3 System Requirements
Learn about the hardware and software requirements for an Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management (BRM) system.
Topics in this document:
- Overview of Hardware and Software Requirements
- Assigning Disks for the Operating System and for BRM
- About Network Performance
- About Oracle Exalogic and Oracle Exadata
- Additional Requirements
- Information Requirements for BRM Installation
Note:
Before you configure your system, see "Improving BRM Performance" in BRM System Administrator's Guide and "Planning Your Database Configuration". These documents contain information about configuring hardware and software for optimal performance with BRM. They also contain a detailed description of memory configuration for the Connection Manager (CM) and Data Manager (DM).
Overview of Hardware and Software Requirements
Running BRM requires the following:
-
A compatible operating system.
-
Available disk space.
See "Disk Space Requirements".
-
Database software.
See "Database Requirements".
-
Network connections.
See "Network Requirements".
Operating System Requirements
The BRM software is available for the Linux operating system. To determine which versions of the operating system are currently supported by BRM, see "BRM Software Compatibility" in BRM Compatibility Matrix.
About Critical Patch Updates
Install all Critical Patch Updates as soon as possible. To download Critical Patch Updates, find out about security alerts, and enable email notifications about Critical Patch Updates, see "Critical Patch Updates, Security Alerts and Bulletins" on the Oracle website.
Disk Space Requirements
Table 3-1 shows disk space requirements for the BRM server processes:
Table 3-1 Server Disk Space Requirements
| BRM System Component | Required Disk Space |
|---|---|
|
BRM server |
300 MB |
|
BRM database |
2 to 5 GB per 10,000 customers per year. Note: This requirement varies greatly with the number of accounts and the amount of activity. |
For information on determining your database requirements, see "Planning Your Database Configuration".
Hardware Guidelines
-
Use large disk controller RAM size.
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Maximize the processor cache size on the database and DM servers. For best performance, use caches that are at least 1 MB.
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In most cases, performance is best when there are approximately one and a half times as many CPUs on the CM/DM systems as on the database server system.
-
The total number of CM CPUs (regardless of the number of CMs) is approximately 25% - 33% of the total number of CPUs on the database server.
-
CM and DM systems need less RAM than the database system.
-
CM and DM systems have very low disk requirements. Disks are needed only for the operating system, BRM software, and swap space. Two 9-GB disks on each CM or DM system is usually enough, as long as these systems are not being used for non-BRM workloads.
Two disks are recommended so that access to temp space, the operating system, swap, and BRM code are not bottlenecked on a single disk.
CM and DM RAM and Swap Guidelines
Each CM system should have at least 128 MB of RAM. Too much more than 256 MB might not add additional performance unless there are a large number of connections to the CM.
DM RAM can be lower than 512 MB for smaller installations. For larger installations with eight or more DM CPUs on a single SMP box, 512 MB to 1 GB is recommended. Heavy usage of certain business policies and large searches can greatly increase CM memory requirements.
A typical requirement for swap on a CM/DM system is two to three times the amount of RAM, but this depends upon the operating system and the number of processes running on the CM/DM system.
Database Requirements
BRM supports Oracle databases on the Linux platform.
To run BRM with an Oracle database, you need the following:
-
Oracle Enterprise Edition.
-
AL32UTF8 database character set.
Note:
BRM supports AL32UTF8 as its default character set. You use the Unicode character set AL32UTF8 for all new BRM deployments.
-
(Optional) Oracle Partitioning. You need this to partition the tables in your BRM database. See "Partitioning Tables" in BRM System Administrator's Guide.
To determine which versions of the Oracle software are currently supported by BRM, see "BRM Software Compatibility" in BRM Compatibility Matrix.
Network Requirements
To set up networking and communications channels, you need TCP/IP. You also need a permanent IP address for each computer that hosts a BRM process or application.
Any kind of network connection that supports TCP/IP supports BRM, for example, local area network, virtual private network, and PPP.
TCP/IP
BRM requires TCP/IP on every machine that runs a BRM component, including custom client programs.
Note:
BRM also needs very large bandwidth to handle traffic between the DM and the database.
Assigning Disks for the Operating System and for BRM
Allocate separate disks for the BRM software, operating system, and operating system SWAP space. These disks should not be used for any other purpose.
About Network Performance
Any kind of network connection that supports TCP/IP supports BRM (for example, local area network, virtual private network, and PPP).
The network bandwidth needs are relatively simple. BRM has an OLTP footprint (as opposed to Decision Support). This means that transactions are normally small and network traffic will consist of smaller packets. The only requirement for network connectivity is TCP/IP. The real constraint is to have enough bandwidth between the DM systems and the database server; otherwise, the network might become a bottleneck even under moderate loads.
-
Use 100BaseT or FDDI between each DM system and the database server. 10 Mbit Ethernets have too little bandwidth to handle heavy DM-to-database-server traffic. To minimize any collisions, the DM-to-database connections should use a separate physical connection (or a switch) and each of these should be a separate network.
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For switch-connected systems, connect all systems in the BRM configuration by using a single switch. For the largest configurations, use gigabit connections.
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When the development systems have multiple network cards, verify that the operating system network routing tables are configured to avoid bottlenecks. By default (depending on the system), output from the database server system may go through one LAN card, even though you have several configured, and even though input comes in through the multiple cards from different DMs. Examine and fix the routing tables as necessary. Ensure that each DM-to-database-server connection is explicit so all traffic between the two machines goes through the single dedicated physical path. The most common environment where you might find this problem is when there are multiple paths between the same sets of systems.
-
For best performance, ensure all the systems in the environment are connected to the same hub with no intermediate hops.
About Oracle Exalogic and Oracle Exadata
BRM is supported on Oracle Exalogic and Oracle Exadata systems. You can install BRM server and client software on an Oracle Exalogic system (with 32-bit libraries) on Oracle Linux and the BRM database on an Oracle Exadata system.
You can install and configure the BRM database with Oracle RAC. See the Oracle Exadata documentation for more information about creating an Oracle RAC instance in Oracle Exadata.
When both Oracle Exalogic and Oracle Exadata are available and connected together using InfiniBand network, you can configure a database listener for the network to serve all connection requests from BRM.
Additional Requirements
You need additional software packages to create a complete customer management and billing solution for your business. These packages allow you to take best advantage of BRM functionality:
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Internet software
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Credit card processing software
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Tax calculation software
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Invoice formatting software
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Compilers
You need the following third-party software for installing BRM. See "BRM Software Compatibility" in BRM Compatibility Matrix for information about the compatible versions.
-
Latest certified version of Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE), containing Java Development Kit (JDK) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE)
Important: To protect from security vulnerabilities, ensure you apply the latest critical patch updates. See "About Critical Patch Updates" for more information.
For information about installing Java, see "Installing Java".
-
Latest certified version of Perl
For information about installing Perl, see "Installing Perl".
-
Latest certified version of Apache Kafka
For instructions on installing Apache Kafka, see "Installing Apache Kafka".
For a list of other third-party software supported by BRM, see "BRM Software Compatibility" in BRM Compatibility Matrix.
Information Requirements for BRM Installation
This section describes the information that you will be required to provide during the BRM server installation process.
Note:
Oracle recommends that you record the values in this section for future reference.
Information Requirements for All BRM Installations
This section describes the information requirements common to all BRM server installations.
In each section that follows, you can use the Value column of the tables to note the values of the fields for your specific installation.
BRM File Location Details
Table 3-2 lists the BRM file location details you should find out or determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-2 BRM File Location Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Inventory directory |
The full path to the inventory directory, if it is different from the default. The default location of the Oracle inventory is in the /etc/oraInst.loc directory |
- |
|
Operating system group name |
The name of the operating system group that has write permission to the inventory directory |
- |
|
BRM software installation directory |
The location you intend to install the BRM software |
- |
|
Prerequisite library location |
Location of the ojdbc8.jar file See "Downloading the ojdbc8.jar File" for more information. |
- |
BRM Oracle Wallet Details
Table 3-3 lists the BRM Oracle wallet details you should find out or determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-3 BRM Oracle Wallet Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Client wallet password |
The client password for the Oracle wallet |
- |
|
Root wallet password |
The root password for the Oracle wallet |
- |
|
Server wallet password |
The server password for the Oracle wallet |
- |
BRM Database SSL Details
Table 3-4 lists the BRM database SSL details you should find out or determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-4 BRM Database SSL Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Database SSL option |
Type of SSL (one-way or two-way) supported by your database, if any |
- |
|
TrustStore type |
(If your database supports SSL) The type of TrustStore file: SSO or PKCS12 |
- |
|
TrustStore location |
(If your database supports SSL) The directory in which the TrustStore file is located |
- |
|
TrustStore password |
(If your database supports SSL) The password for the TrustStore |
- |
|
KeyStore type |
(If your database supports SSL) The type of KeyStore file: SSO or PKCS12 |
- |
|
KeyStore location |
(If your database supports SSL) The directory in which the KeyStore file is located |
- |
|
KeyStore password |
(If your database supports SSL) The password for the KeyStore |
- |
BRM Database System User Details
Table 3-5 lists the BRM database system user details you should find out before installing BRM.
Table 3-5 BRM Database System User Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Host name |
The host name or IP address of the machine on which the BRM database is installed |
- |
|
Port number |
The port number assigned to the BRM database service |
- |
|
Database name |
The BRM database alias |
- |
|
User name |
The name of the BRM database system user This user should have the following capabilities on the BRM database: create user, grant any role, grant any privileges, select any table for Enterprise edition, and DBA for XE. |
- |
|
Password |
The BRM database system user password |
- |
BRM Database Connection Details
Table 3-6 lists the BRM database connection details you should find out or determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-6 BRM Database Connection Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
User name |
The BRM database schema user name |
- |
|
Password |
The BRM database schema user password |
- |
BRM Connection Manager Details
Table 3-7 lists the BRM Connection Manager (CM) details you should determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-7 BRM Connection Manager Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
User name |
The fully qualified host name or IP address of your CM machine |
- |
|
Port number |
The port number for your CM |
- |
Enterprise Application Integration Framework Details
Table 3-8 lists the Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) framework details you should determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-8 Enterprise Application Integration Framework Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Port number |
The port number for your EAI Manager |
- |
Oracle Data Manager Details
Table 3-9 lists the Oracle Data Manager (DM) details you should determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-9 Oracle Data Manager Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Database number |
The DM database number |
- |
|
Port number |
The port number for your DM |
- |
BRM Table and Index Tablespace Details
Table 3-10 lists the BRM table and index tablespace details you should determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-10 BRM Table and Index Tablespace Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Table tablespace |
The name of your data tablespace |
- |
|
Index tablespace |
The name of your index tablespace |
- |
Additional Information Requirements for BRM Complete Installation
This section describes the additional information requirements for a complete BRM server installation.
In each section that follows, you can use the Value column of the tables to note the values of the fields for your specific installation.
Oracle Connection Manager Proxy Details
Table 3-11 lists the CM proxy details you should determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-11 Oracle Connection Manager Proxy Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Port number |
The port number for your CM Proxy |
- |
Oracle Connection Manager Master Process Details
Table 3-12 lists the CM Master Process (CMMP) details you should determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-12 Oracle Connection Manager Master Process Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Port number |
The port number for your CMMP |
- |
Pipeline Schema User Details
Table 3-13 lists the Pipeline schema user details you should determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-13 Pipeline Schema User Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
User name |
The name of the Pipeline schema user |
- |
|
Password |
The Pipeline schema user password |
- |
|
Table tablespace |
The name of the data tablespace for the pipeline schema |
- |
|
Index tablespace |
The name of the index tablespace for the pipeline schema |
- |
BRM Schema User Details
Table 3-14 lists the BRM schema user details you should find out or determine before installing BRM.
Table 3-14 BRM Schema User Details
| Field | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
User name |
The name of the BRM database schema user |
- |
|
Password |
The BRM database schema user password |
- |
|
Table tablespace |
The name of your BRM data tablespace |
- |
|
Index tablespace |
The name of your BRM index tablespace |
- |