CAM Enterprise Recommendations

Certain resources are required for Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) for CAM Enterprise customers.

Overview

On-premises implementations in the enterprise can vary drastically depending on the customer environment. This section provides details on the resources required for Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) for CAM Enterprise customers. The CAM database requirements listed in Product Requirements should be considered minimums.

Server Infrastructure

These server-side CAM components rely on Microsoft technologies:

  • The CAM database runs on Microsoft SQL Server.
  • CAM Access Points run on Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). CAM Agents communicate via HTTP/HTTPS to CAM Access Points, which use .NET to send agent data to the CAM database.
  • Reporting Applications (Reporting, Purchasing, CAM SaaS Analytics, and License Analytics) rely on IIS.

Performance Factors

The primary determination for adequate performance is the configuration of Microsoft SQL Server. The following factors can affect performance:

  • Sizing (RAM, CPU, and RAID configuration) of Microsoft SQL Server.
  • The number of agents deployed.
  • How often the agents send inventory data.
  • How many applications are being metered in the environment.

Microsoft SQL Server

The sizing and configuration of Microsoft SQL Server is critical to the success of the CAM implementation. CAM performance is dependent on CPU performance, available RAM, and SQL Server disk performance. For SQL applications with heavy resource requirements, Microsoft recommends you “scale up” by adding more resources to the SQL Server.

The performance of Microsoft SQL Server is also influenced by the type of drives and RAID arrays implemented. For example, if you have more than 30,000 CAM Agents, Cherwell strongly recommends you have a dedicated physical server for Microsoft SQL Server. Customers with 100,000 installed CAM Agents should allocate 128 GB of RAM on a dedicated physical server.

Ultimately, CAM will support large enterprise environments as long as the Microsoft SQL Server environment is sized appropriately.

If you use TLS, see TLS Support Notes in Product Requirements.

Microsoft SQL Server in Virtual Environments

Although Cherwell recommends the CAM database be on a dedicated physical server, you can run CAM on a virtualized Microsoft SQL Server as long as larger environments adequately scale Microsoft SQL Server, the virtual server, and the physical host.

CAM Access Points

The CAM Access Point is a web service that runs on Microsoft IIS. Typically, CAM Access Points are not sources of performance issues. The CAM Access Point sends XML data to the CAM Access Point based on the schedule defined in CAM Administrator. The CAM Access Point accepts the XML data and forwards it to the CAM database for processing.

By default, the inventory schedule is monthly. You can increase the agent inventory frequency, but for sites larger than 10,000 machines, Cherwell recommends the frequency be no more than once per week. In addition, the CAM Agent can collect software usage data. Cherwell recommends that you target usage collection for a specific set of applications rather than collect usage data for all applications in the environment.

Deployment Recommendations

Cherwell recommends that you have as few CAM Access Points as possible. Every added CAM Access Point increases the load on the Microsoft SQL Server. It is also recommended that you locate CAM Access Points on the same subnet as the Microsoft SQL Server for best performance.

However, a CAM Access Point can reside on a remote network when required by your infrastructure. The number of CAM Access Points may also depend on your specific requirements for load balancing traffic on the Microsoft IIS Servers and managing network traffic from remote sites.