System Requirements
This page provides an overview of the hardware and network system requirements. Please read the page in full to understand it and to avoid potential confusion or problems.
Hardware Requirements
You can install Tenantos on a dedicated server, but it is strongly recommended using hardware virtualization like KVM. Container virtualization like OpenVZ should work (provided veth is used), but has not been tested and is therefore not officially supported.
The following hardware resources are recommended for the Tenantos server and Remote Agents:
| Component | Minimum | Recommended | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System |
Debian 11 (minimal, clean installation) No other operating systems are supported, only Debian 11 |
||
| CPU | 2 cores | 4 cores or more | See note below |
| RAM | 8 GB (3 GB for Agents) | - | See note below |
| Disk Space | 20 GB | - | See note below |
| Network |
1. Network requirements are explained here 2. Firewall & required ports |
||
Operating System
Sometimes we receive questions like:
- "Is Debian 12 supported?"
- "Are other operating systems supported?"
The answer is no. As stated above in the system requirements, only Debian 11 is supported. Support for Debian 12 is not a priority at the moment, as Debian 11 will receive updates through the Debian Long Term Support project until August 31, 2026.
CPU
If only a small number of servers are managed, two CPU cores is sufficient. However, we recommended providing at least 4 cores. Tenantos do not need the available CPU power all the time, but more cores are good to absorb peaks. Unless you assign dedicated cores, you can share the cores with other VMs.
If you install Tenantos on a virtual server, we recommended to pass at least the AES CPU flag to the VM. You can also pass all CPU flags of the hypervisor host to the VM, for the best performance within the virtual machine.
RAM
If you use the IPMI KVM proxy, you need more memory. The KVM proxy creates its own Docker container for each KVM session on the assigned remote agent (for absolute isolation between users). Each Docker container requires about 300 MB of memory - JAVA requires a lot of memory, unfortunately. If you assume that up to 10 users open a KVM session at the same time, around 3 GB of additional RAM will be used.
To prevent the OOM killer from terminating processes because too many IPMI KVM consoles were started, the application first checks if enough memory is available. If the threshold is reached, an error message appears.
Disk Space
You must have enough disk space for the PXE files. For example, each Debian version requires about 1 GB, while Windows requires about 6 GB. With 50 GB, you should be on the safe side, but if you can allocate more space, do it.
If possible, use a storage backend that can provide a high number of IOPS (e.g. SSD).
Network Requirements
The Tenantos server and agents must be operated on public IPv4 addresses. NAT or private IPs are not supported. While running Tenantos behind NAT is technically possible, it's only for users who can troubleshoot and solve problems on their own. No support is provided for private IP/NAT setups.
Depending on the type of server, the server's operating system is installed via PXE, or in the case of external providers (OVH, Hetzner, etc.) through the provider's API. For external providers, there are no special network requirements. For PXE, the usual requirements apply.
The usual requirements for PXE involve that either the Tenantos server or a remote agent can assign IP addresses via DHCP, as otherwise an automated PXE boot is technically not possible. This means that either a DHCP relay must be configured on the switch/router if the Tenantos server/agent is not located in the same Layer 2 network, or a remote agent must be installed in the target network.
Furthermore, the use of RSTP or an equivalent protocol is recommended to prevent network timeouts during PXE installations.
If multiple sites (locations) are managed within the same Tenantos installation, remote agents can be deployed across all locations to manage all servers within one installation. This also applies to IPMI and other network devices, such as network switches or PDUs. Tenantos supports these devices even if they are located within a private network.
Please note that virtual servers (Proxmox, VMware) are also installed via PXE. While Tenantos does support external providers (OVH, Hetzner, etc.), it is a PXE-based solution and not a template-based solution. PXE has different RAM requirements than template installations. Additional information about these requirements can be found here.
Lastly, for completeness, please note that servers in Tenantos are "modular". Even if the system requirements for PXE are not met, it is still possible to add, for instance, an IPMI connection to servers, providing end-users with options such as power resets.