Hardware recommendations for stand-alone deployments of Web Filter or Web Security

Applies to

Web Filter v7.6

Web Security v7.6

Hardware recommendations for stand-alone deployments of Web Filter or Web Security

When Web Security or Web Filter is deployed as a stand-alone product, then Network Agent (rather than a third-party integration product, such as a firewall, proxy, or gateway product or device) monitors network traffic and enables filtering of all protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP.

In a stand-alone deployment, Network Agent:

u	Detects all TCP/IP Internet requests (HTTP and non-HTTP)

u	Communicates with Filtering Service to see if each request should be blocked

u	Calculates the number of bytes transferred

u	Sends a request to Filtering Service to log Internet activity

For more information, see the TRITON - Web Security Help.

Components may need to be distributed over multiple machines for load balancing and improved performance in larger networks.

The table below provides hardware recommendations for stand-alone deployments of Web Filter and Web Security solutions, based on network size. System needs vary, depending on the volume of Internet traffic. Note the table does not include information for the TRITON management server; see System Requirements.

The following baseline is used to create the recommendations:

1 - 500 users = 1 - 100 requests/second

500 - 2,500 users = 100 - 500 requests/second

2,500 - 10,000 users = 500 - 2,250 requests/second

 

If your network traffic exceeds these estimates, more powerful systems or greater distribution of components may be required.

 

Important  Do not install Websense components on a domain controller. Do not install Websense components on a firewall machine. Firewall and Websense software function and performance may be affected. Each Network Agent machine must be positioned to see all Internet requests for the machines that it is assigned to monitor. eDirectory Agent or RADIUS Agent can be installed on the same machine as Filtering Service, or on a separate machine in the same network, but not on the same machine as Websense Log Server.

 

 

Network Size	Filtering Components	Reporting (Windows)
1 - 500 users	Windows or Linux Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5420 or better processor, 2.5 GHz or greater 4 GB RAM 10 GB free disk space (Free space must equal at least 20% of total disk space.)	Windows Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5420 or better processor, 2.5 GHz or greater 4 GB RAM 100 GB free disk space Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or 2005, or SQL Server 2008 R2 Express required for Log Database
500 - 2,500 users	Windows or Linux Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5420 or better processor, 2.5 GHz or greater 4 GB RAM 10 GB free disk space (Free space must equal at least 20% of total disk space.)	Windows Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5420 or better processor, 2.5 GHz or greater 4 GB RAM 100 GB free disk space Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or 2005, or SQL Server 2008 R2 Express required for Log Database
2,500 - 10,000 users	Windows or Linux Load balancing required Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5450 or better processor, 3.0 GHz or greater 4 GB RAM 10 GB free disk space (Free space must equal at least 20% of total disk space.)	Windows Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5420 or better processor, 2.5 GHz or greater 4 GB RAM 200 GB free disk space with a disk array (The Log Database requires a disk array to increase I/O reliability and performance.) High-speed disk access Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or 2005 required for Log Database

 

Important  At least two Network Agent instances, running on separate machines, are required for networks with 2,500-10,000 users. The machines should have: Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5420 or better processor, 2.5 GHz or greater At least 1 GB of RAM Multiple Filtering Service machines may also be needed. Machine requirements depend on the number of users being monitored and filtered.

To run both filtering and reporting on the same machine in the two smaller network sizes, increase the RAM to 6 GB (if supported by your operating system), and consider using a faster processor and hard drive to compensate for the increased load.