WHAT TO EXPECT
In this article, users will learn about the system requirements needed to successfully deploy a cloudSwXtch. It is recommended to review this page before installing a cloudSwXtch any platform.
cloudSwXtch Sizing Guidelines
Sizing and Feature Selection For the cloudSwXtch
The number of endpoints and bandwidth dictate cloudSwXtch sizing requirements. It is recommended for users to contact a swXtch.io sales representative to discuss cloudSwXtch sizing and additional features so that the appropriate license can be distributed.
Sizing: For bandwidth an instance types see each cloud cloudSwXtch installation.
Each market place has an install, however at this time 3.3.x is the latest available on the clouds which needs to be on Ubuntu 20.04. For 4.x installs please use the cloud agnostic installer which needs to be on Ubuntu 24.04.
Adding Features: Many additional licensable features are available for cloudSwXtch. For more information, see cloudSwXtch Features.
MTU: The MTU should be set 32 bytes higher than what is needed. For example, to send the largest standard packet of 1500 bytes, change the MTU to 1532. If a larger MTU size is required, see How to set MTU Size.
CPUs
CPUs must be an X64 processor, minimum of 8 cores. Recommended: 16 cores or more.
Memory
Minimum of 8GB of RAM. Recommended 16GB or more.
Storage space
Minimum SSD of 24GB. Recommended: 40GB or more.
Internet Connection
Although installing and upgrading cloudSwXtch is easier with an internet connection, users may be able to instantiate a cloudSwXtch in air-gapped environments. See, for example, the Air-Gapped installation guide for Azure page. Or contact support for guidance.
Supported Cloud Environments
Virtual Network and subnets
A cloudSwXtch instance must have 2 network interfaces (or NICs). However, both NICs can be on a single subnet for control and data plane communications. This is the preferred method as it simplifies the installation and allows all agents to use just one NIC.
PLEASE NOTE
GCP does not allow a VM to have two interfaces on the same VPC network (not even on two different subnets of the same VPC). If the user plan to have only one NIC on the agents, then the cloudSwXtch must use two peered subnets of different VPCs. See the cloudSwXtch on GCP page for more details.
In the event that a user needs higher performance, subnets can be separated as described below.
Contain a subnet for control plane traffic (referred to as the ctrl-subnet from here on).
Contain a subnet for data plane traffic (referred to as the data-subnet from here on).
Subnet Selection
The subnets must have connectivity to the corresponding subnets used for the xNIC installations.
The virtual network and subnets may be shared with other services in addition to the cloudSwXtch.
The size of each subnet should include at least 32 addresses.
Firewall and Security Group Rules
The xNIC software and the cloudSwXtch communicate with each other using the following protocols and ports. These firewall exceptions must be allowed in the xNIC VMs and the cloudSwXtch VM.
Subnet | Protocol | Ports | VM |
|---|---|---|---|
ctrl-subnet | http | 80 | all |
ctrl-subnet | udp | 10800-10803 | all |
data-subnet | udp | 9999 | all |
Also, the cloud must allow traffic between VMs with that configuration (Security Groups on AWS, Network Security Groups on Azure or OCI, or firewall rules in GCP).
PTP
PTP needs special firewall exceptions in order to work in a user’s cloudSwXtch environment properly. If the user plans on using the feature, please allow the following:
Subnet | Protocol | Ports | VM |
|---|---|---|---|
ctrl-subnet | http | 80 | cloudSwXtch |
ctrl-subnet | udp | 319-320 | all |
ctrl-subnet | tcp | 9200 | all |