Server Hardware and Software Requirements
Server Requirements
Aleph and the Oracle database should be installed on a dedicated server.
Other Ex Libris products can be installed on a server running an Aleph installation, provided due care and attention are taken to ensure adequate performance of all applications. Consult with your Ex Libris representative. If other Ex Libris products are going to be installed on the same server, you must take into account the requirements detailed in these products' Requirements for Installation documents, and confirm that your system answers the requirements of all systems. Note that many of the software and hardware resources are shared by Aleph and other Ex Libris products. However, disk space requirements are accumulative. See File System and Disk Space.
Operating System/Platform for Aleph
Refer first to Operating System Requirements for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Ex Libris recommends that you install the latest OS update level.
The minimum requirement for the Aleph installation is 4 GB RAM.
For the exact production server specifications, including the required number of CPUs and required RAM as a function of the database size and the number of concurrent users, contact your Ex Libris representative.
File System and Disk Space
Each physical disk that will be used by Ex Libris should be mounted on a separate file system. The names of the file systems should be /exlibris,
/exlibris1, /exlibris2, and so forth.
/exlibris1, /exlibris2, and so forth.
A file system named /exlibris, with a minimum size of 40 GB, is mandatory. It will be used exclusively for all software and configuration tables and files that will be installed by Ex Libris. The /exlibris file system must be mounted directly to the server, and cannot be a soft or symbolic link to any alternatively named file system.
The Aleph database and Aleph scratch files can be installed on separate file systems: /exlibris1, /exlibris2, and so forth. Installations with more than 500,000 bibliographic records must have at least 50 GB on separate file systems.
The table below lists the minimal disk space requirements for running and maintaining Aleph software and data.
The above information is meant to provide general guidelines for determining the minimal disk space requirements. The exact disk space required will be determined in conjunction with your Ex Libris representative. Any deviation from the above guidelines must be confirmed by Ex Libris.
The above disk space requirements include the ability to support the following activities:
- Full conversion
- Reorganization of the database (as part of the periodic maintenance of the database) with minimal downtime
- Full re-indexing of the database with minimal downtime
- Aleph standard backup for small sites (see the Backup and Recovery Media and Procedures)
- Upgrade to a new Aleph version or revision with minimal downtime.
In special cases, an upgrade may require temporary additional disk space.
The above disk space requirements do not include:
- System disk requirements
- Disk space needed for running Oracle in archive-log mode (see Backup and Recovery Media and Procedures)
- Disk space requirements for backup on large sites (see Backup and Recovery Media and Procedures)
- Any type of data redundancy, such as RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 0 solutions
Native C Compiler
Operating systems other than Linux require an installed native C compiler with ANSI support.
Purchase and installation of the native C compiler is the customer's responsibility. The native C compiler is supplied by the hardware and operating system vendor.
This compiler is in addition to gcc, which is required as well, and will be installed by Ex Libris (see Additional Server Software).
Media for Data Exchange
FTP and an Internet connection are prerequisites for Aleph implementation (see Communication Requirements). You should also have a CD-ROM drive for data and software exchange with Ex Libris in case FTP is temporarily unavailable, or if Ex Libris has approved work without an Internet connection.
Backup and Recovery Media and Procedures
Backup and recovery procedures and their selected media are the customer's responsibility.
Aleph includes a backup procedure that is mainly used by small sites. It is recommended that large sites should use third-party backup and recovery tools.
- Backup and recovery may require additional disk space.
- Disk space required for Oracle archive-log mode depends on the backup strategy and procedure.
Additional Server Software
The following are add-on software products required for Aleph. Ex Libris will install all this additional software in order to ensure full compatibility with Aleph.
- Oracle 12
- MF Cobol
- gzip
- Perl
- Apache Server
- OpenSSL (if required by the customer)
- Tomcat
- tcsh
- GNU tar
- GNU Make