System Requirements

Overview

Sidecar CX can install and run on nearly any system that supports Docker. We have done our best to document the supported configurations here. If you have any questions about platform support, please reach out to support@sidecarcx.com. If you have a licensed plan with support included, you may open a support request from your account.

Please read through this documentation and ensure you have met all the requirements before continuing with the installation of Sidecar CX.

Minimum Starting Requirements

• 2 CPU Cores
• 4 GB RAM
• 20 GB Free Disk Space

Operating System

Sidecar CX will run on most platforms that support Docker. We highly recommend Linux as your host operating system.

Docker, Kubernetes (k8s), and other container platforms are supported because the host operating system is based on Linux.

Compute RAM

The minimum memory required to run Sidecar CX will vary depending upon the number of users you expect, the amount of content to index, and the general intended system capacity.

A good starting point is to allocate 4GB of RAM and increase the amount as system usage increases.

Note

This memory is required for the Sidecar CX application. Other programs, as well as the operating system, also require memory. If you are going to run another application on the same server or a local database, increase your memory appropriately.

Compute Disk Space

The minimum disk space required to run Sidecar CX can generally be minimal for smaller sites. We recommend providing compute nodes with between 20GB and 100GB of disk space to start with. Depending on the amount of content needed for indexing, you may consider going towards 100GB, or more. The Sidecar CX app installation and required dependency docker images is only a few gigabytes and the operating system is usually a gigabyte or two. Therefore, you only need to provide enough space for logging and operations performed on the server, such as the data stored in the database.

Compute CPU

The CPU requirement depends mostly on the intended usage, the number of users, and the volume of documents indexed. Start with 2 to 4 CPU cores, and as your usage grows, increase the core count.

Note

Advanced users with higher volume will want to begin splitting out the services to separate, dedicated machines. This will allow you to scale the application services independently based on your usage.

Email Deliverability

A working SMTP server is required to send sign-up emails and handle to password reset requests.

It is recommended to use a hosting provider instead of setting up your own. This will ensure deliverability. Some examples of providers include the following:

• SendGrid
• Mailgun
• Postmark
• Mailchimp
• Amazon SES

Docker Engine

Install the latest version of Docker Engine.

Note

Although it is recommended to use the latest version of Docker and receive security updates, your IT staff may require a specific version of the software for compliance. Older versions of Docker are likely to work with Sidecar CX.