Hardware requirements

Before you install IBM® Software Hub, review the hardware requirements for IBM Software Hub, the shared cluster components, and the services that you plan to install.

Components Related links
IBM Software Hub platform Review the minimum requirements for a stable installation:
x86_64
Platform hardware requirements
ppc64le
Platform hardware requirements
s390x
Platform hardware requirements
Work with your IBM Sales representative to determine whether you need more resources based on:
  • The shared cluster components that you need to install.
  • The services that you plan to install.
  • The types of workloads that you plan to run.
In addition, review the following resources:
Shared cluster-wide components Review the hardware requirements for the shared cluster components that you need to install.
x86_64
Shared cluster-wide components
ppc64le
Shared cluster-wide components
s390x
Shared cluster-wide components
Instance-level prerequisite components Review the hardware requirements for the instance-level prerequisites.
x86_64
Instance-level prerequisites
ppc64le
Instance-level prerequisites
s390x
Instance-level prerequisites
Services Review the hardware requirements for the services that you plan to install.
x86_64
Services
ppc64le
Services
s390x
Services

Not all services are supported on all hardware.

Automatically installed dependencies Review the hardware requirements for the automatically installed dependencies, such as the common core services. (These components are installed only if you install a service with a dependency on the component.)
x86_64
Automatically installed dependencies
ppc64le
Automatically installed dependencies
s390x
Automatically installed dependencies

Cluster node settings

The time on all of the nodes must be synchronized within 500 ms.

Some services require additional node settings to run correctly. For information about the node settings and the services that require them, see Changing required node settings. You must change the node settings before you install IBM Software Hub.

Disk requirements

To prepare your storage disks, ensure that you have good I/O performance, and prepare the disks for encryption.

I/O performance
When I/O performance is not sufficient, services can experience poor performance or cluster instability, such as functional failures with timeouts. This is especially true when you are running a heavy workload.
To assess your I/O performance:
  1. Run the storage performance validation playbook on the cluster where you plan to install IBM Software Hub and compare your results with the recommendations.

    The I/O performance requirements for IBM Software Hub are based on extensive testing in various cloud environments. The tests validate the I/O performance in these environments. The requirements are based on the performance of writing data to representative storage classes using the following block size and thread count combinations.

    • To evaluate disk latency, the I/O tests use a small block (4 KB) with 8 threads.
    • To evaluate disk throughput, the I/O tests use a large block (1 GB) with 2 threads.

    Ensure that the results of the storage performance validation playbook are comparable to the following recommended minimum values.

    Disk latency (4 KB block with 8 threads)
    For disk latency tests, 11 MB/s has been found to provide sufficient performance.
    Disk throughput (1 GB block with 2 thread)
    For disk throughput tests, 128 MB/s has been found to provide sufficient performance.

    To ensure sufficient performance, both requirements should be satisfied; however, this might not be feasible in all environments.

    Some storage types might have more stringent I/O requirements. For details, see Storage considerations.

    Important: It is recommended that you run the validation playbook several times to account for variations in workloads, access patterns, and network traffic.

    In addition, if your storage volumes are remote, network speed can be a key factor in your I/O performance. For good I/O performance, ensure that you have sufficient network speed, as described in Storage considerations.

  2. Complete a proof of concept with representative workloads.
    If your proof of concept encounters functional issues or performance issues, determine the root cause of the problem to confirm whether the issue is related to I/O performance. You can use the following best practices to help identify potential problems.
Workloads can vary dramatically in terms of complexity and concurrency. As you assess your I/O performance, apply the following information:
  • If you are unable to satisfy the recommended I/O performance requirements, you run a high risk of encountering performance problems.
  • As the gap between your measured I/O performance and the recommended I/O performance widens, you run an increased risk of performance and functional issues. For example, if disk latency-based measurement is around or under 2 MB/s, you are likely to have all kinds of performance and functional issues. In this case, I/O performance should be improved before you proceed.

    However, if disk latency-based measurement is approximately 5 MB/s or higher, you can proceed. In this case, continue to monitor workloads closely and consider improving I/O performance.

  • As your workloads increase, you can work with your infrastructure or storage vendor to review and improve I/O performance to ensure that it remains sufficient and optimal.
Encryption with Linux® Unified Key Setup (LUKS2)
To ensure that your data within IBM Software Hub is stored securely, you can encrypt your disks when you install Red Hat® OpenShift® Container Platform. For more information, see Encrypting and mirroring disks during installation in the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform documentation: