Hardware specifications and sizing for Rudder Root Server

Table of Contents

Memory
Disk

A dedicated server is strongly recommended, either physical or virtual with at least one dedicated core. Rudder Server runs on both 32 (if available) and 64 bit versions of every supported Operating System.

Memory

The required amount of RAM mainly depends on the number of managed nodes. A general rule for the minimal value on a stand-alone installation is:

  • less than 50 nodes: 2GB
  • between 50 and 1000 nodes: 4GB
  • more than 1000 nodes: 4GB + 1GB of RAM by 500 nodes above 1000.
  • more than 4000 nodes: 10GB + 2GB of RAM by 500 nodes above 4000.

When managing more than 1000 nodes, we also recommend you to use a multiserver installation for Rudder as described in chapter Multiserver Rudder.

When your server has more than 2 GB of RAM, you have to configure the RAM allocated to the Java Virtual Machine as explained in the section about webapplication RAM configuration

When your server has more than 4 GB, you may need to also tune the PostgresSQL server, as explained in the Optimize PostgreSQL Server section

[Tip]Tip

As an example, a Rudder server which manages 2600 nodes (with a lot of policies checked) will need:

  • A server with 8 GB of RAM,
  • 4 GB of RAM will be allocated to the JVM.

In our load-tests, with such a configuration, the server is not stressed and the user experience is good.

Disk

The PostgreSQL database will take up most disk space needed by Rudder. The storage necessary for the database can be estimated by counting around 150 to 400 kB by Directive, by Node and by day of retention of node’s execution reports (the default is 4 days):

max_space = number of Directives * number of Nodes * retention duration in days * 400 kB

For example, a default installation with 500 nodes and an average of 50 Directives by node, should require between 14 GB and 38 GB of disk space for PostgreSQL.

Follow the Reports Retention section to configure the retention duration.