Virtual Deployment

This article refers to Barracuda Message Archiver Legacy Release  firmware or higher.

This virtual appliance requires a 64-bit capable host.

The Barracuda Message Archiver Vx is a virtual appliance that provides the same powerful technology, comprehensive features, and ease of use found in the Barracuda Message Archiver hardware solution. Before getting started, Barracuda Networks recommends reading the article Exchange Integration before continuing with your Vx deployment.

Barracuda Message Archiver Deployment Considerations

Take the following factors into consideration before deploying your Barracuda Message Archiver Vx in a virtual environment:

• Barracuda Message Archiver is heavily dependent upon memory resources for indexing and search performance. Typically, in a physical configuration, the appliance allocates a minimum of 4 GB of memory (RAM) per 1 TB of allocated storage space.
• Barracuda Message Archiver can be heavily dependent upon CPU resources during certain processes such as initial email import and indexing during peak mail times. Additionally, administrators may encounter CPU spikes during routine maintenance cycles.
• The recommended CPU configuration for Barracuda Message Archiver is a minimum of 2 CPU cores for every 2 TB to 4 TB of data. Generally, the more powerful the processor, the better the ingestion and retrieval rates.
• At a minimum, memory resources should be dedicated (reserved). It is also recommended that the CPU be dedicated to Barracuda Message Archiver Vx and not shared with other virtual machines on the host. This aligns with VMware and Microsoft’s recommendations for virtualized Microsoft Exchange Server and SQL Server implementations. This is especially the case when organizations implement message stubbing.
• Other system components such as network and storage need to be sized accordingly to prevent them from becoming a bottleneck.