Hardware Requirements

The following section displays the current hardware requirements for both PCs and servers to run F2. See the changelog for information about new or upcoming changes to requirements.

In large-scale installations the requirements can diverge due to existing environment/infrastructure.

If the use of F2 diverge from standard use (many large searches, large number of documents etc.), or there are web services built on tup of the F2 installation, the requirements can be higher than the ones specified below.

Talk to cBrain regarding the specific installation and demands to ensure the best possible performance.

PC (Client) requirements

Component Minimum requirements Normal performance Comments

CPU

2+ core processor @ 1,9 GHz

Core-I5 or higher

Intel® Core™ 8th Generation or later

AMD® Ryzen 2000 series or later

Architecture

64 bit

64 bit

-

RAM

4 GB (1GB dedicated to F2)

8 GB (2GB dedicated to F2)

-

DISK

8 GB free space

20 GB free space (SSD)

-

NIC

100 Mbit/s

1 Gbit/s Wireless

54 Mbit

-

Display

1280 x 1024

1920 x 1080 (FullHD)

On dual chip: set up F2 to run on integrated chip.

Other requirements

Performance tests must be made on a new installed PC.

Performance tests must be made on a new installed PC.

For VDI environment we need a physical PC for baseline testing.

Application Server

To manage increased load, we support scaling by adding more Application servers. This should be done only when the existing servers are overloaded with respect to CPU or I/O. Ensuring sufficient memory is also crucial, particularly after upgrading to version 6.1, which supports 64-bit mode.

Component 0-199 Users 200-999 Users 1000-1999 Users 2000-5999 Users Comments

CPU

4+ core processors @ 3 GHz

8+ core processors @ 3 GHz

8+ core processors @ 3 GHz

8+ core processors @ 3 GHz

AMD EPYC (4th or 5th generation)

Intel® Xeon® (5th or 6th generation)

Architecture

64 bit

64 bit

64 bit

64 bit

-

RAM

8 GB

16 GB

32 GB

64 GB

-

NIC

1x10 Gbit/s

1x10 Gbit/s

1x10 Gbit/s

1x10 Gbit/s for Net

1x10 Gbit/s for database server

NIC ressources must be dedicated to F2, including network

Other requirements

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

-

Application Server disk partitioning

0-199 Users (300 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

80GB

-

D:

Application

100GB

-

E:

Logs

20GB

-

F:

cSearch Index

100GB

Required if cSearch module chosen

200-999 Users (370 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

D:

Application

100GB

-

E:

Logs

50GB

-

F:

cSearch Index

100GB

Required if cSearch module chosen

1000-1999 Users (370 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

D:

Application

100GB

-

E:

Logs

50GB

-

F:

cSearch Index

100GB

Required if cSearch module chosen

Depending on system use, cSearch may require a dedicated server for systems with 999+ users.

2000-5999 Users (370 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

D:

Application

100GB

-

E:

Logs

50GB

-

F:

cSearch Index

100GB

Depending on system use, cSearch may require a dedicated server for systems with 999+ users.

Database Server

Different parts of the database (data, document content, log, tempDB) should be placed on disks appropriate for their specific use cases. For example:

  • tempDB should be very fast for random access.

  • Document content should allow for fast sequential access.

Depending on the customer’s hardware setup, cBrain will provide best practice recommendations.

For up to 100 users, the database server can be virtual, pending a discussion with cBrain.

If you need an archive database or databases from other systems on the same server, they should reside in separate instances and have additional RAM allocated.

The specifications provided are for a dedicated server for F2.

Buffer Pool Extension (BPE)

The Buffer Pool Extension can be configured on a dedicated high-performance drive to supplement SQL Server memory usage when the assigned buffer pool (RAM) is fully utilized.

Component 0-199 Users 200-999 Users 1000-1999 Users 2000-5999 Users Comments

Multiple databases on the same database instance as the F2 production database

No

No

No

No

No other databases (than the customers F2 Prod. database) should be present on same database instance. Otherwise, the resources are shared, and users can experience degraded performance.

CPU

8+ core processors @ 3 GHz

8+ core processors @ 3 GHz

10+ core processors @ 3 GHz

32+ core processors @ 3 GHz+

AMD EPYC (4th or 5th generation)

Intel® Xeon® (5th or 6th generation)

Architecture

64 bit

64 bit

64 bit

64 bit

-

RAM

96 GB (the more the better)

160 GB

280 GB

SQL Server Enterprise Edition is required

1 TB

SQL Server Enterprise Edition is required

-

NIC

1x10 Gbit/s

1x10 Gbit/s

Use one NIC for application server connection and one for net/user communication.

1x10 Gbit/s

Use one NIC for application server connection and one for net/user communication.

2x10 Gbit/s,

2x10Gbit/s for SAN

NIC ressources must be dedicated to F2, including network.

Disk Storage

Space for current and future files.

Space for current and future files.

Space for current and future files.

Space for current and future files.

High performance IO SAN

Large demands for data storage can change the requirements for the server specifications.

SAN Connection

-

Minimum 10 Gbit/s connection to SAN

Minimum 10 Gbit/s connection to SAN

Minimum 10 Gbit/s connection to SAN

-

Server type/resources

-

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

-

Database Server disk partitioning

Sizing of DB server in general, talk to cBrain. 2000+ users need verification by cBrain CTO/operations manager.

0-199 Users (680 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Latency Comment

C:

System

80GB

-

-

D:

SQL installation

100GB

-

-

E:

DB Data

300GB

< 1 ms

Minimum 100k IOPS

F:

Logs

100GB

-

"If simple recovery"

G:

TempDB

100GB

< 1 ms

The TempDB database must be placed on a dedicated high-performance SSD/NVMe storage subsystem located within the physical server. It shall be configured with a minimum of eight data files to ensure optimal performance and scalability. Minimum 300K IOPS

H:

Backup

100GB

-

-

Z:

Buffer Pool Extension

128-384 GB per SQL Instance

< 1 ms

Optional

If used, define 1-3x RAM size for the SQL instance (Max. 384 GB)

Minimum 300k IOPS

200-999 Users (680 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Latency Comment

C:

System

80GB

-

-

D:

SQL installation

100GB

-

-

E:

DB Data

300GB

< 1 ms

Minimum 100k IOPS

F:

Logs

100GB

-

"If simple recovery"

G:

TempDB

100GB

< 1 ms

The TempDB database must be placed on a dedicated high-performance SSD/NVMe storage subsystem located within the physical server. It shall be configured with a minimum of eight data files to ensure optimal performance and scalability. Minimum 300K IOPS

H:

Backup

100GB

-

Storage use + 100GB

Z:

Buffer Pool Extension

128-384 GB per SQL Instance

< 1 ms

Optional

If used, define 1-3x RAM size for the SQL instance (Max. 384 GB)

Minimum 300k IOPS

1000-1999 Users (1150 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Latency Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

-

D:

SQL installation

100GB

-

-

E:

DB Data

300GB

< 1 ms

Minimum 100k IOPS

F:

Logs

400GB

-

"If simple recovery"

G:

TempDB

130GB

< 1 ms

The TempDB database must be placed on a dedicated high-performance SSD/NVMe storage subsystem located within the physical server. It shall be configured with a minimum of eight data files to ensure optimal performance and scalability. Minimum 300K IOPS

H:

Backup

200GB

-

Storage use + 100GB

2000-5999 Users (1620 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Latency Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

-

D:

SQL installation

100GB

-

-

E:

DB Data

300GB

< 1 ms

Minimum 250k IOPS

F:

Logs

800GB

-

"If simple recovery"

G:

TempDB

200GB

< 1 ms

The TempDB database must be placed on a dedicated high-performance SSD/NVMe storage subsystem located within the physical server. It shall be configured with a minimum of eight data files to ensure optimal performance and scalability. Minimum 300K IOPS

H:

Backup

200GB

-

Storage use + 100GB

Integration Server

To manage increased load, consider scaling by adding more integration servers. This should be done only when the existing servers are overloaded with respect to CPU or I/O. Ensuring sufficient memory is also crucial, particularly after upgrading to version 6.1, which supports 64-bit mode.

Component 0-199 Users 200-999 Users 1000-1999 Users 2000-5999 Users Comments

CPU

4+ core processors @ 3 GHz

8+ core processors @ 3 GHz

8+ core processors @ 3 GHz

8+ core processors @ 3 GHz

AMD EPYC (4th or 5th generation)

Intel® Xeon® (5th or 6th generation)

Architecture

64 bit

64 bit

64 bit

64 bit

-

RAM

16 GB

32 GB

64 GB

128 GB

-

NIC

1x10 Gbit/s

1x10 Gbit/s

1x10 Gbit/s

2x10 Gbit/s

-

Other requirements

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

-

Integration Server disk partitioning

0-199 Users (200 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

80GB

-

D:

Application

100GB

-

E:

Logs

20GB

-

200-999 Users (240 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

D:

Application

100GB

-

E:

Logs

20GB

-

1000-1999 Users (270 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

D:

Application

100GB

-

E:

Logs

50GB

-

2000-5999 Users (270 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

D:

Application

100GB

-

E:

Logs

50GB

-

Mobile Server

Mobile server requirements may vary based on different use scenarios, such as:

  • Self-service solutions

  • Heavy use of third-party integration services.

Component 0-199 Users 200-999 Users 1000-1999 Users 2000-5999 Users Comments

CPU

4+ core processors @ 3 GHz

4+ core processors @ 3 GHz

4+ core processors @ 3 GHz

4+ core processors @ 3 GHz

AMD EPYC (4th or 5th generation)

Intel® Xeon® (5th or 6th generation)

Architecture

64 bit

64 bit

64 bit

64 bit

-

RAM

8 GB

16 GB

32 GB

64 GB

If the mobile server is used intensively as “REST-hub” for integrations, add 4 GB RAM.

NIC

1x10 Gbit/s

1x10 Gbit/s

1x10 Gbit/s

1x10 Gbit/s

-

Other requirements

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

If virtual: Dedicated resources

-

Mobile Server disk partitioning

0-199 Users (140 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

80GB

-

D:

Application

40GB

-

E:

Logs

20GB

-

200-999 Users (210 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

D:

Application

40GB

-

E:

Logs

50GB

-

1000-1999 Users (210 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

D:

Application

40GB

-

E:

Logs

50GB

-

2000-5999 Users (210 GB - min. 10k IOPS)

Partition Name Partition size Comment

C:

System

120GB

-

D:

Application

40GB

-

E:

Logs

50GB

-