Data Sheet H: Locally Hosted Solution – Overview & System Requirements

Data sheet H:
Locally Hosted Solution - Overview & System Requirements

 

Note: SnapComms no longer offers Local On-premise Hosted solution


Overview

The Locally Hosted Solution allows an installation of the SnapComms Server software to be run in-house.
The SnapComms Server application runs on Windows Server, .NET Framework, Internet Information Services (IIS) and SQL Server.


Architecture Overview

The architecture of the SnapComms Server application allows any number of web/application servers to run in a distributed manner with each application server connecting to a central SQL server database. This allows flexibility to deploy the web/application server and SQL server on the same or on separate machines.

  • Database - All application data is stored in the central SQL database.

  • Application Servers - Each application server runs an identical set of ASP.NET web applications and web services in Internet Information Services (IIS).

  • Caching - Caching is implemented at the application server so that commonly accessed items from the central SQL server database are cached to reduce load on the SQL server and enhance performance. Some elements are cached in memory whilst other elements are cached on the file system on the application server.


Software Requirements

Web / Application server

  • Windows Server  2012 / 2012r2/ 2016 / 2019 (All editions, x86 or x64)

  • .NET Framework 4.5.2

  • IIS 7+ 

  • ASP.NET 4.5.2


Database server

  • Windows Server 2012 / 2012r2 / 2016 / 2019 (All editions, x86 or x64)

  • SQL Server 2012 / 2014 / 2016 / 2017 / 2019 (All editions x86 or x64)

SQL Server Standard Edition or higher is recommended. SQL Server Express edition is not recommended for production use.


Hardware and Disk space Requirements

These requirements apply to either physical or virtualized environments. SnapComms requires the Application Server and Database Server to be located on separate machines - this is particularly essential for installations of over 5000 users. While it is technically possible to install both the Application Server and Database Server on one machine (for trialing or pilots as an example) the environment will be performing sub-optimally and bottle necks for CPU, memory and disk systems will occur and will impact the performance.

Web / Application server

The following table displays typical requirements on a Microsoft IIS server.
Actual requirements will depend on a number of factors.
 

Number of users

0 - 5,000

5,000 - 10,000

10,000 - 20,000 ★

20,000 - 40,000 ★

CPU

2 cores

4 cores

4 cores

8 cores

Memory (RAM)

​4GB recommended

4GB recommended

8GB recommended

8GB recommended

Hard Disk Space

- Installation files

- Cache and log files

 

100MB

1 - 2 GB

 

100MB

2 - 4 GB

 

100MB

4 - 8 GB

 

100MB

8 - 20 GB

Client Poll frequency ♦

120 seconds

120 seconds

120 seconds

120 seconds


The actual disk space required for cache and log files created by the SnapComms Server application and the web server log files created by IIS can vary depending on usage patterns and on how often log files are deleted.

For 10,000 users or less, the poll frequency between SnapComms Client and SnapComms Server may be decreased to allow quicker messaging speeds. It is however recommended you discuss with SnapComms the poll time and possible effects this may have on your network.

For more than 40,000 users, please speak to SnapComms about the required hardware specifications.


Database Server

The following table displays typical requirements on a Microsoft SQL server.
Actual requirements will depend on a number of factors.
 

Number of users

0 - 5,000

5,000 - 10,000

10,000 - 20,000 ★

20,000 - 40,000 ★

CPU

4 cores

4 cores

8 cores

8 cores

Memory (RAM)

4GB recommended

8GB recommended

16GB recommended

32GB recommended

Hard Disk Space ♠

1 - 5 GB

5 - 10 GB

10 - 20 GB

20 - 50 GB

Random data read/write speed ♦

120 IOPS

140 IOPS

300 IOPS

500 IOPS


Hard Disk Space requirements refer to the size of the SQL database files and does not include space consumed by the SQL database transaction log or backup files. The actual disk space required for the database can vary depending on usage patterns and other factors.  Note: transaction logs and temp DB are likely to require the same amount of disk space as the database itself.

IOPS refers to the average random total of Input / Output Operations Per Second (pronounced eye-ops). It is a common performance measurement used to benchmark computer storage devices like hard disk drives (HDD), solid state drives (SSD), and storage area networks (SAN). For over 40,000 users we recommend a minimum of 10,000 IOPS.

For more than 40,000 users, please speak to SnapComms about the required hardware specifications.​


Permissions

These requirements apply to either physical or virtualized environments.

Web / Application Server

  • A user with Administrator rights are required to run the SnapComms installation software.

  • Port 80 or port 443 bindings in IIS Manager should be set to allow traffic to the site.

  • If https is used (mandatory on Cloud), a minimum of TLS 1.0 must be enforced at the client end.


Database Server


Manually created database

To create the database manually, it is recommended to use a SQL or Windows Authenticated login with a sysadmin server level role. The database will require a user with db_owner database level role that will used during installation.

Alternatively you may create the database manually using a SQL or Windows Authenticated login with a db_creator server level role (the database will require a user with db_owner database level role that can be added using a SQL or Windows Authenticated login with a securityadmin or sysadmin server level role).


Software created database

To create a database via our installation software, it is recommended to use a SQL or Windows Authenticated login with a sysadmin server level role. The database will require a user with db_owner database level role that will used during installation.


Permissions during installation

During database and application installation, a SQL or Windows Authenticated user with db_owner database level role should be used within the installation software to perform all required configuration of the database.


Permissions after installation

Once the database is installed, the SnapComms software uses a SQL or Windows Authentication user with db_datareader, db_datawriter and SnapServerRole database level roles.
 

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