Cisco HCS capacity planning
• Introduction, page 1
• Network Infrastructure capacity planning, page 1
• Unified Communications Application capacity planning, page 10
Introduction
This document provides capacity planning guidelines for the following Cisco HCS deployment models:
• Full Cisco HCS offering or Large PoD
• Small PoD
• Micro Node
For a description of these Cisco HCS offerings, refer to the Solution Reference Network Design for Cisco
Hosted Collaboration Solution.
Network Infrastructure capacity planning
Network infrastructure metrics are very important during network integration through a fresh install or when
growth occurs in the network that requires software or hardware upgrades. Network infrastructure metrics
are listed in Capacity and performance monitoring.
Depending on the topology of the network deployed, the overall system capacity in terms of supported
subscribers and customers can vary. It is important to regularly track the network infrastructure metrics
described in the previous section to manage potential growth as Cisco HCS expands.
Network Infrastructure is key in the capacity-planning process. The information contained in this section
serves as reference material to help you plan for present and future capacity requirements on the Cisco HCS
Data Center.
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Cisco HCS resource limits
Cisco HCS resource limits
As a part of the capacity planning process, you need to be aware of the number of tenants that the components
support and take into account the future growth plans.
The table shows fixed software limits that are placed on individual network components that can be deployed
within a given Cisco HCS architecture. Based on the resource-usage profile variations, the overall number of
supported tenants for each deployment can differ. The usage profiles are listed in Table 3: Standard resource
usage profile, on page 3 and Table 4: BGP optimization resource usage profile, on page 4.
Note
The data presented in this table is specifically for a Cisco HCS implementation and may not be the
scalability or resource limits published in the Nexus documentation.
Table 1: HCS resource limits
Resource
Nexus 7000
Nexus 5000
BGP peers
1,000
256
VRFs
1,000
100
HSRP instances
1,000
256
Static routes
1,000
250
VLANs
2,000
1,000
Cisco HCS resource reservation
You need to have an accurate representation of how resources are potentially used. From a capacity-planning
perspective, routing resources can be used on a fixed or tenant basis. The table lists the number of fixed
resources that should be reserved and subtracted from the resources shown in Table 1: HCS resource limits,
on page 2. The remaining resources can be used on a per-tenant basis and ultimately determine the supported
number of tenants for the architecture used.
Note
The resource reservation is for planning purposes. It is important to know the actual count for each
individual deployment. The numbers may vary.
Table 2: Fixed resource reservation
Reserved Resource
Count
BGP peers
20
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Reserved Resource
Count
VRFs
10
HSRP instances
40
Static routes
50
VLANs
100
Resource usage profiles (per-tenant basis)
Usage profiles on a per-tenant basis are divided into aggregation and core usage. Each interface has different
requirements depending on the configuration used. The usage profile is different if you use BGP optimization.
BGP optimization refers to how the BGP connections are provisioned between the PE and core routing. When
BGP optimization is used, the cross links between PE and core routing are removed. This provides a reduction
in BGP peer usage on a per tenant basis.
BGP optimization reduces the amount of links (cross-links) required on the core layer. In cases where the
limiting factor is the number of BGP peers, the optimization can be beneficial.
Table 3: Standard resource usage profile
Usage at Core
Configuration
Usage at Aggregation
BGP
Static
routes
VLANs
HSRP
VRF
BGP
Static
routes
VLANs
HSRP
VRF
Large PoD with
aggregation and
core routing
(pre-HCS 9.2.1)
5
1
1
1
1
3
4
2
2
2
Large PoD with
aggregation and
core routing + RA
VPN (pre- HCS
9.2.1)
5
1
1
1
1
4
4
2
2
2
Small PoD (no
core routing)
—
—
—
—
—
3
4
2
2
2
Small PoD (no
core routing) + RA
VPN
—
—
—
—
—
4
4
2
2
2
Micro Node
—
—
—
—
—
3
4
2
2
2
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Cisco HCS resource reservation
Table 4: BGP optimization resource usage profile
Usage at Core
Configuration
Usage at Aggregation
BGP
Static
routes
VLANs
HSRP
VRF
BGP
Static
routes
VLANs
HSRP
VRF
Large PoD with
aggregation and
core routing (preHCS 9.2.1)
4
1
1
1
1
3
4
2
2
2
Large PoD with
aggregation and
core routing + RA
VPN (pre- HCS
9.2.1)
4
1
1
1
1
3
4
2
2
2
Small PoD (no
core routing)
—
—
—
—
—
2
4
2
2
2
Small PoD (no
core routing) + RA
VPN
—
—
—
—
—
3
4
2
2
2
Micro Node
—
—
—
—
—
2
4
2
2
2
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Architecture capacity planning
Architecture capacity planning
This section provides the architecture outlines that are referenced in the tables that follow.
Figure 1: Reference 1: Small and Large PoD with Core and Aggregation
Note
The Nexus 7xxx applies to the Large PoD. the Small PoD uses the Nexus 5000.
Note
In 9.2(1), the core has been removed. The graphics that show the core refer to existing pre-HCS 9.2(1)
deployments.
The components for the architecture illustrated on the figure are the following:
• Access devices (optional): Nexus 5000
• Aggregation devices: Nexus 7XXX for the Large PoD, and Nexus 5000 for the Small PoD
• Core devices: Nexus 7XXX for the Large PoD, and Nexus 5000 for the Small PoD
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Architecture capacity planning
• Firewall: ASA 55xx
• RA–VPN: ASR 100x
• Nexus 1000V
• Fabric interconnect: 62xx
• UCS chassis + fabric extender: 5108 + 2048
• UCS blades: B-series
• Storage
Figure 2: Reference 2: Small and Large PoD with Core and Aggregation (with BGP optimization)
Note
The Nexus 7xxx applies to the Large PoD. the Small PoD uses the Nexus 5000.
The components for the architecture illustrated on the figure are the following:
• Access devices (optional): Nexus 5000
• Aggregation devices: Nexus 7XXX for the Large PoD, and Nexus 5000 for the Small PoD
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Architecture capacity planning
• Core devices: Nexus 7XXX for the Large PoD, and Nexus 5000 for the Small PoD
• Firewall: ASA 55xx
• RA–VPN: ASR 100x
• Nexus 1000V
• Fabric interconnect: 62xx
• UCS chassis + fabric extender: 5108 + 2048
• UCS blades: B-series
• Storage
Figure 3: Reference 3: Small and Large PoD without Core
The components for the architecture illustrated on the figure are the following:
• Access devices (optional): Nexus 5000
• Aggregation devices: Nexus 7XXX for the Large PoD, and Nexus 5000 for the Small PoD
• Firewall: ASA 55xx
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Cisco HCS capacity planning
Architecture capacity planning
• RA–VPN: ASR 100x
• Nexus 1000V
• Fabric interconnect: 62xx
• UCS chassis + fabric extender: 5108 + 2048
• UCS blades: B-series
• Storage
Figure 4: Reference 4: Micro Node
Micro Node is a low-cost option for deployments of 20,000 subscribers or less. Micro Node is suited for
deployments with a capacity equal to or less than 20 customers.
The following components correspond to the architecture illustrated in the figure:
• Integrated computing and storage (ICS) and virtual access
◦UCS C220 M3 Series - UC on UCS TRC #2
◦Direct attached storage (DAS)
◦VMware Standard
• Aggregation plus access
◦Nexus 5548
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Architecture capacity planning
• Services
◦ASA 1002-X
◦CUBE-Enterprise per tenant
• WAN/edge
◦ASR 1002-X IPSec/VPN
• Firewall
◦ASA 5555-X
Architectural capacity guide for standard Cisco HCS deployment
The following table provides a capacity guide for the standard Cisco HCS deployment.
The resource in brackets on the last column is the resource that gets exhausted first.
The entries in the Reference architecture column on the table refer to their corresponding architecture figures
in the section Architecture capacity planning, on page 5.
Table 5: Architectural capacity guide for standard Cisco HCS deployment
Aggregation
Core
Remote
access
BGP peer
optimization
Reference
architecture
Capacity
(Tenant limit)
—
—
—
Reference 4
20
—
—
—
—
Reference 3
45 (VRF)
X
—
—
—
—
Reference 3
237 (static)
X
—
—
—
X
—
Reference 3
45 (VRF)
Large PoD
—
X
—
—
X
—
Reference 3
237 (static)
Small PoD
X
—
—
—
—
X
Reference 3
45 (VRF)
Large PoD
—
X
—
—
—
X
Reference 3
237 (static)
Small PoD
X
—
—
—
X
X
Reference 3
45 (VRF)
Large PoD
—
X
—
—
X
X
Reference 3
237 (static)
Large PoD
—
X
—
—
—
—
Reference 1
237 (static)
Large PoD
—
X
—
X
—
—
Reference 1
196 (BGP)
Configuration
Nexus
5000
Nexus
7000
Nexus
5000
Nexus
7000
Micro Node
X
—
—
Small PoD
X
—
Large PoD
—
Small PoD
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Unified Communications Application capacity planning
Aggregation
Core
Remote
access
BGP peer
optimization
Reference
architecture
Capacity
(Tenant limit)
—
X
—
Reference 1
196 (BGP)
—
X
X
—
Reference 1
196 (BGP)
X
—
—
—
X
Reference 2
237 (static)
—
X
—
X
—
X
Reference 2
237 (static)
Large PoD
—
X
—
—
X
X
Reference 2
237 (static)
Large PoD
—
X
—
X
X
X
Reference 2
237 (static)
Configuration
Nexus
5000
Nexus
7000
Nexus
5000
Nexus
7000
Large PoD
—
X
—
Large PoD
—
X
Large PoD
—
Large PoD
Unified Communications Application capacity planning
Cisco Unified Communications applications are provisioned and resources are allocated on a customer-size
basis with an OVA file. There are various sizes of OVA files available, and selection is based on the number
of subscribers expected by a customer deployment. Unified Communications application utilization is expected
to be the highest during the busy hour. Depending on the Unified Communications application, you might
experience peak loading during different times of the day. For example, peaks in CPU usage can be experienced
during backup and restore activities. Management applications might experience peak loading during
maintenance windows while call processing applications experience peak loading during times of the highest-call
volume.
For details on OVA information, including OVA sizing, refer to the Compatibility Matrix for Cisco Hosted
Collaboration Solution.
For planning information, refer to the Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution End-To-End Planning Guide.
SAN engineering
It is important that you collect SAN metrics to provide usage snapshots. The SAN should be engineered to
handle the amount of IOPS and disk space required by the Cisco HCS system over a 24-hour period. There
are many SAN vendors on the market that can scale as a Cisco HCS system grows in size. vBlock with EMC
and FLEX PoD with NetApp provide SAN capability that scales to meet Cisco HCS capacity demands.
Usage patterns vary based on the mix of Unified Communications applications under normal operating
conditions and times of the day when backup and restore activities might occur. Depending on the number
of backup and restores placed on the system, you could expect to see the highest IOPS experienced in a 24-hour
period, that is, the maintenance window might be the time of day when SAN usage is highest. The SAN should
be engineered to handle the peak loads that can occur over a 24-hour period. Monitoring the SAN utilization
in terms of IOPS and disk utilization is important. You can monitor IOPS loading based on the sum of IOPS
loading that each application type generates on Cisco HCS. After you monitor IOPS and disk space utilization
on an application-type basis, you can make future IOPS projections for growth planning. You must map the
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Backup and restore
utilization that was experienced against the capacity specification of the purchased SAN to compare when a
SAN upgrade is necessary.
Backup and restore
A service provider must take great care with backup and restore activities because there are engineering rules
associated with these activities. For full details on backup and restore activities for the HCS solution, refer to
Backup and Restore Guide for Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/
products/ps11363/prod_maintenance_guides_list.html.
With backup and restore activities for capacity planning, we recommend that at any given time no more than
two UC application backups occur on each UCS server blade. Following this recommendation mitigates the
potential for high CPU usage on a specific server blade and the elevation of IOPS on the SAN causing a RAID
group/LUN performance to be degraded. It is crucial that you take this recommendation into account when
configuring Platform Manager.
A service provider should have a mapping of applications provisioned on the HCS system with the
corresponding SAN RAID group and LUN location. This mapping should help identify high IOPS risk areas
and allow for IOPS load balancing across the system during backup and restore activities.
You can use the Platform Manager to assist with these activities, by scripting a flow of activities.
Note
In Micro Node data center environments, there is no SAN storage. Cisco recommends that you dedicate
one or more C-series servers to the host FTP servers, using local storage for backup. Do not back up
anything to the same C-series server or disk where the applications and components reside. Multiple
applications for multiple customers can be backed up to the same FTP server. For more details, refer to
Backup and Restore Guide for Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/
partner/products/ps11363/prod_maintenance_guides_list.html.
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