DPA 2024.4 system requirements
See the following sections for minimum supported system requirements:
- DPAIM compatibility
- Port requirements
- DPA server requirements
- Recommendations for the DPA Central Server
- Repository database requirements
- Virtual environment requirements
- Supported web browsers
- Requirements for monitoring MySQL database instances
- Java requirements
For information about what database instances DPA can monitor, see Database instances DPA can monitor.
DPA Integration Module (DPAIM) compatibility
If you are not monitoring PostgreSQL database instances, DPAIM 11.1 or later is fully compatible with the current version of DPA.
If you are monitoring PostgreSQL database instances, DPAIM 2020.2 or later is required to display all available data from PostgreSQL instances in the SolarWinds Platform.
Port requirements
Review and open the following ports in the firewall to support communication to and from the DPA server.
No additional ports are required for DPA Central.
Port | Protocol | Service/Process | Direction | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
8124 (on premises) or 443 (cloud) |
TLS |
Windows: Ignite PI Service Linux: Java/Tomcat |
Bidirectional | Default HTTPS port for the web server. |
8127 | TCP |
Windows: Ignite PI Service Linux: Java/Tomcat |
Internal | This port is used internally by DPA. It does not need to be opened to internal or external traffic, but it needs to be available for DPA to use. |
443 | TLS |
Windows: Ignite PI Service Linux: Java/Tomcat |
Outbound |
(Optional) To participate in the SolarWinds Improvement Program (SWIP), allow access to (Optional) To enable online license activation or deactivation, allow access to |
80 | TCP/HTTP |
Windows: Ignite PI Service Linux: Java/Tomcat |
Outbound |
(Optional) To allow product updates in self-managed deployments, allow access to |
587 | SMTP |
Windows: Ignite PI Service Linux: Java/Tomcat |
Outbound |
(Optional) To use the default SMTP server for outgoing email from DPA, allow access to |
If you are using the DPA Integration Module to integrate DPA with the SolarWinds Platform, see the DPAIM port requirements.
Other connections to consider include the following. The ports used for these connections depend on how your organization configures the connections:
- Monitored database instances – TCP
- Repository database – TCP
- VMware (usually 443) – TCP
- LDAP – TCP
- Custom SMTP server – based on the SMTP server
- SNMP trap – UDP
DPA server requirements
You can install SolarWinds DPA on any physical or virtual Windows or Linux server that meets the self-managed server requirements listed below.
You can also launch DPA in the cloud:
- In the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace from an Amazon Machine Image (AMI):
- A DPA AMI with DPA installed runs on the supported Amazon Linux 2 operating system. This image does not include a repository.
- DPA uses the AWS Marketplace Metering Service to calculate charges.
- In the Azure Marketplace:
- The DPA virtual machine contains a DPA server on Windows and a built-in Microsoft SQL Server database instance configured as the DPA repository.
- Individual licenses must be purchased.
Self-managed DPA server requirements
The CPU, RAM, and disk space requirements depend on the number of database instances you plan to monitor.
If you register VMware, increase the CPU and RAM requirements by 50%.
These are estimates. They are based on testing done with an average of 2-3 active sessions per monitored instance. If you are monitoring busy instances with an average of more than 2-3 active sessions, please adjust accordingly.
Hardware or Software | 1 - 20 Monitored DB Instances | 21 - 50 Monitored DB Instances | 51 - 100 Monitored DB Instances | 101 - 250 Monitored DB Instances1 |
---|---|---|---|---|
CPUs | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
RAM dedicated to DPA | 2 GB | 4 GB | 6 GB | 8 GB |
Disk space for DPA |
10 GB minimum |
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Disk space for Find SQL indexes |
If the Find SQL feature is enabled, storage space for the indexes is required. By default, DPA stores the indexes on the DPA server, but you can move them. The amount of space required is determined by the number of monitored database instances. Index files for one instance can take up to 300 MB. Example: You are monitoring 120 instances. 120 x 0.3 GB = 36 GB Reserve at least 36 GB to provide adequate disk space for the Find SQL indexes. |
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Operating system |
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Operating system architecture | 64-bit | |||
Thread limit (Linux only)2 |
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Character sets | To support a multibyte language, the DPA server, repository, and monitored instances must be configured with the same character set. |
1 If you plan to monitor more than 250 database instances, consider using more than one DPA server and linking the servers together.
2 To check the current max user process setting, run ulimit -u
. To check the current max open files setting, run ulimit -n
. To change the limits, edit the following file and restart the server:
/etc/security/limits.conf
Requirements for an AWS DPA server
The minimum required AWS instance type for the DPA server AMI is t2.medium. Smaller instance types are not supported.
A t2.medium size instance is typically powerful enough to monitor 20 database instances. You might need a larger instance type to reliably monitor more than 20 database instances.
Requirements for an Azure DPA server
The minimum required Azure tier is A2.
Recommendations for the DPA Central Server
SolarWinds does not recommend configuring DPA Central on a DPA server that is monitoring database instances. To optimize performance, configure DPA Central on a separate server.
Hardware or Software | 0 - 50 Users | 51 - 100 Users |
---|---|---|
CPU | 4 | 6 |
RAM dedicated to DPA | 4 GB | 6 GB |
Disk space for DPA | 20 GB | 20 GB |
These estimates are based on the size of the cached data for each user per DPA server monitoring 250 database instances. Adjust as needed based on your deployment.
DPA repository database requirements
The repository database stores the data collected by DPA. A supported database instance must be installed on the database server.
Do not host the repository on a database instance that you plan to monitor, because this affects the performance of that instance.
Supported database versions
Database | Edition | Version |
---|---|---|
Microsoft SQL Server |
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The latest Service Pack is supported unless otherwise noted. |
Azure SQL Database |
Standard Service Tier or higher | V12 |
MySQL |
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Oracle |
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Azure SQL Managed Instance (ASMI) is not supported as a DPA repository database.
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Although DPA will work with the Express editions of Oracle and SQL Server, SolarWinds does not officially support these editions for the repository because of the database size limits. If you need a free database for an evaluation, SolarWinds recommends using a MySQL database.
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You can host a self-managed Oracle, SQL Server, or MySQL database on Amazon EC2 to use as your repository.
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If you choose Azure SQL Database as your repository, SolarWinds recommends two or more database throughput units (DTU) per monitored database instance. See the Azure SQL Database DTU Calculator for more information.
Self-managed repository database server requirements
If you install DPA on the same server as the repository database, the server must meet these requirements in addition to the DPA server requirements.
If you register VMware, increase the CPU and RAM requirements by 50%.
These are estimates. They are based on testing done with an average of 2-3 active sessions per monitored instance. If you are monitoring busy instances with an average of more than 2-3 active sessions, please adjust accordingly.
Hardware / Software | 1 - 20 Monitored DB Instances | 21 - 50 Monitored DB Instances | 51 - 100 Monitored DB Instances | 101 - 250 Monitored DB Instances |
---|---|---|---|---|
CPUs | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Database cache available for DPA | 4 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB | 16 GB |
Disk space |
The amount of disk space your repository uses is determined by the number of database instances you are monitoring and the activity level of each instance:
Example: You are monitoring five low, three medium, and two high activity database instances. (5 × 1 GB) + (3 × 3 GB) + (2 × 5 GB) = 24 GB Reserve at least 24 GB to provide adequate disk space for this repository database. |
Repository scalability depends on many things, including the database vendor and configuration, the specifications of the repository server, other activity on the repository server, and the activity levels of the monitored database instances.
Requirements for an AWS DPA repository database server
The following RDS instance types are recommended for AWS deployments.
To see the Amazon RDS database types and versions that are supported for an AWS DPA repository database, see Supported database versions.
Hardware / Software | 1 - 20 Monitored DB Instances | 21 - 50 Monitored DB Instances | 51 - 100 Monitored DB Instances | 101 - 250 Monitored DB Instances |
---|---|---|---|---|
RDS instance type | db.m5.large | db.m5.large | db.m5.xlarge | db.m5.xlarge |
CPUs | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Database cache available for DPA | 8 GB | 8 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB |
Requirements for an Azure DPA repository database server
SolarWinds recommends two or more database throughput units (DTUs) per monitored database instance. See DTU-based purchasing model overview for more information.
Required administrator credentials
You must know the following credentials for the database instance hosting your DPA repository.
Repository database type | Credentials |
---|---|
SQL Server | SYSADMIN |
Oracle | database administrator (DBA) |
MySQL |
repository administrator Alternatively, you can:
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Azure SQL Database |
repository administrator Alternatively, you can:
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Virtual environment requirements
In a virtual environment, DPA can remotely connect to the following to monitor the virtual environment that virtualized database instances are running on. The virtualized database instances must be registered separately from the virtual environment.
Software | Version |
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VMware vCenter Server |
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VMware ESX/ESXi Host |
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Supported web browsers
You can use the following browsers to access the DPA web interface:
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Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge: the latest stable version
Internet Explorer (IE) and legacy versions of Microsoft Edge are not supported. If you access DPA using these browsers, some DPA functionality is not available or does not function correctly. For example, the Find SQL and Resources tabs are not accessible, and drop-down menus in other areas do not function correctly.
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Mozilla Firefox: the latest stable version
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Google Chrome: the latest stable version
Requirements for monitoring MySQL database instances
SolarWinds recommends the following settings to optimize reporting capabilities for a MySQL database instance.
MySQL Performance Schema
The Performance Schema monitors server events and collects performance data. If the Performance Schema is not enabled, DPA provides limited data. Monitoring with the Performance Schema disabled excludes the following data:
- All instrumented wait events
- All wait operations
- All file wait time, broken out by file
- All object wait time, broken out by index and table
- SQL statistics
- Performance-schema dependent alerts
The Performance Schema must be enabled at server startup. In MySQL versions 5.6.6 and later, the Performance Schema is enabled by default.
Global Instrumentation and Thread Instrumentation
Global Instrumentation and Thread Instrumentation must be enabled in the Performance Schema configuration. Disabling these instruments has the same effect as disabling the Performance Schema.
By default, DPA enables these instruments in the configuration. However, if you select the Leave As Is option for Performance Schema setup, you must verify that Global Instrumentation and Thread Instrumentation are enabled in the existing Performance Schema configuration.
show_compatibility_56 system variable
If the monitored database instance is MySQL 5.7.6 or later, SolarWinds recommends turning on the show_compatibility_56
system variable. If this variable is on, DPA can collect data for all metrics.
If this variable is off and the Performance Schema is enabled, DPA cannot collect data for the following metrics:
- Selects
- Inserts
- Updates
- Deletes
Java requirements
DPA ships with JDK 11.0.20.1 for Windows and Linux and installs this version of Java on the DPA server. If you are installing DPA on a supported operating system, no action is required.
For unsupported operating systems, ensure that JDK 11.0.20.1 is installed on the DPA server. If you need to upgrade the JDK:
- Download and install JDK 11.0.20.1.
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Remove old Java information by deleting the
cat.txt
andcat.end
files from the following directory:<DPA_Home>/iwc/tomcat/ignite_config/
- At a command line, go to the DPA installation directory.
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Enter the following command:
./startup.sh