2.2. Hardware Requirements

This section specifies a Red Hat Satellite server's hardware considerations and requirements for installation.
Depending on the desired use case, a Red Hat Satellite environment might require multiple machines:
  • Red Hat Satellite with Embedded Database - 1 machine
  • Red Hat Satellite with Managed/External Database - 2 machines

2.2.1. x86_64 Hardware Requirements

The following list shows the required and recommended hardware configurations on the x86_64 platform for a Red Hat Satellite server:

CPU

  • Required: Intel dual-core processor, 2.4GHz, 512K cache or equivalent
  • Recommended: Intel quad-core processor, 2.4GHz dual processor, 512K cache or equivalent

Memory

  • Required: 4 GB of memory
  • Recommended: 8 GB of memory

Storage

  • 5 GB storage for base installation
  • A minimum of 40 GB storage per software channel (including Base and child channels), in /var/satellite/, configurable at install
  • A minimum of 10 GB storage for cache files stored within /var/cache/rhn. See Section 2.4.5, “Caching” for more information.
  • Strongly Recommended: A SCSI drive connected to a level 5 RAID

Database

  • See Section 2.3.1, “Database Sizing” for standard database requirements.
  • Embedded Database: A minimum of 12 GB storage for the database repository in the /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql95/lib/pgsql/data partition on the Satellite host. This partition must be local storage only.

    Important

    Due to an updated version of the PostgreSQL Embedded Database, the database location has changed to /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql95/lib/pgsql/data in Red Hat Satellite 5.8. Make sure to allocate enough hard disk space to this location.
  • Managed Database: A minimum of 12 GB storage for the database repository in the /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql95/lib/pgsql/data partition on the Managed Database host. This partition must be local storage only. The instructions for installing this database are a part of the Managed Database installation scenario (See Section 3.2.2, “Mounting the Installation Media”).
  • External Database: See Section 3.3.1, “External Database Requirements”.

Backup

  • A separate partition (or better, a separate set of physical disks) for storing backups, which can be any directory specifiable at backup time
  • An external SAN for more reliable backups

2.2.2. s/390x Hardware Requirements

The following list shows the required and recommended hardware configurations on the s/390x mainframe platform for a Red Hat Satellite server:

CPU

  • Required: 1 IFL, either in LPAR configuration or shared through z/VM
  • Recommended: 2 or more IFLs on z9 or earlier, 1 or more IFL on z10

Memory

  • Required: 4 GB of memory
  • Recommended: 8 GB of memory

Storage

  • Required:
    • 1 GB swap on ECKD DASD
    • 1xMod3 ECKD DASD or ≥ 2 GB FCP SCSI LUN for base installation
    • A minimum of 40 GB storage per software channel (including Base and child channels), in /var/satellite/, configurable at install
    • A minimum of 10 GB storage for cache files stored within /var/cache/rhn. See Section 2.4.5, “Caching” for more information.
  • Recommended:
    • 512 MB swap on VDISK + 1 GB swap on ECKD DASD
    • 1xMod9 ECKD DASD or ≥ 2 GB multipathed FCP SCSI LUN for base installation
    • A minimum of 40 GB storage per software channel (including Base and child channels), in /var/satellite/, configurable at install
    • A minimum of 10 GB storage for cache files stored within /var/cache/rhn. See Section 2.4.5, “Caching” for more information.

Database

  • See Section 2.3.1, “Database Sizing” for standard database requirements.
  • Embedded Database: A minimum of 12 GB storage for the database repository in the /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql95/lib/pgsql/data partition. This partition must be local storage only.

    Important

    Due to an updated version of the PostgreSQL Embedded Database, the database location has changed to /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql95/lib/pgsql/data in Red Hat Satellite 5.8. Make sure to allocate enough hard disk space to this location.
  • Managed Database: A minimum of 12 GB storage for the database repository in the /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql95/lib/pgsql/data partition on the Managed Database host. This partition must be local storage only. The instructions for installing this database are a part of the Managed Database installation scenario (See Section 3.2.2, “Mounting the Installation Media”).
  • External Database: See Section 3.3.1, “External Database Requirements”.

Other

  • z/VM 5.3 or later for kickstart and provisioning of guests.
  • VSWITCH or HiperSocket LAN for high speed connections to guests