Server Specifications
Overview
All Highlight software runs on an Agent platform, which has functional modules to carry out specific tasks. The specification of the server required is dependent on the role(s) they have. The higher specification should always be adopted.
This page also details network access required, for the servers and other Highlight functions.
Server specification
| Role | Operating System | CPU | RAM | Disk | Supports up to: | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016 or Windows Server 2019 | 2 x Cores @ 2.0 GHz+ | 2 GB | 60 GB | 10,000 devices | Poller function |
| Flow collector | 2 x Cores | 4 GB | 60 GB | 30 Flow sources | ||
| 4 x Cores | 16 GB | 80 GB | 200 Flow sources |
Notes
- The Disk space values given above take into account the space required for Windows (50GB)
- It is recommended that Poller Enterprise servers are geographically separated for optimum resilience.
- No Windows Roles/Features are required, although Windows Firewall is recommended.
- The servers do not need to be part of a Domain
- .NET 4.8 is required to be installed
- Time to be configured from an NTP server, to ensure server keeps in time sync with Highlight
- Wireshark installation (the Tshark module as a minumum) is recommended for troubleshooting purposes.
Server usage profile
| Server Feature | Enterprise Server | Flow collector |
|---|---|---|
| CPU usage profile | 2 Cores. Will hit 50% constant usage when the poller is collecting from ~10,000 devices | 2 Cores for 30 flow sources, 4 Cores for 200 flow sources. CPU usage will spike to 100% for a few mins at the end of each hour |
| Memory usage profile | Up to 1GB when collecting from ~10,000 devices | 4GB for 30 flow sources, 16GB for 200 flow sources (note: this can vary depending on how many distinct flows each source generates) |
| IOP usage profile | <10 IOPS (the poller reads and writes a small amount of data to disk continuously (each poll is written to disk, and read again before uploading) | 10 IOPS (spikes to ~100 IOPS during persist – which is every 10 minutes) |
| Bandwidth required | 2Mbps will handle ~10,000 devices | |
| High availability | Run in an active-active pair | Requires a 3rd party UDP load balancer |
Network access requirements
| Function | Source | Destination | Port number | Direction | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polling | Enterprise servers (pollers) | Routers/switches/hosts | UDP 161 | Inbound to customer | |
| Customer based pollers | Inbound within customer | ||||
| Flow | Router monitored for flow | Flow collector | UDP 9996 | Outbound to flow collector | |
| Data collection | Enterprise servers (pollers) | Highlight system | TCP 443 | Outbound from service provider | |
| Flow collector | Outbound from customer | ||||
| Customer based poller | |||||
| Configuration | Enterprise servers (pollers) | Highlight system | TCP 443 | Outbound from service provider | |
| Flow collector | Outbound from customer | ||||
| Customer based poller | |||||
| Management | Highlight network | Enterprise servers (pollers) | TCP 3389 UDP 3389 | Inbound to service provider | |
| Controllers | Enterprise server | Aerohive controller | TCP 443 | Inbound to service provider | Aerohive WiFi |
Note: We strongly recommend that Highlight agents are configured to synchronise their clock with a reliable time source, which may require additional network access. Documentation for the Windows Time service is available from Microsoft’s Website
Non-server network access
| Function | Source | Destination | Port number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOS and Precision testing | Router running test | Target device | UDP 80 | Test packets |
| UDP 1967 | Test set up |