What are the real CPU requirements?

[peter.fields]

Hello,

 

We are running a large scale distributed Spectrum and I'm currently working on performance issues, one of the most pressing issues is upgrading from 10.1.0 to 10.2.1 as a lot of the bug fixes are relevant to us. I did however when reading up notice something in the FAQ which has me stumped.

 

To quote the 10.0 FAQ:

 

Q:  What are the OS cpu requirements?

A: The faster the better. At the very least a very fast single core processor, again for smaller scale implementations. For medium and large implementations, 4 quad core processors (2.0+GHz) are recommended.

 

 

This means that I would need 4 processors with 4 cores resulting in a total of 16 cores. Is this correct, and if so is it specifically 16 cores or could it be 8 cores with 16 threads?

 

Thanks to anyone that can provide any further clarification.

[Silvio Okamoto]

Hi Peter,

 

As per the system requirements link below, the requirement is Quad core processor:

 

https://docops.ca.com/ca-spectrum/10-2-1/en/installing-and-upgrading/install-ca-spectrum/system-requirements-for-install… 

SpectroSERVER Server Minimum Requirements for Windows

The following table lists the system requirements for SpectroSERVER on Windows platforms:

Processor

Quad core processor (Minimum Single Core)

 

Operating Environment and Systems Setup - CA Spectrum - 10.2 and 10.2.1 - CA Technologies Documentation 

SpectroSERVER or OneClick Server

• Server-class, Intel-compatible or Sun hardware
• 4 CPUs or cores running at 2 GHz or higher processor speeds

 

Also read the Virtualization section found in the link above.

Virtualization

In a virtual environment, you can share resources to maximize your return on hardware investment. However, CA Spectrum reacts to network conditions in real time. As a result, the product requires CPU resources, memory resources, and disk speeds to be running at optimal capacity. If any one of these resources is affected because of another virtual machine, CA Spectrum performance is affected. Therefore, we recommend running CA Spectrum with CPU and memory resources that are dedicated 100 percent of the time. If you are using a storage area network, use the performance requirements that we recommend in the Hardware section.

 

Thanks,

Silvio

[peter.fields]

Thanks Silvio for the clarification, you should probably look into getting that typo changed on the 10.0 documentation.

 

I did presume that it was a typo, but better safe than sorry.

 

Would you recommend a Quad Core 2GHz for 700,000 models or would it be advisable to increase ?

 

All of our servers are running on Redhat and after checking the documentation there doesn't seem to be a recommendation.

 

SpectroSERVER and OneClick Server Requirements for Linux

The following table lists the system requirements for SpectroSERVER and OneClick server on Linux platforms:

Component	Requirement
Operating System	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x (64-bit) Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x (64-bit) Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x (64-bit)  X-based desktop environment (such as KDE or GNOME)
Memory (RAM)	Dependent on the configuration and number of managed devices
Processor	Dependent on the configuration and number of managed devices

I also tried taking a look at the Sizer Tool but the site keeps timing out.

 

Thanks

[Silvio Okamoto]

Hi Peter,

 

CA Spectrum Sizer tool - CA Spectrum - 10.2 and 10.2.1 - CA Technologies Documentation 

 

The CA Spectrum Sizer tool has a 25-minute time-out on the server. If you are idle for more than 25 minutes, you are automatically logged out and your sizing is discarded. Therefore, it is important to have all necessary sizing information with you before logging on to the server. Attempting a sizing without proper information is not recommended, as it most likely results in either an unfinished or inaccurate sizing. Read the Data Collection section before attempting a sizing. 

You can access the CA Spectrum Sizer tool through a web browser. Click the following link to access the Sizer tool.
http://www.ca.com/us/support/ca-support-online/product-content/recommended-reading/product-related-technical-information/ca-spectrum-sizer-tool.aspx 

 

Most of the information required in the Sizer Tool can be found in the SizerInfo.txt file.

Note: You can run the perfcollector9 script (located in the $SPECROOT/ directory) and can review the <machinename>_SizerInfo.txt file (located in the $SPECROOT/performance/ directory) for some of this data (if Spectrum is already installed and running). This task helps you to verify whether they are running over the recommended capacity.