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General requirements

Minimum Resource Requirements

Allocate the following resources exclusively to the IEM Virtual machine. Insufficient allocation can lead to suboptimal performance or system instability. Also ensure that the host operating system or ESXi has enough free RAM and storage to operate correctly.

For IEM Virtual versions up to and including 2.8.0

  • RAM (Memory) - 16 GB
  • Hard Disk Size - 300 GB
  • Number of CPUs - 4
  • IEM Virtual must have exactly 1 network interface

For IEM Virtual version 2.9.0 and later (new installations only)

For new installations of IEM Virtual version 2.9.0 and later, follow the resource requirements defined in the Default Setup for the IEM application.

Updated Systems Not Affected

Systems updated from IEM Virtual versions prior to 2.9.0 are not affected by the new resource requirements. These updated systems continue to use the minimum resource requirements listed above (16 GB RAM, 300 GB disk, 4 CPUs).

NOTICE

The resource requirements specified above are predefined in the IEM Virtual setup package. You can increase these values to support a larger number of devices. Siemens does not support IEM Virtual instances that do not meet the minimum requirements, including cases where the host system does not have sufficient resources and resource contention occurs between the host and the virtual machine.

Virtualization Environment

One of the following virtualization environments is required to deploy the IEM Virtual:

  • VMware Workstation Version 16 or newer
  • VMware ESXi Server Version 7.x or 8.x
  • Hyper-V on Windows Server 2019 or newer

Hyper-V Configuration

When deploying IEM Virtual on Hyper-V, dynamic memory must be disabled. Ensure that the "Use Dynamic Memory for this virtual machine" option is cleared in the virtual machine settings.

Storage Requirements

IEM Virtual requires local storage on the host system. Network-based, remote, or clustered storage is not supported.

NOTICE

Using unsupported storage types may result in performance issues, data corruption, or system instability. Local storage ensures predictable performance and minimizes data inconsistencies during network disruptions.

Maintenance Requirements

IEM Virtual requires the following maintenance procedures to ensure continuous operation, data integrity, and security:

  • Regularly update the IEM Virtual with each release of Industrial Edge that includes an update of the IEM virtual machine to ensure that the latest security patches and updates are applied to the system. The updates must be performed using the SWU files provided on the IE Hub. See Update IEM Virtual for more information.

  • Perform regular backups of the IEM virtual machine to ensure data integrity and recovery in the event of a system failure. This can be done using your hypervisor's backup or snapshot tools, or by copying the virtual machine files to a backup location after the virtual machine is powered off. Ensure that backup files are stored in a secure location and that the recovery process is tested regularly. A business continuity plan should be in place to ensure that the IEM virtual machine can be recovered in the event of a disaster.

  • Use your hypervisor's monitoring tools to track the use of CPU, memory, and disk space within the system to ensure that all operations are within the resource thresholds that are set.

    NOTICE

    When system resource usage approaches these limits, proactively increase the resources allocated to the virtual machine. This helps maintain system efficiency and performance.

Thresholds for resource utilization are defined in the General Requirements Documentation for the IEM application.

Additionally, the following thresholds apply to IEM Virtual and must not be exceeded:

  • Maximum CPU Utilization average within 1 hour 80 %
  • Maximum RAM Utilization without buffers 80 %
  • Maximum Disk Utilization: 80 %

Security Requirements

For comprehensive security requirements and best practices for operating IEM Virtual, see Security Considerations.