requirements for the Symantec AntiVirus client on Linux, see the Symantec AntiVirus for Linux Implementation Guide.

Symantec Network Access Control (SNAC) client system requirements

Processor

• 32-bit processor for Windows: 1-GHz Intel Pentium III or equivalent minimum (Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent recommended)
• 64-bit processor for Windows: 2-GHz Pentium 4 with x86-64 support or equivalent minimum. Itanium processors are not supported.

Operating system

• Windows XP Home or Professional (32-bit, SP2 or later; 64-bit, all SPs)
• Windows XP Embedded
• Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit)
• Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit, RTM and SP1)
• Windows Server 2003 (32-bit, 64-bit, R2, SP1 or later)
• Windows Server 2008 (32-bit, 64-bit, R2, SP1, and SP2)
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 (64-bit)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (64-bit)

Physical RAM

512 MB of RAM, or higher if required by the operating system

Hard disk

32-bit: 300 MB; 64-bit: 400 MB

Display

800 x 600

Symantec Network Access Control On-Demand client system requirements

Operating system

• Windows: Intel Pentium II 550 MHz (1 GHz for Windows Vista) or faster
• Mac: Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 867 MHz or faster Processor
• Windows XP Home or Professional (32-bit, SP2 and SP3)
• Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit)
• Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit, RTM and SP1)
• Windows Server 2003 (32-bit, 64-bit, R2, SP1 or later)
• Windows Server 2008 (32-bit, 64-bit, R2, SP1, and SP2)
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 (64-bit)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (64-bit)
• Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5 or 10.6

Disk space and Physical RAM

• Download size: 9MB. Amount of free disk space needed to run the client: 100MB.
• Physical RAM for either Windows or Mac On-Demand client: 512MB

Web browser

• For Windows On-Demand Client: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later; Mozilla Firefox 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 3.6.3
• For Mac On-Demand Client: Apple Safari 4.0 and 5.0; Mozilla Firefox 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 3.6.3

Note: Clients from version 11.0 RU6 and lower do not support Firefox 3.6.3.

Other

• Video display: Super VGA (1,024 x 768) or higher
• At least one Ethernet adapter (with TCP/IP installed)

 SEP 12.1 is also fully supported on Windows 2003 Server Appliance Edition.