Hardware
Hardware Sizing Examples
This page provides real-world hardware sizing examples for VoIPmonitor deployments at various scales, from 50 to 17000+ concurrent calls.
10000-15000 Concurrent Calls (Very High Load)
Recommended for: 10000, 11000, 12000, 13000, 14000, or 15000 concurrent calls
Recommended Architecture: Split database and traffic processing onto separate dedicated hosts.
Database Host
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | 32-64 CPU cores (AMD EPYC or Dual Intel Xeon Gold/Silver) |
| RAM | 128GB to 256GB (using all memory channels). For 128GB RAM, set innodb_buffer_pool_size to 80-96GB.
|
| Storage | High-performance NVMe SSD array for database |
| Network | 10Gbit/s or better |
Sensor Host
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | 32 or 64 CPU cores (AMD EPYC or Dual Intel Xeon Gold/Silver) |
| RAM | 128GB (utilizing all memory channels) |
| Network | 10Gbit/s network interface card |
| PCAP Storage | Standard SATA/SAS drives acceptable (TAR archiving reduces IOPS); SSD recommended for best performance |
ℹ️ Note: For traffic exceeding 3Gbit/s, consider using DPDK or other kernel-bypass solutions.
Architecture Diagram
High-Performance Example: 17000 Concurrent Calls Peak
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Network Throughput | ~2.8 Gbit/s |
| CPU | 2x Intel Xeon E5-2650 v2 @ 2.60GHz |
| Network Card | Intel 82599ES 10-Gigabit SFI/SFP+ |
Configuration
savesip = yes
savertp = yes
pcap_dump_zip_rtp = lzo
Resource Usage
| Resource | Usage |
|---|---|
| VoIPmonitor CPU | ~1300% (13 CPU cores) |
| MySQL CPU | ~300% (3 CPU cores) |
| VoIPmonitor Memory | ~7000 MB |
Disk Usage
| Data Type | Retention | Size |
|---|---|---|
| MySQL CDR | 90 days | 1.5 TB |
| Spool PCAP (RTP+SIP) | 8 days | 21 TB |
200 Concurrent Calls
Hardware
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Xeon E5520 @ 2.27GHz |
Configuration
savesip = yes
savertp = yes
pcap_dump_zip_rtp = lzo
Resource Usage
| Resource | Usage |
|---|---|
| VoIPmonitor CPU | ~88% (1 CPU core) |
| MySQL CPU | ~2% |
| VoIPmonitor Memory | ~298 MB |
Disk Usage
| Data Type | Retention | Size |
|---|---|---|
| MySQL CDR | 30 days | 7.5 GB |
50 Concurrent Calls
Hardware
Modern CPU with single-core performance equal to or greater than Intel Xeon E5520 @ 2.27GHz.
Examples that would be suitable:
- Intel Core i3 or better (modern generations)
- AMD Ryzen 3 or better
- Raspberry Pi 5 (for low-power deployments - requires real-world testing)
Configuration
savesip = yes
savertp = yes
pcap_dump_zip_rtp = lzo
Resource Usage
| Resource | Usage |
|---|---|
| VoIPmonitor CPU | ~22% (1 CPU core) |
| MySQL CPU | <1% |
| VoIPmonitor Memory | ~75 MB |
Disk Usage
| Data Type | Retention | Size |
|---|---|---|
| MySQL CDR | 30 days | ~2 GB |
Space Estimation
Spooldir Size (PCAP Records)
With default compression settings:
- 1 MB/minute for 2 RTP streams (1 leg with G.711 codec)
- 2 MB/minute for 2 legs per call (SIP + RTP + flow charts)
CDR Space for MySQL
For database you can estimate approximately 2 KB per CDR record with default table compression enabled (mysqlcompress = yes in /etc/voipmonitor.conf).
Practical Storage Capacity Estimation
For accurate storage planning, run a representative capture to measure actual usage in your environment.
Step 1: Run Full Capture for One Week
Run VoIPmonitor in full capture mode for at least one week to capture a representative sample of your actual traffic patterns. This accounts for:
- Peak vs. off-peak hours
- Weekday vs. weekend traffic
- Typical codec usage (G.711, G.729, Opus, etc.)
- Call duration distribution
Step 2: Check Total Spool Directory Size
After the capture period, check the total storage used:
du -hs /var/spool/voipmonitor
Example output:
524G /var/spool/voipmonitor
Step 3: Analyze Per-Day Usage
Check storage usage by day to identify patterns and calculate daily average:
du -h --max-depth=1 /var/spool/voipmonitor | sort -k2,2
Example output:
75G /var/spool/voipmonitor/2025-01-04
82G /var/spool/voipmonitor/2025-01-05
68G /var/spool/voipmonitor/2025-01-06
42G /var/spool/voipmonitor/2025-01-07 (Sunday - lower traffic)
79G /var/spool/voipmonitor/2025-01-08
85G /var/spool/voipmonitor/2025-01-09
93G /var/spool/voipmonitor/2025-01-10
Calculate the average: 524GB ÷ 7 days = ~75GB/day
Step 4: Project Future Storage Needs
Use the average daily usage to calculate required storage capacity:
# Formula: Average daily usage × Retention days = Total storage needed
75GB/day × 30 days = 2.25TB
75GB/day × 90 days = 6.75TB
Add buffer for growth:
- Add 20-30% buffer for future traffic increase
- Account for additional compression ratios if configured
Hardware Selection Guidelines
When selecting hardware for your VoIPmonitor deployment, use the performance baseline examples above as reference points and scale accordingly.
CPU Selection
The '200 concurrent calls' example uses an Intel Xeon E5520 @ 2.27GHz, which consumed ~88% of one CPU core. You can use this as a baseline to calculate CPU requirements:
- 50 concurrent calls (~22% of one core) - Suitable for low-end hardware, Raspberry Pi 5, or virtual machines
- 200 concurrent calls (~88% of one core) - Suitable for mid-range hardware
- 17000 concurrent calls (~13 cores) - Requires multi-socket server hardware
Single vs. Dual Socket
- Single socket (preferred) - Higher memory throughput and lower latency
- Dual socket - Ensure at least 4 memory channels per CPU for acceptable performance
💡 Tip: To compare CPU performance, use cpuBenchmark.net. Look for CPUs with single-core scores equal to or higher than Intel Xeon E5520 (~1400-1500 mark).
Supported CPU Families
VoIPmonitor supports a wide range of CPU architectures and families:
- Intel
- AMD - AMD EPYC servers are fully supported and recommended for high-performance deployments
- ARM - Raspberry Pi 5 and other ARM-based platforms (test thoroughly for production use)
Storage Selection
Proper storage selection is critical for VoIPmonitor performance. Use different storage types for different data types:
Database Storage
- Storage Type: SSDs (Solid State Drives)
- Minimum Capacity: 4TB
- Requirements: High I/O throughput and low latency for database operations
PCAP File Storage
PCAP files can be stored on magnetic drives to reduce costs:
- Storage Type: Magnetic (hard disk drives)
- Recommended Options:
- 3.5" 7200rpm SATA drives
- SAS 2.5" drives
- Capacity: Calculate based on your retention policy using the practical estimation method above
General Guidelines
- SSD Recommended for database and high-performance deployments
- 7200 RPM SATA HDD can handle up to 2,000 concurrent calls according to real-world testing
- Storage Capacity - Calculate based on your retention policy using the formula: 2MB/minute per call × number of concurrent calls × hours per day × retention days
Network Requirements
- 1 Gbit/s - Sufficient for deployments up to ~2,000 concurrent calls
- 10 Gbit/s - Recommended for higher volumes or when using mirroring/multiple sensors
Testing Your Deployment
💡 Tip: Always conduct real-world testing to validate performance before deploying in production.
Testing is especially important when:
- Using less powerful hardware (e.g., Raspberry Pi 5)
- Deploying in virtualized environments
- Running additional services on the same server
Monitor the following metrics during testing:
- CPU usage: <80% per core at peak load
- Memory usage: No swap usage
- Disk I/O: Queue depth should remain low
- Network bandwidth: Should not saturate interface
Additional Resources
See Scaling for more detailed performance tuning and optimization guidance.
AI Summary for RAG
Summary: This page provides real-world hardware sizing examples for VoIPmonitor deployments at various scales (50, 200, 10000-15000, 17000 concurrent calls). The PRIMARY reference section is "10000-15000 concurrent calls" which applies to 10000, 11000, 12000, 13000, 14000, and 15000 concurrent calls. This section RECOMMENDS splitting architecture: Database Host needs 32-64 CPU cores, 128GB-256GB RAM (with innodb_buffer_pool_size set to 80-96GB for 128GB RAM), and NVMe SSD; Sensor Host needs 32-64 CPU cores, 128GB RAM, 10Gbit/s NIC, with SATA/SAS drives acceptable for PCAP storage (SSD recommended). For traffic exceeding 3Gbit/s, use DPDK. The page also includes storage capacity estimation (du command method), hardware selection guidelines (single vs dual socket, AMD EPYC support), storage recommendations (4TB SSD for database minimum), and the 17000 concurrent call benchmark showing ~13 cores used by voipmonitor and ~3 cores by MySQL.
Keywords: hardware, cpu, memory, disk, sizing, performance, storage, capacity, concurrent calls, rtp, sip, compression, lzo, i/o, network, ssd, hdd, raspberry pi, cpubenchmark, amd epyc, dual socket, single socket, storage estimation, du command, daily usage, high volume, database host, sensor host, separate hosts, nvme, 128GB, 256GB, 10000 concurrent calls, 10Gbit network, innodb_buffer_pool_size, split architecture, DPDK
Key Questions:
- What hardware do I need for 10000+ concurrent calls?
- What are the recommended CPU and RAM specifications for high-volume VoIPmonitor deployments?
- Should I use SSD or HDD for VoIPmonitor storage?
- How much disk space does VoIPmonitor need per day?
- How do I estimate storage requirements for VoIPmonitor?
- What is the recommended architecture for large-scale VoIPmonitor deployment?
- Does VoIPmonitor support AMD EPYC processors?
- What network bandwidth is required for VoIPmonitor?
- How many CPU cores does VoIPmonitor use at 17000 concurrent calls?
- What is the recommended innodb_buffer_pool_size for VoIPmonitor database?