Capacity Planning Documentation
Capacity Planning Documentation
This document outlines the considerations and processes for capacity planning for our MediaWiki 1.40 installation. Proper capacity planning is crucial for maintaining optimal performance, ensuring high availability, and avoiding unexpected downtime. This guide is intended for newcomers to the system administration of this wiki.
Understanding Capacity Planning
Capacity planning involves predicting future resource needs – CPU, memory, disk space, network bandwidth, and database resources – to ensure the wiki can handle anticipated growth in traffic, content, and users. Ignoring capacity planning can lead to slow page loads, errors, and ultimately, a degraded user experience. Regular monitoring and analysis are key components of a successful capacity planning strategy. See Special:Statistics for current usage data.
Key Metrics to Monitor
Several key metrics indicate the health and capacity of our MediaWiki infrastructure. Regularly monitoring these will help proactively identify potential bottlenecks. These metrics are logged using Monitoring Tools.
- CPU Usage: High CPU usage indicates the server is struggling to process requests.
- Memory Usage: Insufficient memory leads to swapping, significantly slowing down performance.
- Disk I/O: Slow disk I/O impacts database performance and page rendering.
- Database Connections: A high number of database connections can indicate a bottleneck. Review Database Configuration for details.
- Network Bandwidth: Insufficient bandwidth will cause slow page load times, especially for users accessing the wiki remotely.
- Cache Hit Ratio: A low cache hit ratio means the server is frequently accessing the database instead of using cached data. See Caching Strategies.
- Page View Counts: Track page view counts to understand usage patterns and predict future growth.
Hardware Specifications
The following tables outline the hardware specifications for our current MediaWiki servers. These specifications are subject to change as the wiki grows.
| Server Role | CPU | Memory (RAM) | Disk Space (SSD) | Network Bandwidth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web Server (x2) | Intel Xeon E5-2680 v4 (14 cores) | 64GB DDR4 ECC | 1TB | 10 Gbps |
| Database Server | Intel Xeon Gold 6248R (24 cores) | 128GB DDR4 ECC | 2TB (RAID 10) | 10 Gbps |
| Cache Server (Memcached) | Intel Xeon E3-1220 v6 (4 cores) | 32GB DDR4 ECC | 500GB | 1 Gbps |
Software Configuration
The software stack is equally important as the hardware. Our current configuration is detailed below. Refer to Software Versions for the most up-to-date information.
| Component | Version | Configuration Details |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS | Optimized kernel parameters for database performance. |
| Web Server | Apache 2.4 | Configured with mod_php and mod_ssl for secure access. See Apache Configuration. |
| PHP | 8.1 | With PHP-FPM for improved performance. See PHP Configuration. |
| Database | MariaDB 10.6 | InnoDB storage engine, optimized for write-heavy workloads. See Database Maintenance. |
| Cache | Memcached 1.4.5 | Configured to cache frequently accessed data. |
Database Considerations
The database is often the primary bottleneck in a MediaWiki installation. Proper database configuration and maintenance are critical.
| Parameter | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `innodb_buffer_pool_size` | 64GB | The size of the buffer pool, where frequently accessed data is cached. |
| `max_connections` | 200 | The maximum number of concurrent database connections. |
| `query_cache_size` | 256MB | The size of the query cache, which stores the results of frequently executed queries. |
| `innodb_log_file_size` | 2GB | The size of the InnoDB log files, which are used for recovery. |
Scaling Strategies
As the wiki grows, we may need to implement scaling strategies to maintain performance. Common strategies include:
- Vertical Scaling: Increasing the resources (CPU, memory, disk) of existing servers.
- Horizontal Scaling: Adding more servers to the infrastructure. This often involves load balancing. See Load Balancing Configuration.
- Caching: Implementing more aggressive caching strategies to reduce the load on the database.
- Database Replication: Using database replication to distribute the read load across multiple servers. See Database Replication.
Future Planning
We should revisit this capacity plan every six months, or sooner if significant changes in usage patterns are observed. We should also explore automated monitoring and alerting tools to proactively identify potential issues. Consider implementing Performance Testing regularly.
Special:Search/Capacity Planning Special:WhatLinksHere/Capacity Planning Documentation Help:Contents Manual:Configuration Manual:Operations
Intel-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Core i7-6700K/7700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB | CPU Benchmark: 8046 |
| Core i7-8700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 13124 |
| Core i9-9900K Server | 128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 49969 |
| Core i9-13900 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i9-13900 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Workstation | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000 |
AMD-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 3600 Server | 64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 17849 |
| Ryzen 7 7700 Server | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 35224 |
| Ryzen 9 5950X Server | 128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 46045 |
| Ryzen 9 7950X Server | 128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 63561 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB) | 128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB) | 256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB) | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 9454P Server | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe |
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⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️