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Version: 2.18.1

Minimum requirements

Everything you need to install and begin using Halo as a Single Node (virtual appliance).

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System requirements​

Single node virtual appliances can be deployed as OVAs, compatible with VMware and VirtualBox, or as VHDs, compatible with Microsoft Hyper V.

Minimum footprint​

  • CPU: 1 GHz or faster with 16 or more virtual cores using an x86 64 architecture
  • Memory: 32 GB RAM recommended
  • Storage: 100 GB disk space for OVA or 500 GB disk space for VHD
  • Usage guidance: Halo with the ICAP server enabled is recommended only for light to moderate traffic volumes

Comfortable footprint​

  • CPU: 1 GHz or faster with 32 or more virtual cores using an x86 64 architecture
  • Memory: 64 GB RAM recommended
  • Storage: 200 GB disk space for OVA or 500 GB disk space for VHD
  • Usage guidance: This footprint is recommended when the ICAP server is enabled, particularly for protecting users browsing external networks or for workloads with variable demand

Supported hypervisors​

  • Microsoft Hyper V: Hyper V on Windows Server 2019 or later and Windows 10 or later
  • VMware: VMware ESXi 7.0.0 or later
  • VirtualBox: Version 7.0.8 or later

Scaling​

Vertical scaling (scaling up)​

Halo can use additional virtual CPU cores and memory to support increased demand on the virtual appliance.

  • Adding resources: Vertical scaling involves increasing the resources of a single virtual appliance, such as adding CPU cores, memory, or storage.
  • Single instance focus: The workload is handled by a single, more powerful appliance rather than being distributed across multiple instances.
  • Simpler management: Managing one scaled up appliance is typically simpler, as there is no requirement for load balancing or state management across multiple nodes.
  • Hardware constraints: Vertical scaling is limited by the maximum CPU, memory, and storage supported by the underlying hardware or virtual environment.
  • Reduced fault tolerance: Vertical scaling does not inherently provide redundancy. If the appliance fails, there is no automatic failover unless a backup or high availability solution is in place.

Horizontal scaling (scaling out)​

  • Adding instances: Horizontal scaling increases capacity by deploying additional virtual appliances rather than increasing the size of a single instance.
  • Load distribution: A load balancer is typically used to distribute traffic evenly across appliances, preventing any single appliance from becoming a bottleneck.
  • Fault tolerance and redundancy: If one appliance fails, others can continue to handle traffic, improving availability and resilience.

Limitations: While horizontal scaling is supported, each virtual appliance maintains its own database. Appliances operate independently, and content management policies and configuration settings cannot be managed centrally.

Licensing: Licences must not be shared between virtual appliances. A separate licence is required for each virtual appliance.

Image base OS​

  • STIG hardened RHEL v9.4 (Sep 2024)

Orchestration layer​

  • RKE2 v1.28.10~rke2r1 (Sep 2024)
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