BOA Server Specifications Guide

1. Overview

This document provides recommended server specifications for deploying BOA based on your organization's expected number of concurrent users. Use these guidelines to ensure reliable performance, minimize latency, and plan for growth.

Architecture Summary

BOA is built on ASP.NET Core 8.0 with Blazor Server, running on IIS (Windows Server) with a SQL Server backend. Key architectural characteristics that affect sizing:

Blazor Server (SignalR) — Each active browser tab maintains a persistent WebSocket connection to the server, consuming memory for the circuit state.
SQL Server — All business data, documents, and configuration are stored in SQL Server. Query performance scales with CPU and RAM.
RMM Agent Connections — Each deployed BOA RMM Agent sends heartbeats and alerts via REST API. Agents are lightweight but accumulate at scale.
QuickBooks Online Sync — Background sync operations periodically communicate with the QuickBooks API. Minimal server impact.
Document Storage — Uploaded files (invoices, photos, contracts) are stored on the server filesystem. Plan disk accordingly.

Deployment Models

Model	Description	Best For
Single Server	BOA application and SQL Server on the same machine	1–25 users
Two-Tier	Dedicated application server + dedicated database server	25–100 users
Scaled	Load-balanced app servers + clustered/HA database	100+ users

2. Software Prerequisites

Component	Requirement	Notes
Operating System	Windows Server 2019 or later	Windows Server 2022 recommended
.NET Runtime	ASP.NET Core 8.0 Hosting Bundle	Required Included in installer
Web Server	IIS 10.0+	Required With WebSocket Protocol enabled
Database	SQL Server 2019 or later	Express edition for ≤10 users; Standard for 10+
SQL Server Management Studio	Latest version	Recommended For administration
SSL Certificate	Valid TLS certificate for HTTPS	Recommended Required for production
Antivirus Exclusions	Exclude IIS worker process and BOA app directory	Recommended Prevents performance degradation

IIS Configuration: BOA uses Blazor Server which requires WebSocket support. Ensure the WebSocket Protocol feature is installed under IIS → Application Development Features. The application pool must be set to No Managed Code with AlwaysRunning start mode.

3. Recommended Hardware Specifications

The following tiers represent recommended minimum specifications. Actual requirements may vary based on usage patterns, data volume, number of RMM agents, and enabled integrations.

Starter

1 – 10 Concurrent Users

Ideal for small businesses with a single technician or small team. Single-server deployment with BOA and SQL Server on the same machine.

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 cores / 2.4 GHz	4 cores / 3.0 GHz
RAM	4 GB	8 GB
Storage	40 GB SSD	80 GB SSD
Network	100 Mbps	1 Gbps
SQL Server	SQL Server Express	SQL Server Express
RMM Agents	Up to 50 devices

Note: SQL Server Express is limited to 1 GB RAM usage, 10 GB database size, and 4 cores. This is sufficient for most small deployments. Monitor database size if storing many documents.

Small Business

11 – 25 Concurrent Users

Suitable for growing teams with multiple technicians, office staff, and active customer portal users. Single-server deployment is still viable, but a two-tier setup is recommended for better performance.

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	4 cores / 2.8 GHz	6 cores / 3.2 GHz
RAM	8 GB	16 GB
Storage	80 GB SSD	160 GB NVMe SSD
Network	1 Gbps	1 Gbps
SQL Server	SQL Server Express	SQL Server Standard
RMM Agents	Up to 200 devices

Note: At this tier, consider upgrading from SQL Server Express to Standard edition to remove the 10 GB database limit and 1 GB RAM cap. If budget is a concern, SQL Server Express remains functional as long as the database stays under 10 GB.

Mid-Market

26 – 75 Concurrent Users

Designed for organizations with dedicated IT departments, multiple service teams, and heavy portal usage. A two-tier deployment (separate app and database servers) is strongly recommended.

Application Server

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	4 cores / 3.0 GHz	8 cores / 3.4 GHz
RAM	16 GB	32 GB
Storage	120 GB SSD	250 GB NVMe SSD
Network	1 Gbps	1 Gbps (dedicated)

Database Server

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	4 cores / 3.0 GHz	8 cores / 3.4 GHz
RAM	16 GB	32 GB
Storage	200 GB SSD	500 GB NVMe SSD (RAID 1 or 10)
SQL Server	SQL Server Standard	SQL Server Standard
RMM Agents	Up to 500 devices

Note: Separating the application and database servers provides significant performance gains at this scale. Blazor Server's in-memory circuit state benefits from dedicated application server RAM, while SQL Server benefits from having its own memory pool for query caching.

Enterprise

76 – 200+ Concurrent Users

For large organizations with high-volume operations, multiple offices, and extensive RMM deployments. Requires a scaled deployment with load balancing and database high availability.

Application Servers (2+ behind load balancer)

Component	Per Server (Minimum)	Per Server (Recommended)
CPU	8 cores / 3.2 GHz	12+ cores / 3.6 GHz
RAM	32 GB	64 GB
Storage	200 GB NVMe SSD	500 GB NVMe SSD
Network	1 Gbps (dedicated)	10 Gbps

Database Server

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	8 cores / 3.2 GHz	16+ cores / 3.6 GHz
RAM	32 GB	64–128 GB
Storage	500 GB NVMe (RAID 10)	1+ TB NVMe SSD (RAID 10)
SQL Server	SQL Server Standard	SQL Server Enterprise (for HA/AG)
RMM Agents	500–2,000+ devices

Important: Blazor Server uses SignalR (WebSockets) which maintains sticky sessions. When deploying behind a load balancer, you must configure session affinity (sticky sessions) and a shared SignalR backplane (Redis or SQL Server) so circuits survive server failover. Document storage should use a shared file system (SMB share or cloud storage) accessible to all app servers.

4. Quick Sizing Reference

Specification	1–10 Users	11–25 Users	26–75 Users	76–200+ Users
Deployment	Single Server	Single or Two-Tier	Two-Tier	Scaled / HA
App Server CPU	4 cores	6 cores	8 cores	12+ cores × 2
App Server RAM	8 GB	16 GB	32 GB	64 GB × 2
DB Server CPU	(shared)	(shared or 4 cores)	8 cores	16+ cores
DB Server RAM	(shared)	(shared or 16 GB)	32 GB	64–128 GB
Total Storage	80 GB SSD	160 GB SSD	750 GB NVMe	2+ TB NVMe
SQL Edition	Express	Express / Standard	Standard	Standard / Enterprise
RMM Agents	Up to 50	Up to 200	Up to 500	2,000+
Est. Monthly Cost*	$20–$50	$80–$150	$250–$500	$800+

* Cloud hosting estimates based on typical cloud VM pricing (AWS, Azure, or similar). On-premises costs will vary based on hardware procurement and existing infrastructure.

5. Memory Budget Breakdown

Understanding how BOA uses memory helps with capacity planning. The following is an approximate per-component memory budget:

Component	Base Usage	Per User / Per Agent	Notes
Windows Server OS	1.5–2 GB	—	Base OS overhead
IIS + ASP.NET Core	200–400 MB	—	Application startup, DI container, static assets
Blazor Server Circuits	—	~2–5 MB per active tab	Each browser tab = 1 circuit. Includes component tree + SignalR state
RMM Agent Connections	—	~50 KB per agent	Stateless REST; only heartbeat/alert traffic
SQL Server (same machine)	1–4 GB	Scales with workload	Express limited to 1 GB; Standard uses available RAM for caching
QuickBooks Sync	~50 MB	—	Background sync process, runs periodically

Example: A deployment with 25 concurrent users (averaging 1.5 tabs each) and 100 RMM agents:


            OS (2 GB) + IIS (0.3 GB) + Circuits (38 tabs × 4 MB = 0.15 GB) + Agents (100 × 50 KB ≈ 0.005 GB) + SQL (4 GB) = ~6.5 GB

With the recommended 16 GB for this tier, there is ample headroom for peak usage and SQL Server buffer pool growth.

6. Storage Planning

Disk Performance

SSD storage is strongly recommended for all tiers. BOA's performance is highly sensitive to disk I/O, particularly for:

SQL Server data and log files (random read/write)
SQL Server tempdb (heavy usage during complex queries and reports)
Document uploads and retrieval
IIS application logs

Storage Growth Estimates

Data Type	Typical Size	Growth Rate
Core Database (accounts, invoices, service orders, inventory)	500 MB – 2 GB base	~100–500 MB / year per 10 active accounts
Document Attachments (invoices, photos, contracts, manuals)	Varies widely	~2–10 GB / year (depends on upload volume)
RMM Event Data (alerts, service orders from agents)	Minimal (alerts only)	~50–200 MB / year per 100 agents
SQL Server Logs (transaction logs)	Depends on recovery model	Configure regular log backups to prevent growth
Application Logs	~50 MB	Configure log rotation; retained logs ~500 MB

Backup Storage: Plan for backup storage equal to 2–3× your database size. Daily full backups with hourly differential backups is recommended for production. Store backups on a separate physical drive or off-site location.

7. Network Requirements

Bandwidth

Traffic Type	Bandwidth per Unit	Notes
Blazor SignalR (per active user)	~50–200 Kbps sustained	Higher during data-heavy pages (dashboards, grids)
RMM Agent Heartbeats (per device)	< 1 Kbps average	60-second intervals, ~500 bytes per heartbeat
RMM Alerts	~2 KB per alert	Infrequent; only on threshold breach
Document Upload/Download	Varies	Bursty; depends on file sizes
QuickBooks Sync	~100 Kbps during sync	Periodic background process

Firewall & Port Configuration

Port	Protocol	Direction	Purpose
443	TCP (HTTPS)	Inbound	BOA web application and API (includes WebSocket upgrade)
80	TCP (HTTP)	Inbound	HTTP → HTTPS redirect (optional)
1433	TCP	Internal only	SQL Server (between app server and DB server in two-tier setups)

WebSocket Support: If using a reverse proxy (NGINX, Apache, Cloudflare), ensure WebSocket pass-through is enabled. Blazor Server will not function without persistent WebSocket connections. Set proxy timeouts to at least 120 seconds for idle connections.

8. RMM Agent Scaling

The BOA RMM Agent communicates with the server via lightweight REST API calls. Each agent's impact on server resources is minimal, but large fleets require consideration:

Agents Connected	Heartbeat Load	Server Impact	Additional RAM
1 – 50	~1 req/sec	Negligible	< 10 MB
51 – 200	~3 req/sec	Minimal	~10–20 MB
201 – 500	~8 req/sec	Low	~25–50 MB
501 – 2,000	~33 req/sec	Moderate	~100–200 MB

Alert Storms: If many agents trigger alerts simultaneously (e.g., after a network outage recovery), the server will briefly handle a burst of alert + service order creation requests. The 30-minute cooldown per alert type per device prevents sustained overload.

9. SQL Server Edition Guide

Edition	Max RAM	Max DB Size	Max Cores	Cost	Best For
Express	1 GB	10 GB	4 cores	Free	1–10 users, small data sets
Standard	128 GB	524 PB	24 cores	Licensed	11–150 users, production workloads
Enterprise	OS Max	524 PB	OS Max	Premium	150+ users, HA / Always On

SQL Server Express Limitations: The 10 GB database size limit includes all data, indexes, and internal structures. Document attachments stored in the filesystem (not in SQL) do not count against this limit. Monitor your database size with: SELECT SUM(size * 8 / 1024) AS SizeMB FROM sys.database_files

10. High Availability & Disaster Recovery

Recommended HA Strategy by Tier

Tier	Application HA	Database HA	Backup Strategy
Starter (1–10)	None (single server)	None	Daily full backup to external drive or cloud
Small (11–25)	None or cold standby	Log shipping or manual failover	Daily full + hourly differential
Mid-Market (26–75)	Warm standby	Always On Availability Groups (Basic)	Full + differential + transaction log backups
Enterprise (76–200+)	Active/Active load balanced	Always On AG (multi-replica)	Continuous log backups + geo-redundant

Recovery Objectives

RPO (Recovery Point Objective)

Starter: 24 hours
Small: 1–4 hours
Mid-Market: 15–60 minutes
Enterprise: Near-zero (synchronous replication)

RTO (Recovery Time Objective)

Starter: 4–8 hours
Small: 1–2 hours
Mid-Market: 15–30 minutes
Enterprise: < 5 minutes (automatic failover)

11. Cloud Hosting Reference

BOA runs on any Windows Server environment. The following are recommended cloud VM sizes for popular platforms:

Microsoft Azure

Tier	App Server VM	DB Server VM	Or Azure SQL
Starter	B2ms (2 vCPU, 8 GB)	(same machine)	Basic (5 DTU)
Small	D2s v5 (2 vCPU, 8 GB)	D4s v5 (4 vCPU, 16 GB)	S2 (50 DTU)
Mid-Market	D4s v5 (4 vCPU, 16 GB)	E4s v5 (4 vCPU, 32 GB)	S4 (200 DTU)
Enterprise	D8s v5 (8 vCPU, 32 GB) × 2+	E8s v5 (8 vCPU, 64 GB)	P4 (500 DTU) or Managed Instance

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Tier	App Server EC2	DB Server EC2 / RDS
Starter	t3.large (2 vCPU, 8 GB)	(same machine) or RDS db.t3.micro
Small	m6i.large (2 vCPU, 8 GB)	RDS db.m6i.large (2 vCPU, 8 GB)
Mid-Market	m6i.xlarge (4 vCPU, 16 GB)	RDS db.r6i.xlarge (4 vCPU, 32 GB)
Enterprise	m6i.2xlarge (8 vCPU, 32 GB) × 2+	RDS db.r6i.2xlarge (8 vCPU, 64 GB) Multi-AZ

12. Pre-Deployment Checklist

Windows Server 2019 or 2022 installed and updated
IIS installed with WebSocket Protocol feature enabled
ASP.NET Core 8.0 Hosting Bundle installed
SQL Server installed and configured (appropriate edition for user count)
Server meets or exceeds recommended hardware for target user tier
SSD storage provisioned for OS, application, and database files
Network firewall allows inbound HTTPS (port 443)
SSL/TLS certificate obtained and ready for binding
Backup strategy defined and tested
Antivirus exclusions configured for IIS worker process and BOA directory
Windows Firewall configured to allow SQL Server traffic (port 1433) between servers if using two-tier
DNS record configured pointing to server's public IP (for external access)
Static IP address assigned to server
Server time synchronized via NTP (critical for authentication tokens)