Server Hardware

Server hardware from a reputable vendor is generally recommended due to the regular inclusion of support agreements that guarantee hardware replacement within a given time period in the case of a failure, as spare parts are usually widely available. Forsta Plus should be installed on 64-bit platforms, but individual components will run in 32-bit Windows-on-Windows mode. The exception is SQL Server services, which can run in native 64-bit.

The hardware recommendations provided below should be considered as examples only, and the actual recommended hardware will depend strongly on the type and level of usage expected. The Forsta SaaS Operations Team can also assist in setting up a tailored recommendation on request.

Octopus Deploy Server

The typical hardware outfit for an Octopus Deployment server would be:

• 2 CPU cores
• 4GB RAM (more recommended for high-volume usage)
• 10GB disk free minimum
• 100Mbit NIC

For the most up-to-date recommendations and prerequisites for Octopus, refer to the vendor’s website which will have current recommended requirements - https://octopus.com/docs/installation/requirements.

Web and Webservice Servers

The typical minimum hardware outfit for a web or combined server (Deployment, Webservice, API Rest Service, Authoring or Reportal) would be:

• 4 CPU cores
• 12GB RAM (more recommended for high-volume usage)
• RAID-1 disk system for system partition and Forsta Plus application
• Separate RAID-1 or RAID-5 disk system for Forsta Plus data partition
• 1Gbit NIC

Testing of Forsta Plus modules in Microsoft's ISV labs in Redmond have shown that it's usually more effective scaling out rather than scaling up when adding additional capacity. Generally one would scale up to a dual-CPU server then add additional dual-CPU servers. This makes it easier to scale the site to handle large loads. This will also provide extra redundancy for the service module being strengthened. Note that additional web servers will require load-balancing services (go to Load Balancers for more information).

A typical recommended hardware setup:

• 8 CPU cores

• 8GB RAM minimum (+ 2GB per role if on same server)

• RAID-1 disk system for system partition and Forsta Plus application in separate volumes

• Separate RAID-1 disk system for Forsta Plus data partition

• Dual teamed Gbit NICs

Task System Servers (Backend)

Dedicated Task System servers would typically follow that of a web server. There should also be enough disk space on batch servers to store temporary task system files for certain task types such as archiving. data processing jobs and data exports.

Important
The archiving task specifically will store temporary files on the C drive, so there must be enough free space for this purpose otherwise the archiving functionality will fail.

You also need to ensure space for BitStream files unless dedicated BitStream servers are used. BitStream servers would typically be scaled the same as Task System servers.

Note: Space requirements will vary depending on the number and size of projects on the site. We recommend continual monitoring of disk space to allow for proactive disk expansions as required.

Database Servers (Backend)

Generally, for database servers we recommend ensuring an abundance of CPU power, memory and disk I/O. Multiple disk spindles or SAN storage can provide improved performance for database I/O operations. With .NET survey engine tuning, stress testing has shown that the database server is more likely to become a bottleneck in an under-dimensioned system due to the increasing levels of I/O on database servers during high loads, than web servers ever will, even when otherwise matched 1-to-1 on specifications.

Forsta Plus supports multiple SQL server instances as a Premium feature, and additional instances can be added to existing servers using dedicated disk spindles or SAN volumes to provide improved performance. If possible, system and survey databases should run on separate spindles/instances; and in a large multi-server setup, additional survey database instances or even separate servers (also with potentially multiple instances) can be added for optimal performance.

Minimum hardware setup recommendation:

• Multi-core CPU (additional/faster CPUs recommended if more than one SQL Server instance is running).
• 8GB RAM (recommended: increase by minimum 4GB per additional instance).
• RAID-1 disk system for system partition.
• Separate RAID-1 disk system for SQL instance running Forsta Plus databases.
• 1Gbit NIC.

Typical recommended hardware setup:

• 2x or 4x quad-core CPUs.
• 8GB RAM (recommended: increase by minimum 8GB per additional SQL Server instance - the more the better).
• RAID-1 disk system for system partition.
• RAID-10 disk system for SQL instance running Forsta Plus system databases (data files) (local or SAN storage).
• RAID-10, RAID-5 or RAID-1 disk system for SQL instance running Forsta Plus system databases (log files) (local or SAN storage).
• Additional data/log volumes for each SQL instance running Forsta survey databases (local or SAN storage).
• Dual, teamed Gbit NICs.

Important
The SQL software must run on equipment dedicated to Forsta Plus. The sharing of SQL Server with other applications is not supported.

Multimode Servers

Forsta Multimode requires (a) separate, dedicated machine(s) for installation of the multimode component. Hardware requirements are the same as for Web and Webservice Servers (go to Web and Web Service Serversfor more information). The multimode component can be load-balanced if necessary for performance distribution and redundancy.

If using a dialer service, a separate dedicated WebService server of the same specification as a Web Server is required.