Minimum Hardware Requirements
- Martin Gudme Søndergaard
Minimum Hardware Requirements
This document describes the general guidelines for deciding CapaInstaller hardware requirements
Prerequisites
A basic understanding of the CapaInstaller platform, infrastructure, and hardware components is needed.
Requirements
The hardware requirements described in this section cover the minimum recommended setup for managing a CapaInstaller environment with the volume presented below:
Managed devices | 2500 |
Managed users | 2500 |
Applications | 250 |
Operating system images | 10 |
Management Server / OS Point Server
The Management and OS Point server contains the master copy of packages, OS Images, configurations and runs the
Hardware
Hardware requirements for a CapaInstaller server setup serving up to 2500 simultaneous operating devices
| Type | Class | # | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Server class | Bus: =< 1600 MHz | |
| CPU | Xeon 5140 or above | 2 core | CPU: =< 2,5 GHz |
| Memory | DDR3 or above | 8GB | Ram: =< 1066MHz |
| Network | Gigabit | Single NIC | 1000mbps |
| Disk | Server class 15000 rpm or SSD | 2 Disks | System+OS: Min 60GB disk space PointData: Min 750 GB disk space |
Subsequent Management / OS Point Server
Additional servers can be added to facilitate Capainstaller services and resources to clients in local networks.
Disk requirements can be altered for such servers as CapaInstaller can limit the replication of data to specific packages, drivers, and images.
The minimum requirements should still be observed as downscaling of memory and CPU usage is not linear.
Software
For detailed software, requirements see Software Requirements
SQL Server
The SQL Server holds information about objects (packages, OS images, units, configurations, etc.) and their relations.
For best performance, it is recommended to separate the SQL data and SQL log files on separate disks.
Hardware
CPU | Min. 1 Xeon Quad Core 2.5 GHz |
Memory | 8 GB |
Allocated disk space C: (OS) | Min. 40 GB |
Allocated disk space D: (SQL Data) | Min. 20 GB |
Allocated disk space E: (SQL Logs) | Min. 10 GB |
Network | Min. 1 Gbit |
SQL server Best Practises
Before setting up a Database server for CapaInstaller, be aware of the Best practices for correctly configured Allocation Unit Size and Partition Offset to maximize disk performance.
WSUS Server
CapaInstaller uses a WSUS setup with a WSUS main server and a number of WSUS replica servers. The WSUS replica servers are implemented to spread the load when updates are released.
Hardware
The physical hardware requirements for a server that holds both the Management/OS Points and the Management/OS Servers are:
CPU | Single Xeon Quad Core 2.4 GHz |
Memory | 4 GB |
Allocated disk space C: (OS) | Min. 40 GB |
Allocated disk space D: (WSUS Data) | Min. 200 GB |
Network | Min. 1 Gbit |
Supported Hypervisors
- Microsoft Hyper-V
- VMware ESXi
Virtualization Best Practises
Be sure to be aware of general Virtualization Best Practices before deciding to virtualize a CapaInstaller host server.
Several key concepts regarding performance on any hypervisor should be considered:
Be sure to adhere to virtualization best practices to avoid Resource Contention when scaling your virtual infrastructure.
Please observe the concepts of CPU and Memory Contention, CPU Overcommitment, or CPU/Memory Oversubscription when scaling the virtual guest assigned for CapaInstaller.
Allocate dedicated storage resources to your CapaInstaller and Database guest machines to avoid I/O Bottlenecks during intensive I/O operations
Avoid running CapaInstaller or Database from a single simple Local Host Bus Adapter as the Hypervisor will utilize much-needed CPU resources to handle I/O operations. Use a dedicated controller connecting to either a Storage Area Network or Network Attached Storage to lower the strain on the Hypervisor CPU
Consider NIC Teaming when configuring the Hypervisor virtual networks to maximize throughput and avoid high Network I/O Latency when multiple virtual guests share the same network interface with the CapaInstaller and Database server.
Licenses
For each Windows server, a valid operating system license is required.
For the SQL Server, a processor license or individual Client Access Licenses (CALs) are required. If CALs are used, a CAL must be purchased for each user/computer that will access the database.
The following components in CapaInstaller require a CAL:
- All servers in the CapaInstaller solution
- All computers running the CapaInstaller Agent
- Each computer/user accessing the CMS console application
If a processor license is purchased, client connections are unlimited, and no CALs are needed.
Certificates
To allow secure communication through SSL/HTTPS, a server certificate must be purchased (wildcard * certificates are supported).