HW & SW requirements

 

Requirements summary

• Hardware platform: x861
• Operating system: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 WS/AS (Update 2)2
• RDBMS: Firebird 1.5.2 for Linux (32-bit)3
• Network device: Gigabit/Fast Ethernet switch with port mirroring

Clipen technology has no specific requirements beyond the commonly available x86 hardware platform with appropriate software equipment.

Clipen benefits from its ability to work on entry-level server platforms as well as from its utilization of widely adopted open-source software.

Clipen technology provides flexibility when choosing an appropriate hardware operating environment. From the architectural point of view, there are generally two options:

  • single-machine architecture - when using the all-on-one architecture all parts of Clipen (including RDBMS) run on a single server
  • multi-machine architecture - when using the cluster architecture it is possible to run each part of the Clipen technology on a stand-alone server, or some parts may share one server and other parts another
 

NOTE: It is highly recommended to operate the Clipen engine using only hardware that is compatible or approved for a Clipen-supported operating system.

 

Single-Machine Architecture

Single-machine architecture is a default variant that should be adequate for a network load of tens of millions of hits per day. As Clipen technology performs most operations concurrently, it is essential for its performance and flexibility to provide the engine with a true parallel hardware platform that supports symmetrical multiprocessing (SMP) via multiple identical CPUs (or processor cores).

Typical hardware requirements for the all-on-one variant:

  • 2-way x86 server
  • 2x Intel® Xeon® 3.0 GHz (800 MHz FSB)4
  • 2 GB RAM
  • 2x 74 GB UltraSCSI HDD
  • 1x 146 GB UltraSCSI HDD (relevant only for Archiver)
  • 1x 1 Gbit Ethernet network adapter for sniffing
  • 1x 1 Gbit Ethernet network adapter for administration and update (connected to Internet)
  • 1x 1 Gbit Ethernet network adapter for data extraction (optional)5
  • 1x SSL accelerator card with OpenSSL support (optional)

This typical hardware requirements should be adequate for a network load of about 5 - 10 million hits per day (more RAM and disk space may be necessary for the high loads).

An SSL accelerator card may be suitable in situations when the volume of HTTPS communication overloads clickstream data processing. The actual percentage of HTTPS communication, as well as other operating and performance indicators provided by Clipen, will help to evaluate the situation. Usually the best way of dealing with significant HTTPS traffic is to give the SSL accelerator card a try and see the impact on the overall clickstream data processing. Alternatively, more CPU performance may help to manage SSL operations provided by the Clipen engine.

The all-on-one configuration can be scaled up by adding additional CPUs (if applicable within the given platform) and by extending the memory. Another way to achieve more Clipen performance is the use of multi-machine architecture.

 

Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
Firebird is a registered trademark of Firebird Foundation Incorporated.
Intel and Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries/regions.
AMD Opteron is trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
All other names and trademarks mentioned throughout the text are the property of their respective owners.