System Requirements

NetLogo 4.0.5 User Manual   

NetLogo runs on almost any current computer.

If you have any trouble with NetLogo not working, write bugs@ccl.northwestern.edu.

System Requirements: Application

Windows

NetLogo runs on Windows Vista, XP, 2000, NT, ME, and 98.

The NetLogo installer for Windows installs Java version 1.5.0 for NetLogo's exclusive use only. Other programs on your computer are not affected.

Mac OS X

Mac OS X 10.4 (or newer) is strongly recommended. 10.3 and 10.2 are also supported.

Please run Software Update to ensure that you have the latest Java.

Other platforms

NetLogo should work on any platform on which a Sun Java Virtual Machine, version 1.4.1 or later, is installed. Version 1.5.0_13 or later is preferred.

You start NetLogo by running the provided netlogo.sh script.

System Requirements: Saved Applets

NetLogo models saved as Java applets should work in any web browser where Java version 1.4.1 or later is installed.

System Requirements: 3D View

Occasionally an older, less powerful system is not able to successfully use the 3D view. Try it and see.

Some systems can use the 3D view but can't switch to full-screen mode. It depends on the graphics card and controller. For example, the ATI Radeon IGP 345 and Intel 82845 probably will not work.

Technical Java Details for Windows Users

Most Windows users should choose the NetLogo download with bundled Java.

There are two reasons you might want to use the alternate download, without bundled Java:

  1. You want a smaller download so it arrives faster and uses up less space on your hard drive.
  2. For specific technical reasons of your own, you want to run NetLogo using a different Java than the one we bundle.

If you think the alternate download might be appropriate for you, please read the following detailed technical information.

Even if you already have Java installed on your computer, it probably will not work with NetLogo.

For maximum performance, NetLogo uses a special option called the "server" VM. The default Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installer from Sun does not install this option. It is only included in Sun's Java Development Kit (JDK).

If you are not a Java developer, then you probably have the JRE, not the JDK.

Therefore, if you want to run NetLogo with your own Java VM, you have two options:

  1. Make sure that you have the full JDK for the Java you want to use, not just the JRE.
  2. Or, you can edit a configuration file in order to make NetLogo work with the JRE.

We don't recommend option 2, because NetLogo runs noticeably slower without the "server" option.

If you choose option 2 anyway, here's what to do. You have to tell NetLogo not to try to use the "server" VM option. First, install NetLogo using the download on this page. Then, open NetLogo 4.0.5.lax, located in the directory where you installed NetLogo (by default c:/Program Files/NetLogo 4.0.5), in a text editor such as Notepad. You need to remove the -server option from the additional java options. So change this section: 

#   LAX.NL.JAVA.OPTION.ADDITIONAL
#   -----------------------------
#   don't load native libs from user dirs, only ours, also run server not client VM

lax.nl.java.option.additional=-Djava.ext.dirs= -server -Dsun.java2d.noddraw=true

To look like this: 

#   LAX.NL.JAVA.OPTION.ADDITIONAL
#   -----------------------------
#   don't load native libs from user dirs, only ours, also run server not client VM

lax.nl.java.option.additional=-Djava.ext.dirs= -Dsun.java2d.noddraw=true

Again, remember that with this approach, performance is impaired.