Overview
This article provides simple suggestions regarding the planning of your LDD infrastructure and some formulas to help calculate hardware requirements.
Article contents
LDD installation typesMinimum and recommended system requirementsSystem sizing guidelines
LDD installation types
Enterprise system
This is standard LDD installation for larger systems and more demanding applications. Installing an Enterprise system lets you install the database, load balancer, and application servers on different computers to create a reliable and scalable system.
Adjustments have been made on the latest LDD version. Select the LDD version below to view the hardware configurations, description, advantages, and disadvantages for enterprise systems:
See sample installation per component below:
Note: The Print Release solution needs to be manually imported in this environment.
Workgroup system
This is an LDD installation with a packaged solution for smaller systems. Installing a workgroup system quickly installs the database, load balancer, and one application server on a single computer.
| Description | Database (DB) , Load Balancer (LB), and server on single computer |
| Advantages | Minimum equipment; Quick install |
| Disadvantages | No failover for DB or LB, limited resources |
See sample installation below:
Note: The Print Release solution is installed during the installation.
Installing LDD 4.5 and 4.6 Enterprise system
You can utilize the following hardware configurations when installing a LDD 4.5 or 4.6 Enterprise system.
NOTE:Components: DB – Database; LB – Load Balancer; Server
| Configuration Illustrations | | | | | |
| Configuration | 1 | 1-N | 1-1-N | X-N | X-Y-N |
| Description | All components on a single computer | - DB and LB on one computer
- Server on one or more additional computers
| - DB on one computer
- LB on one computer
- Server(s) on one or more additional computers
| - DB and LB on multiple (X) PCs in a Microsoft Cluster*
- Server(s) on one or more additional computers
| - DB on multiple (X) PCs in a Microsoft Cluster*
- LB on multiple (X) PCs in a Microsoft Cluster
- Server on one or more additional computers
|
| Advantages | Minimum equipment | Improved performance | Further improved performance | High availability; improved performance | High availability; further improved performance |
| Disadvantages | No failover for DB or LB; limited resources | Increased hardware needs; no failover for DB or LB | Further increased hardware needs; no failover for DB or LB | Increased hardware needs, and cluster licensing. | Further increased hardware needs, and cluster licensing. |
Notes | Not recommended for an enterprise environment | Most common setup when failover is not used | E-1-N configuration is possible E.g., An external Oracle database may be installed in place of the standard database. The externalDB (E) and LB are on separate computers, and the server is on one or more additional computers. | Most common setup when using failover) Server(s) * Cluster Server for failover | E-1-N configuration is possible. E.g., An external Oracle database may be installed in place of the standard database. The externalDB (E) and LB are on separate computers, and the server is on one or more additional computers. * Cluster Server for failover |
Installing LDD 4.7 Enterprise system
You can utilize the following hardware configurations when installing a LDD 4.7 Enterprise system.
NOTE:Components: DB – Database; LB – Load Balancer; Server
| Configuration Illustrations | | |
| Configuration | 1-N | X-N |
| Description | - DB and LB on one computer
- Server on one or more additional computers
| - DB and LB on multiple (X) computers in a Microsoft Cluster Server for failover
- Server(s) on one or more additional computers
|
| Advantages | Improved performance | High availability; improved performance |
| Disadvantages | Increased hardware needs; no failover for DB or LB | Increased hardware needs, and cluster licensing. |
Notes | Most common setup when failover is not used | Most common setup when using failover) Server(s) |
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Minimum and recommended system requirements
| Category | Requirement | Recommended for Enterprise systems |
| Operating system | Any of the following Windows Servers for the following LDD versions. LDD 4.5 - Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition with SP2 (32-bit only)
- Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition with SP2 (32-bit only)
- Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with SP2 (32-bit only)
LDD 4.6 - Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard or Enterprise Edition (x64)
- Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition with SP2 (x86 and x64)
- Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard or Enterprise Edition with SP2 (x86 and x64)
- Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with SP2 (x86 and x64)
LDD 4.7 - Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard or Enterprise Edition (x64)
- Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition with SP2 (x86 and x64)
- Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard or Enterprise Edition with SP2 (x86 and x64)
Note: An x86-based system refers to a 32-bit operating system, and an x64-based system refers to a 64-bit operating system.
| Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition with SP2 |
| Processor | 2GHz dual-core | LDD 4.5 - Dual 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Xeon
LDD 4.6 and 4.7 - Dual 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Xeon or AMD Opteron
|
| RAM | 2GB | 4GB |
| Hard disk drive | 20GB free space for each system component
Note: The listed space requirement includes both space for the application and free space for operation, but requirements may vary depending on system complexity and number of jobs.
| Configuration 1-N, X-N, or X-Y-N:Database and load balancer- The operating system and server(configured for LMC) should be installed on two 15,000 RPM Serial-Attached SCSI drives configured as a RAID 1 array with at least 80GB free space.
- The Database(DB) and load balancer(LB) should be installed on four 15,000 RPM Serial-Attached SCSI drives configured as a RAID 5 array with at least 300GB free space.
Servers- The operating system and server(configured for jobs) should be installed on four 15,000 RPM Serial-Attached SCSI drives configured as a RAID 5 array with at least 80GB free space.
Note:For information about configuring servers for only Lexmark Management Console(LMC), or jobs, see “Assigning servers to only run LMC or process jobs” in the LDD Administrator's guide. |
| Network speed | 100Mbps network
Note: Network speed affects the time required to perform a solution, and speed requirements depend on each solution. Solutions that require intensive processing and more network traffic may require Gigabit Ethernet to run at a satisfactory speed.
| Gigabit Ethernet using dual-port network adapters. |
| Network name resolution | Domain Name System (DNS) or Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)
Notes: - Local hosts files can be used instead of external DNS.
- Contact Lexmark Professional Services for support of other network systems.
| Same |
| Static addressing | - The database must have a static IP address if it is installed on a cluster.
- The load balancer must have a static IP address if:
– It is installed on a cluster. – Any e-Task printers are used with the system. – Any printers used with the system do not have a DNS server configured. | Static IP addresses are recommended for all system components and any e-Task printers used with the system. |
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System sizing guidelines
Two main factors which determine the number of servers required to process jobs efficiently.
Peak demand
Usually the deciding factor when the average execution time for a solution is under 30 seconds.
The following formulas determine the number of servers necessary to handle peak loads for a particular solution:
- (System-wide hourly job rate) = (System printer capacity) x (Jobs per printer per day) / (Length of business day)
- (Peak demand) = 2 x (System-wide hourly job rate)
- (Minimum number of servers) = (Peak demand) / (Single-server throughput for current solution)
Calculation example
There is capacity for 300 printers in your system and each printer in your system averages 100 jobs per day.
Perform the following calculations:
- Determine the system-wide hourly job rate: (300 printers) x (100 daily jobs/printer) / (8 hours/day) = 3750 jobs/hour
- Determine the peak demand: 2 x (3750 jobs/hour) = 7500 jobs/hour
- Determine the minimum number of servers: (7500 jobs/hour) / (3000 jobs/hour) = 2.5
NOTE:
In conclusion, this system should include three servers to reliably handle the peak load for a solution with average execution time below 30 seconds.Typical server throughputs
| Solution processing load | Functions used | Average single-server throughput |
| Typical | - Some image processing
- Printing
| 6000–8000 jobs per hour (estimate) |
| Heavy | - Extensive image processing
- Bar codes
- External processes
| 2000–3000 jobs per hour (estimate) |
| Very heavy | - (OCR) OCR
- Large document producer e-Forms
| 100–200 jobs per hour (estimate) |
NOTE: The single-server throughput for a solution must be determined by the solution developer; but these throughput estimates are relatively accurate if recommended hardware specifications are met. Using less than the recommended RAM significantly reduces throughput. For example, a dual-processor server with only 2GB of RAM can process only 600–800 jobs/hour when using a “heavy” solution.
Concurrency
Usually the deciding factor when the average execution time for a solution is over 30 seconds.
The database, when installed on the recommended hardware and connected using Gigabit Ethernet, can process 200,000 logged messages per hour, which is approximately 40,000 jobs per hour when using a typical solution (five logged messages per job).
Notes:
- If this limit is reached, it may be necessary to use multiple LDD systems.
- Each server that meets recommended requirements can process 30 concurrent jobs from clients. The following formula determines the number of servers necessary to meet concurrency requirements:
- (Minimum number of servers) = (Number of printers expected to submit jobs near the same time) /30
Calculation example
If 1/3 of the 300 printers in the last example might be active at the same time: 100 / 30 = 3.33
Note: In conclusion, the system should include four servers to allow for 100 active printers for a solution with average execution time above 30 seconds. For more information on adjusting concurrency limits on servers, see the supplemental document Managing system performance included with Lexmark Document Distributor.
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