System Requirements

Jive SBS includes an optimally-configured software stack that is designed to perform well and be easy to administer. Except for the operating system, it includes everything you'll need to get the application running and configured.

Below is a list of the compatible systems, databases, and recommended hardware. Because Jive SBS is a web application we also list the compatible browsers.

OS Application Server Database Authentication and User Data
Including the latest 3 fixpacks:

RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) version 4 or 5 for x86 and x86_64

CentOS version 4 or 5 (use the RedHat distribution) for x86 and x86_64

SuSE Enterprise Linux Server (SLES) 10 for x86 and x86_64

SunOS 5.10 (Solaris 10) for SPARC and x86_64 (Note: Solaris is not supported in this release.)

Jive SBS includes the Apache Tomcat application server.

Oracle 10.x or better

Postgres 8.x or better

MySQL 5.x or better

MS SQL Server 2005 or better

LDAP or AD
Restriction: Systems using a "hugemem" or "bigmem" kernel can exhibit a severe decrease in performance. For this reason these systems are not supported for Jive SBS. To achieve the desired effect -- addressing more RAM from the kernel -- considering instead using a 64-bit kernel.
Note: Jive SBS includes the application server and JDK it requires to run.

Hardware Requirements

Every business is different, each have different standards. Fortunately, Jive SBS is compatible with a number of hardware configurations as well as network topologies. Below are the minimum hardware requirements needed.

Component Recommendations
CPUs
  • Multicore - 2 chips with multicore optimal
  • 2 Ghz Minimum
  • x86 architecture
Memory
  • 3-4 gigs physical RAM
  • 2 gig memory heap (configured by default)
Topology
  • Minimum: One box for both application and database.
  • Optimal: Separate boxes for appserver and database.
  • Failover: Clustered applications with a shared database.
Storage
  • Use a RAID configuration for best performance and reliability
Network
  • Gigabit ethernet hardware gear (NICs, switches)
  • One local network for any multi-box deployments

Configuration Recommendations

Internal Deployments

For internal deployments, expect a higher ratio of actions that write to the database. This includes creating new content, adding comments and replies, updating content, and so on. Here, writes are estimated as 15 percent of the number of page views.

Page Views per Month Database Writes per Month CPUs (at least 2 GHz) RAM Location of App Server and Database Clustered?
500,000 75,000 1 dual core CPU 3GB, 2GB Java heap Share a box No
1,000,000 150,000 1 dual core CPU 3GB, 2GB Java heap Separate boxes No
5,000,000 750,000 1 dual core CPU 4GB, 2GB Java heap Separate boxes Yes
10,000,000 1,500,000 1 dual core CPUs 4GB, 2GB Java heap Separate boxes Yes
25,000,000 3,750,000 2 dual core CPUs 4GB, 2GB Java heap Separate boxes. Database box is a quad core. Yes

External Deployments

In general, and external deployment is going to have a very high ratio of page views relative to database writes. That's because external deployments tend to support communities with a large number of people who rarely contribute but often check back to read what others are posting.

Page Views per Month Content Created per Month CPUs (at least 2 GHz) RAM Location of App Server and Database Clustered?
500,000 20,000 1 dual core CPU 3GB, 2GB Java heap Share a box No
1,000,000 20,000 1 dual core CPU 3GB, 2GB Java heap Separate boxes No
5,000,000 50,000 1 dual core CPU 4GB, 2GB Java heap Separate boxes Yes
10,000,000 50,000 1 dual core CPUs 4GB, 2GB Java heap Separate boxes Yes
25,000,000 100,000 2 dual core CPUs 4GB, 2GB Java heap Separate boxes/DB box is a quad core Yes

Evaluation Distribution

For evaluations, Jive SBS will run on both Linux and Windows. We've made an evaluation build of the software available on Windows for easy testing. It's not supported for production environments, but it'll give you a quick sense of the end-user and admin console experience with the application. There is also a way to evaluate the software online. Visit our evaluation page for more details.

Additional System Recommendations

When you run a server-side application, you should also have a daily backup solution. At a minimum you should back up your database on a regular basis as well as the configuration files for Jive SBS (note that those are stored in one directory).

Supported Browsers

Jive SBS is supported on the following browsers (browsers on mobile devices aren't yet supported):