Determining database and file sizing, and other considerations

Database sizing

To determine the database sizing, use the following:

(Transaction data per job) x (number of users) x (typical number of jobs per day) x (length of time to keep the job)

Sample computation

300 bytes per job x 2000 users x 10 jobs per day x 365 days = 2.2GB

To account for variations in print volume over time, we recommend doubling this number.

Job storage sizing

To determine the job storage sizing, use the following:

(Average page per job) x (size per job) x (number of users) x (typical number of jobs per day) x (length of time to keep the job)

Assume the following job size estimates per page:

  • Color—2MB

  • Monochrome—200KB

Sample computation

5 pages x 2MB x 2000 users x 10 jobs per day x 1 day = 200GB

To account for differences from average job sizes, we recommend doubling this number.

Estimated network bandwidth

Assume the following job size estimates per page:

  • Color—2MB

  • Monochrome—200KB

To determine the estimated network bandwidth, use the following:

  1. Y = (number of pages per day x {(%Color x 2MB) + (%Mono x 0.5MB)}) / working hours in a day

  2. (Y / 3600) x 2

This formula gives you a rough indication of the network traffic in MB per second. It includes assumptions that can cause a wide variance from this estimate. For example, when jobs are sent on a steady state basis throughout the day.

Other considerations

Firebird database

Firebird is the default system database that is bundled with LDD. This database can also be used for LPM. If Firebird is used, then LDD can be configured to back up the system periodically automatically. This configuration lets you easily restore the system in the event of a failure.

Job storage

For larger environments consisting of multiple application servers, we recommend that jobs be stored on a Storage Area Network (SAN) while single‑server environments will typically use a local drive for job storage. Regardless of where the jobs are stored, safeguards must be put in place to protect against data loss.

Print server

Windows print servers claim to support up to 10000 users.