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I often get the question, "What type of hardware do I need in order to setup GC3/OTM test environment?" or "If I want to learn to install/integrate with/optimize OTM / GC3, what hardware do I need?"
As it so happens, I'm just wrapping up a new in-house test environment for OTM / GC3 5.5 and some other projects we have going on -- so, the easiest way to answer this question is to give you an example of what we're using internally. You'll be surprised how little hardware investment you need in order to get OTM / OTM up and running.
Note: These hardware specs are for a test/dev/install environment for OTM / GC3 and wouldn't necessarily be a good production or performance testing environment. The needs of production vary greatly, due to the number users, complexity of solutions being optimized, uptime requirements, and a million other factors.
In order to reduce the hardware needs, I decided to consolidate certain tiers onto the same hardware. This is fairly common and you'll often see web/app servers and db/report servers grouped together. Okay - on to the specifics:
Web / App Server:
Dell PowerEdge 830
This server lists for about $1900, but you can get it for around $1700 if you have a good agreement with Dell.
DB / Reports Server:
Dell PowerEdge 830
This server lists for about $2100, but you can get it for around $1900 if you have a good agreement with Dell.
In addition, I'm using a separate server for testing 3rd Party software like MileMaker, PCMiler, FaxMaker, etc. The hardware requirements for this box are extremely low, so if you have an extra server lying around, you shouldn't have to purchase one.
3rd Party Server
Dell PowerEdge 830
This server lists for about $2300, but you can get it for around $2100 if you have a good agreement with Dell.
A couple of notes about this config:
- I'm using CentOS-4 http://www.centos.org instead of RedHat Enterprise Linux due to the cost savings.
- The 3rd Party server can be a bit expensive, due the $800 you have to spend for the Windows 2003 Server license. If you have an existing Windows Server license, I would recommend using it.
Licensing:
Okay, now the normally expensive part - Licensing! In fact, a production instance will generally cost more in software licenses than in hardware. The required software will be:
- WebLogic 8.1 SP4 (note that the SP level is crucial - newer versions will not work)
- Oracle 10gR2 DB server
- Oracle 10gR2 App Server (Forms and Reports)
For WebLogic, you can download a trial version from www.bea.com and if you need to run beyond that period, you can run a test instance with few online users using the BEA developer license, which is significantly less expensive than their normal licenses (which start at $10K per CPU!).
For Oracle, I recommend creating an account at technet.oracle.com, so that you can download free versions of their software for testing and development purposes. Note that while these are full products, they are illegal to use in production. You MUST pay the licensing costs for any such instances.
And that's about it. Of course, you don't need the exact hardware I've listed - I'm just providing it as an example. Our previous test site had much lower hardware specs and was perfectly usable. The most important factor is going to be the amount of memory on the servers, as OTM / GC3 tends to be VERY memory hungry. If you are going to consolidate tiers as I've done, I wouldn't have less than 4GB on each web/app and db/reports server.
Thanks!
Chris
As it so happens, I'm just wrapping up a new in-house test environment for OTM / GC3 5.5 and some other projects we have going on -- so, the easiest way to answer this question is to give you an example of what we're using internally. You'll be surprised how little hardware investment you need in order to get OTM / OTM up and running.
Note: These hardware specs are for a test/dev/install environment for OTM / GC3 and wouldn't necessarily be a good production or performance testing environment. The needs of production vary greatly, due to the number users, complexity of solutions being optimized, uptime requirements, and a million other factors.
In order to reduce the hardware needs, I decided to consolidate certain tiers onto the same hardware. This is fairly common and you'll often see web/app servers and db/report servers grouped together. Okay - on to the specifics:
Web / App Server:
Dell PowerEdge 830
- 1 x Intel Pentium D 930 (Dual Core) 3.0Ghz CPU
- No OS (going to load CentOS-5)
- 4GB RAM
- CERC SATA Raid Card with 2 x 160GB drives in RAID1
- DVD-ROM
- Standard Support
This server lists for about $1900, but you can get it for around $1700 if you have a good agreement with Dell.
DB / Reports Server:
Dell PowerEdge 830
- 1 x Intel Pentium D 930 (Dual Core) 3.0Ghz CPU
- No OS (going to load CentOS-5)
- 4GB RAM
- CERC SATA Raid Card with 3 x 160GB drives in RAID5
- DVD-ROM
- Standard Support
This server lists for about $2100, but you can get it for around $1900 if you have a good agreement with Dell.
In addition, I'm using a separate server for testing 3rd Party software like MileMaker, PCMiler, FaxMaker, etc. The hardware requirements for this box are extremely low, so if you have an extra server lying around, you shouldn't have to purchase one.
3rd Party Server
Dell PowerEdge 830
- 1 x Intel Pentium D 930 (Dual Core) 3.0Ghz CPU
- Windows Server 2003
- 2GB RAM
- CERC SATA Raid Card with 2 x 160GB drives in RAID1
- DVD-ROM
- Standard Support
This server lists for about $2300, but you can get it for around $2100 if you have a good agreement with Dell.
A couple of notes about this config:
- I'm using CentOS-4 http://www.centos.org instead of RedHat Enterprise Linux due to the cost savings.
- The 3rd Party server can be a bit expensive, due the $800 you have to spend for the Windows 2003 Server license. If you have an existing Windows Server license, I would recommend using it.
Licensing:
Okay, now the normally expensive part - Licensing! In fact, a production instance will generally cost more in software licenses than in hardware. The required software will be:
- WebLogic 8.1 SP4 (note that the SP level is crucial - newer versions will not work)
- Oracle 10gR2 DB server
- Oracle 10gR2 App Server (Forms and Reports)
For WebLogic, you can download a trial version from www.bea.com and if you need to run beyond that period, you can run a test instance with few online users using the BEA developer license, which is significantly less expensive than their normal licenses (which start at $10K per CPU!).
For Oracle, I recommend creating an account at technet.oracle.com, so that you can download free versions of their software for testing and development purposes. Note that while these are full products, they are illegal to use in production. You MUST pay the licensing costs for any such instances.
And that's about it. Of course, you don't need the exact hardware I've listed - I'm just providing it as an example. Our previous test site had much lower hardware specs and was perfectly usable. The most important factor is going to be the amount of memory on the servers, as OTM / GC3 tends to be VERY memory hungry. If you are going to consolidate tiers as I've done, I wouldn't have less than 4GB on each web/app and db/reports server.
Thanks!
Chris
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