System Requirements (V.4)

On Premise

This document is intended for on premise customers who are setting up their infrastructure locally.

Cloud Hosting: For Cloud installations, different resource scenarios and guidelines apply. Please contact our sales team for more information.

The 4ALLPORTAL is a client-server based web application. The server(s) which run the 4ALLPORTAL provide graphical user interfaces and send data to users and other servers.

Server and Installation

• Linux: A 4ALLPORTAL must be run on a Linux server.
• Docker: The choice of Linux distribution depends on the ability to run Docker. The 4ALLPORTAL is configured and run in a Docker container. Installing any packages other than Docker on the host is not required (installation guide).
• The Docker host can be deployed on either virtual machines or physical servers.

Infrastructure

A 4ALLPORTAL requires the following infrastructure:

• a separate database
• a separate mail server
• a file system

The system resources required depend on the expected amount of data and parallel users (detailled scenarios).

Prerequisites

4ALLPORTAL Repository Server

For the installation and updates, the 4ALLPORTAL requires server access via internet to the 4ALLPORTAL repository server. The required URL is https://repository.4allportal.net. Both repository and registry are required for the installation.

SSL/Domain

A 4ALLPORTAL system for production requires SSL (HTTPS). The 4ALLPORTAL does not support a domain name containing an underscore ("_").

Database

Supported Databases

The 4ALLPORTAL requires a separate database. We support the following databases for Core Engine version 4:

• MySQL 8.0.31 or later
• Microsoft SQL Server (MS SQL) 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019
• MariaDB 10.6 or later (10.11 recommended)

Required permissions for Microsoft SQL Server

The 4ALLPORTAL database user requires the permission to create and alter databases (role: dbcreator). Additionally, the database requires the extension "Fulltext Search".

Integrated Security with MS SQL

Note: For the use of MS SQL under Docker, "integrated security" is not possible.

Database Performance

• SSD: We highly recommend an installation of your database on a separate SSD-storage or a separate server-instance (minimum SSD speed, i.e. 300 MB/s reading/writing). This ensures an optimal performance of your system.
• Optimization:
  • We recommend optimizing your database with a tool like MySQL Tuner.
  • For large systems with lots of custom configurations, it might be useful to tackle performance issues with a tool like Use The Index, Luke.
  • Large "innodb_buffer_pool_size" (e.g., more than 8G) require lots of memory but often improve the performance.
• Fast hardware: Depending on your amount of assets and depending on your amount of index files used, more CPU/RAM is required to process the requests quickly.

Mail Server

The 4ALLPORTAL requires access to an SMTP-Server, which is used for e-mail notifications to users, e.g. about assigned tasks or available download packages, as well as for the internal user management: When creating new users, passwords can only be assigned by users themselves, not by the administrator. Users will receive a welcome e-mail with a link for the assignment of their personal password (this will not apply when using an authentication provider like LDAP, SAML etc.).

Configuration

Before starting the 4ALLPORTAL, the mail server credentials must be added to the configuration file (e.g., "docker-compose.yml") in its "environment" section (more information).

For the configuration file (e.g., "docker-compose.yml"), the following information is required:

• mail host
• mail port
• security, e.g. SSL encryption
• username and password of the mail server
• e-mail sender address
• e-mail sender name, e.g. "4ALLPORTAL"
• no authorization is also possible

In the GUI, you can check your recent docker configuration in admin snap-in General system configurations / System settings / General settings.

Mailserver changes

If you make changes (e.g. use new mail server credentials or set up a new mail server), you must also modify your configuration file (e.g. "docker-compose.yml") accordingly. Otherwise, email notifications from 4ALLPORTAL may not be sent properly.

File System

General Information

• The file system needs to be mounted into a directory on the operating system.
• The way the storage is connected has a significant effect on the import speed for new and changed assets. Direct connections are preferable to network storage systems.

/cefs Performance

All asset derivatives are stored in file system directory /4allportal/data/cefs after their creation in the tmp directory. From the "cefs" folder, they are provided for the frontend.

Note: The faster the "/cefs" and the "/tmp" directories are, the faster conversions, downloads, and jobs run.

Inode Support

You can make use of inodes to support moving files within the mount. Inodes are unique identifiers for files of your file system, that are independent of file content, file name and file path.

Note: Your storage system has to support inodes if anything other that the 4ALLPORTAL makes changes on the file system. Adding new files does not require inode support.

Recommended Resources

On Premise Installations

The following resource requirements apply for On Premise installations only.
For Cloud installations, different scenarios and guidelines apply. Please contact our sales team for more information.

The resources you require for your 4ALLPORTAL have to be sized depending on the expected amount of data and parallel users. Please check and compare your individual prerequisites with one of our four resource recommendations (Small, Medium, Large, X-Large).

Required CPU: By rule of thumb, the requirement for CPUs grows with the number of parallel users.
Required RAM: By rule of thumb, multiply your RAM by 1.3 to determine the required resources for your tmp directory. For many users or expected complex queries, more CPU/RAM are beneficial.

Note: The resources suggested are required entirely for the 4ALLPORTAL. Please consider this if you use the same system for database hosting or a shared database system.

Small

Prerequisites

Resource Recommendation

Note: If you do a lot of conversions of very large assets, you may need more resources.

Medium

Prerequisites

Resource Recommendation

Large

Prerequisites

Resource Recommendation

Note: We recommend a clustered system.

X-Large

Prerequisites

Resource Recommendation

Note: We recommend a clustered system.

Individual requirements

If your parameters are not covered in one of these scenarios, please contact us for individual advice.

Operating System and Browser

Operating System and CPU

Currently, we only support Linux configurations with:

• a 64bit - x86-64 or ARM CPU
• Kernel version 3.10 or later
• support for KVM virtualization
• generally: support for Docker

Desktop App Operating System

4App Desktop App offers native file access and improved features like drag and drop to the desktop for enhanced usability (more details). If you want to work with our 4App Desktop App, you require:

• Windows x86 and x64 (all versions supported by Microsoft)
• Mac x64 and Apple Silicon (all versions supported by Apple)

/tmp Performance

In the "/tmp" directory, all asset derivatives are generated. It should be accordingly performant and needs to be larger than 5GB (minimum). With 5GB, a maximum of 5GB could be processed and provided in parallel. By rule of thumb, multiply your RAM by 1.3 to determine the required resources for your "/tmp" directory.

After creation, asset derivatives are stored in and made available for the frontend in the file system's /cefs directory.

Supported Web Browsers

Please use one of the following browsers to work with the 4ALLPORTAL:

• Google Chrome (latest or prior version)
• Mozilla Firefox (latest or prior version + ESR)
• Safari (latest or prior version)
• Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based, latest or prior version)
• Opera (latest or prior version)
• Vivaldi (latest or prior version)

Note: Please keep your browser up-to-date to make sure all features work properly.