FCS is Apache web application that is working with PostgreSQL database server. Other than these it also uses a number of external software dependencies for various parts of its operation, which all have different requirements for RAM and/or CPU (some processes are CPU intensive, some require more RAM). 

Requirements

1. CPU
   • CPU is critical to overall operation of the server
   • It is required by many subsystems - database, software RAID, FCS
   • Minimum requirements for high performance server: 6 core CPU at 3.5GHz
2. Memory
   
   • System memory is primarily used by FCS and database
   • It is very important to use high quality memory to avoid data corruption
   • In the past we experienced on one occasion a catastrophic data corruption caused by bad RAM module
     • we managed to resolve this by restoring data from backups
     • this caused data loss of several hours because of our backups procedure at that time
   • Minimum requirements for high performances server: 64GB ECC RAM
3. Software RAID / Disk system
   • We recommend to use SSDs for database operations and HDDs to store user data (facts data) 
   • We setup software RAID for the following reasons:
     • It does not require expensive hardware controllers
     • It can work with different types of hard drives
     • In case of hardware failure it is possible to put hard drives in different server / disk controller and access the data (hardware RAID controllers are usually not interchangeable, in case of a controller failure it is necessary to replace it with the exact same model)
   • It is important to use high quality and high reliability SAS/SATA HDDs like Hitachi Ultrastar series
   • SSDs are generally much more reliable than HDDs and lower grade SSDs may also be used (consumer grade SSDs)
   • Chasis should have HDD trays that allow to easy replace failed HDDs/SSDs without shutting down the server
   • Minimum requirements for high performance server: HDD 2x3TB, SSD 2x256GB
   • Recommended requirements for high performance server: HDD 3x3TB, SSD 2x256GB
4. Chasis
   • For the purpose of high availability it is important to have dual PSU chasis
   • Each PSU should be connected to independent power source
   • Chasis should also have the possibility to replace failed PSU online (without shutting down the server)
5. Remote console
   • For the purpose of installation/maintenance/troubleshooting work it is important to be able to access the server console remotely
   • This is a requirement when we perform OS upgrades
   • It is recommended to also have the possibility to remotely mount CD/USB images
   • The type of the console is not important, it might be HP iLO, Dell DRAC, etc. or any other hardware solution for IP KVM
6. Operating system
   • List of supported operating systems
     
     • Debian GNU/Linux Jessie (recommended)
     • Debian GNU/Linux Wheezy
     • Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS