Specifications

Use VMs for the McAfee ePO Server
The McAfee ePO server supports multiple versions of virtual environments, but when your node count
reaches 25,000 to 30,000 nodes you run into the most common virtual machine (VM) bottleneck, disk
performance.
To install the McAfee ePO server on a VM and solve this disk performance problem, you must:
• Dedicate physical disks to the McAfee ePO server in the VM.
• Assign priority for the CPUs to the McAfee ePO server.
You can also use a SQL Server database installed on a VM for the McAfee ePO server, but not if your
node count exceeds 25,000 to 30,000 nodes, because of the same disk performance bottleneck.
Share the SQL database hardware
You can install the McAfee ePO server SQL database on a shared SQL Server.
However, it is important to remember that the McAfee ePO server SQL database performs thousands
of disk reads and writes every few seconds, which can negatively impact performance on an over
utilized SQL Server.
You can share your existing fully clustered, redundant and centrally managed SQL environment if:
• The shared SQL Server is not already over utilized.
• Your McAfee ePO server managed node count is less than 20,000.
• Other SQL database functions do not cause spikes that could slow the McAfee ePO server SQL
database reads and writes.
Node count ePO and SQL on one server Use VM server ePO DB on shared SQL Server
100-5,000 OK Optional Optional
5,000-25,000 Optional Optional Optional
25,000-75,000 Not recommended Not recommended Not recommended
75,000 or more No No No
Hard disk configuration
When it comes to configuring your McAfee ePO server hardware, the hard disk configuration is one of
the most important factors for larger ePO environments.
Your McAfee ePO server processes thousands of events from multiple products, which must be written
to the SQL database. Plus, when you use the McAfee ePO server to administer your network and to
execute queries, ePolicy Orchestrator software accesses the SQL Server database for millions of events
and thousands of nodes. These functions make disk configuration one of the most important factors
for larger McAfee ePO server implementations.
The primary limiting factor when choosing your configuration is the cost of storage. Depending on your
hardware budget, choose the best configuration to prepare for future growth even though now you
might only have 5,000 nodes to manage with the McAfee ePO server. If your budget allows, choose
the best and fastest configuration that you can afford.
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ePolicy Orchestrator product architecture
Hard disk configuration
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McAfee
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ePolicy Orchestrator
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4.0 and 4.5 Best Practices Guide