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Blackboard Learn no longer supports application servers running Solaris. For more information, visit Behind the Blackboard. This information is provided as a guideline and review of third party hardware specifications should be made before final hardware acquisition.

Guidelines for Linux and Windows based installations may be found in Learn Hardware Configurations.

Configurations for Sun
Sizing Category Standard Advanced Complex
Description The Standard sizing configuration is designed for availability and performance. Options exist for both physical distributions of application servers and/or virtualized instances of the application. The institution has minimal deployment of distance learning or connected classroom initiatives (less than 5%). The Advanced sizing configuration is designed for high-availability and high-performance. The model is designed for heavy adoption of the product across institutions of varying sizes. Customers deploying distance learning programs or have connected classroom initiatives to a portion of the community fall into this category. The Complex sizing configuration is designed for massive adoption, high-availability and high-performance. Customers deploying predominately distance learning programs or have connected classroom initiatives fall into this category. Customers with larger community sizes (greater than 250,000 users) fall into this category.
Application Server Configuration
Number of OS Instances (Physical or Virtual) 2 to 4 4 to 8 8 to 16
Minimum CPU Configuration Per OS Instance 1 x 8-Core 1.2 GHz UltraSPARC T2 64 Threads 1 x 8-Core 1.4 GHz UltraSPARC T2 64 Threads 2 x 8-Core 1.4 GHz UltraSPARC T2 Plus 128 Threads
Minimum CPU Collapse Ratio (Zone to Physical Server) 4:1 (Zone Configuration) 4:1 ( Zone Configuration ) 6:1 ( Zone Configuration )
Ideal CPU Configuration Per OS Instance 1 x 8-Core 1.6 GHz UltraSPARC T2 64 Threads 2 x 8-Core 1.6 GHz UltraSPARC T2 Plus 128 Threads 2 x 8-Core 1.6 GHz UltraSPARC T2 Plus 128 Threads
Ideal CPU Virtualization Collapse Ratio (Zone to Physical Server) 4:1 (Zone Configuration) 6:1 ( Zone Configuration ) 6:1 ( Zone Configuration )
64-bit Memory Requirements Per OS Instance 8GB to 16GB recommended 8GB to 16GB recommended 8GB to 16GB recommended
I/O Workload at Peak Hour 300 to 500 I/Os 500 to 1000 I/Os 1000 to 2000 I/Os
Hits/Hour at Peak Hour Up to 4 Million Hits/Hour Up to 8 Million Hits/Hour Up to 12 Million Hits/Hour
Characteristics With 8 CPU threads per instance and a 64-bit deployment across 4 instances, this configuration will support as many as 20,000 concurrent sessions for a peak hour. A concurrent session is a user who has logged into the application within the last hour.

Results will vary depending on the use of memory intensive areas of the application such as Assessment and Grade Center.Memory has the greatest impact on the session concurrency and responsiveness of the application, followed by CPU capacity. Consider a larger memory footprint for even smaller workloads to deliver faster page responsiveness.
With 16 to 20 CPU threads per instance and a 64-bit deployment across 6 instances, this configuration will support as many as 40,000 concurrent sessions for a peak hour. A concurrent session is a user who has logged into the application within the last hour.

Results will vary depending on the use of memory intensive areas of the application such as Assessment and Grade Center.Memory has the greatest impact on the session concurrency and responsiveness of the application, followed by CPU capacity. Consider a larger memory footprint for even smaller workloads to deliver faster page responsiveness.
With 16 to 20 CPU threads per instance and a 64-bit deployment across 6 instances, this configuration will support as many as 80,000 concurrent sessions for a peak hour. A concurrent session is a user who has logged into the application within the last hour.

Results will vary depending on the use of memory intensive areas of the application such as Assessment and Grade Center.Memory has the greatest impact on the session concurrency and responsiveness of the application, followed by CPU capacity. Consider a larger memory footprint for even smaller workloads to deliver faster page responsiveness.
Database Server Configuration
Minimum CPU Configuration 1 x 8-Core 1.6 GHz UltraSPARC T2 64 Threads 2 x 8-Core 1.6 GHz UltraSPARC T2 Plus 128 Threads 2 x 8-Core 1.6 GHz UltraSPARC T2 Plus 128 Threads
Ideal CPU Configuration 1 x 8-Core 1.6 GHz UltraSPARC T2 64 Threads 8 x 2.53 GHz SPARC64 VII on 4 Boards 4 x 8-Core 1.6 GHz UltraSPARC T2 Plus 256 Threads
Memory Requirements 8GB to 16GB 16GB to 64GB 48GB to 128GB
I/O Workload at Peak Hour 600 to 1,200 I/Os 1,500 to 3,000 I/Os 4,500 to 10,000 I/Os
Availability Approach Failover clustering approaches that leverage Active/Passive database configurations should be considered for this deployment. Failover clustering approaches that leverage Active/Passive database configurations should be considered for this deployment. Solaris deployments may consider Oracle® Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) Failover clustering approaches that leverage Active/Passive database configurations should be considered for this deployment. Solaris deployments should consider Oracle® Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC)
Oracle Memory Requirements
Estimated SGA Size 1GB to 4GB 4GB to 16GB 16GB to 32GB
Processes 600 to 1,200 2,000 to 4,000 5,000 to 10,000
Estimated Process Size 3M to 7M 3M to 7M 3M to 7M
Estimated PGA Memory 2GB to 8GB 10GB to 20GB 25GB to 50GB