BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0.1 Hardware Specifications

These hardware requirements for a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) are based on all the BlackBerry Enterprise Server components running on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server excluding the following:

• BlackBerry MDS Integration Service
• BlackBerry Collaboration Service

Up to 500 Users
Recommended Specification

• 2 x 2.0GHz Intel Xeon
• 4GB RAM
• 2 x 72GB Hard disks (RAID 1)

Minimum Specification

• 1 x 2.0GHz Intel Xeon
• 2GB RAM
• 2 x 36GB Hard disks (RAID 1)

Up to 1000 Users
Recommended Specification

• 2 x 2.8GHz Intel Xeon
• 4GB RAM
• 2 x 72GB Hard disks (RAID 1)

Minimum Specification

• 2 x 2.0GHz Intel Xeon
• 3GB RAM
• 2 x 72GB Hard disks (RAID 1)

This hardware configuration considers only the software required to run the Windows Operating System, BlackBerry Enterprise Server components outlined above, and does not take into consideration any other services or software that may be running on the server. Please review the configuration of your server carefully.

Server Virtualisation
BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0.1 is supported on the following virtualisation platforms:

• VMWare ESX v2.5.2 and VMware Infrastructure v3.0.0, v3.0.1, v3.0.2, v3.5.0 and v4.0
• Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Operating System Requirements

Click here to reference the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Compatibility Matrix

Operating System
BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0.1 is supported (by Research in Motion) on the following Operating System Platforms:

• Windows Server 2008 (32-bit/64-bit) 
• Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit/64-bit with Service Pack
• Windows Server 2003 (32-bit/64-bit with Service Pack 2)

Operating system requirements
The following software is required to be installed on the Operating System:

• Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0
• Microsoft Internet Service Manager component of the Internet Information Services
• Windows Media Player 9.0 or later for support of audio attachment processing
• The BlackBerry Administration Service (BAS) and BlackBerry Web Desktop Manager (BWDM) require Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later with the following settings:
• Java or JavaScript turned on
• Language preferences configured to display encoded web pages
• Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls
• Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins
• BAS & BWDM addresses added as a trusted or local intranet sites.

Considerations

• Windows 2000 is not a Microsoft mainstream supported operating system.
• Windows 2003 with Service Pack 2 is the minimum mainstream supported Operating System as of April 2008
• Gen-i recommends either Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2. 

BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0.1 Database Requirements
The following database environments are supported by the BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0.1:

• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, Standard or Enterprise (32-bit/64-bit) with Service Pack 2
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 with Service Pack 4
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000) with Service Pack 4.

NOTE: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is not supported.

The server that will be hosting the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Configuration Database must have Microsoft MDAC Version 2.8 SP2 (Version 2000.86.1830.00).

The following are the estimated growth rates that can be expected for the BlackBerry Configuration Database:

• The database is initially set to 100MB and grows in 25MB increments.
• The transaction logs for the database have the initial size of 25MB and grow in 5MB increments.
• It is estimated that each BlackBerry device user will take no more than 1MB of database space; however this number may vary due to the environment and the BlackBerry Smartphone user.

Considerations

• Microsoft SQL Server must be installed using the default case-insensitive collation settings.
• The BlackBerry Configuration Database can be installed on a non-default instance of SQL. 
• Windows Server 2003 SP2 and later includes MDAC 2.8 SP2 by default.
• If you plan to use SQL Server 2005 Express, this can be installed during the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Installation. 
• Gen-i recommends utilising an existing SQL Server 2005 database environment, not located on the local BlackBerry Enterprise Server

Click here to download the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Planning Guide

Click here to download the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Upgrade Planning Guide