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2.2. Hardware Requirements

The following hardware configuration is required for the two types of RHN Satellite Server:

Table 2.1. Stand-Alone Database and Embedded Database Satellite Hardware Requirements

Stand-Alone Database Embedded Database
Required - Pentium IV processor, 2.4GHz, 512K cache or equivalent Required - Pentium IV processor, 2.4GHz, 512K cache or equivalent
Recommended - Pentium IV processor, 2.4GHz dual processor, 512K cache or equivalent Recommended - Pentium IV processor, 2.4GHz dual processor, 512K cache or equivalent
Required - 2 GB of memory Required - 2 GB of memory
Recommended - 4 GB of memory Strongly recommended - 4 GB of memory
3 GB storage for base install of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 3 GB storage for base install of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS
6 GB storage per channel, in the /var/satellite/ directory by default but configurable at install 6 GB storage per channel, in the /var/satellite/ directory by default but configurable at install
Recommended - an external SAN for more reliable backups Recommended - an external SAN for more reliable backups
12 GB storage for the database repository, in the /rhnsat partition (local storage only)
Strongly recommended - a SCSI drive connected to a level 5 RAID
Separate partition (or better, a separate set of physical disks) for storing backups. This can be any directory specifiable at backup time.
The following hardware configuration is required for the Stand-Alone Database:
  • Two processors
  • 2 GB of memory
See Section 2.3, “Database Requirements” for instructions on estimating the tablespace of the database and setting its environment variables.
Keep in mind, the frequency with which client systems connect to the Satellite is directly related to load on the Apache Web server and the database. Reducing the default interval of four hours (or 240 minutes) as set in the /etc/sysconfig/rhn/rhnsd configuration file of the client systems significantly increases the load on those components.
Additional hardware requirements include:
  • The Stand-Alone Database must not run on the same server as the RHN Satellite Server.
  • The package repository may be any large storage device easily and securely accessed by the other components. The space requirements depend on the number of packages that will be stored. Default Red Hat channels contain approximately 3 GB of packages each, and that size grows with each synchronization; customers must also account for the space requirements of packages in their own private channels. Whatever storage solution the customer chooses, its mount point may be defined during the installation process.
If you are installing RHN Satellite Server with Embedded Database, skip to Section 2.4, “Additional Requirements”.