Hardware Setup Guide BETA
Comprehensive guide to selecting, configuring, and optimizing hardware for SLYD provider operations.
Choosing the right hardware is crucial for success as a SLYD provider. This guide covers
hardware requirements, recommendations for different scales of operation, and optimization
tips to maximize performance and revenue from your infrastructure investment.
Minimum Hardware Requirements
These are the absolute minimum specifications required to join the SLYD provider network.
CPU Requirements
- 64-bit x86_64 processor
- Minimum 8 physical cores
- Hardware virtualization support (Intel VT-x or AMD-V)
- AES-NI instruction set support
Memory Requirements
- Minimum 32GB DDR4 RAM
- ECC memory strongly recommended
- Dual-channel configuration minimum
- 2666 MHz or faster
Storage Requirements
- 500GB available storage minimum
- SSD for OS and container images
- RAID configuration recommended
- Enterprise-grade drives preferred
Network Requirements
- 100 Mbps dedicated bandwidth minimum
- Static IP address
- Low latency connection (<50ms to major cities)
- Unlimited or high data cap
Recommended Configurations
Choose a configuration that matches your scale and target market.
Entry Level Provider
Perfect for getting started with 1-2 servers
Recommended Specs:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X or Intel i9-12900K
- RAM: 64GB DDR4-3200 ECC
- Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD + 4TB HDD
- Network: 1 Gbps fiber connection
Expected Capacity:
- 10-15 small instances
- 5-8 medium instances
- $500-1000/month revenue potential
Professional Provider
For serious providers with dedicated hardware
Recommended Specs:
- CPU: Dual AMD EPYC 7443 or Intel Xeon Gold 6330
- RAM: 256GB DDR4-3200 ECC
- Storage: 2TB NVMe SSD RAID1 + 10TB SAS RAID10
- Network: 10 Gbps dedicated connection
Expected Capacity:
- 50-75 small instances
- 25-35 medium instances
- $3000-5000/month revenue potential
Enterprise Provider
Data center scale operations
Recommended Specs (per server):
- CPU: Dual AMD EPYC 7763 (128 cores total)
- RAM: 1TB DDR4-3200 ECC
- Storage: 8TB NVMe SSD + 50TB SAS
- Network: 40-100 Gbps connectivity
- GPU: 4-8x NVIDIA A100 or H100
Expected Capacity:
- 200+ instances per server
- Premium GPU instances
- $10,000+/month revenue per server
GPU Hardware Recommendations
GPU instances command premium rates. Here's what to consider for GPU deployments.
Supported GPU Models
Consumer GPUs
Good for development/testing
- NVIDIA RTX 4090
- NVIDIA RTX 4080
- NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti
- AMD RX 7900 XTX
Professional GPUs
Ideal for most workloads
- NVIDIA A40
- NVIDIA A30
- NVIDIA T4
- NVIDIA RTX A6000
Data Center GPUs
Maximum performance
- NVIDIA H100
- NVIDIA A100
- NVIDIA V100
- AMD MI250X
GPU Revenue: GPU instances typically generate 5-10x more revenue than CPU-only instances,
making them an excellent investment for providers.
Storage Configuration Best Practices
Optimize your storage setup for performance and reliability.
Storage Tier Recommendations
Tier 1: OS and Container Images
- Type: NVMe SSD
- Size: 500GB - 2TB
- RAID: RAID 1 (mirror)
- Purpose: Fast boot and image deployment
Tier 2: Instance Storage
- Type: SAS SSD or fast NVMe
- Size: 2TB - 10TB
- RAID: RAID 10
- Purpose: Active instance data
Tier 3: Bulk Storage
- Type: Enterprise HDD
- Size: 10TB+
- RAID: RAID 6 or RAIDZ2
- Purpose: Backups and archives
Network Infrastructure
Network performance directly impacts user experience and revenue.
Network Equipment
Network Cards
- 10Gbps minimum for professional
- Intel X710 or Mellanox ConnectX
- SR-IOV support for performance
- Dual-port for redundancy
Switching
- Managed switches required
- VLAN support
- Low-latency switching
- Redundant power supplies
Internet Connection
- Business-grade SLA
- Multiple upstream providers
- BGP routing (advanced)
- DDoS protection
Power and Cooling
Proper power and cooling infrastructure is essential for reliability.
Power Requirements
Power Calculation Guide:
- CPU: 200-300W per high-end processor
- GPU: 300-700W per data center GPU
- RAM: 3-5W per DIMM
- Storage: 10-15W per drive
- Overhead: Add 20% for efficiency losses
Always provision 30-50% extra power capacity for future expansion and peak loads.
Cooling Requirements
Cooling Capacity:
- 1 ton of cooling per 3.5kW of IT load
- Maintain 18-27°C (64-80°F) ambient
- Hot/cold aisle separation recommended
- Monitor inlet and exhaust temperatures
Backup Power
UPS Recommendations:
- 15-30 minutes runtime minimum
- Auto-shutdown integration
- Network management card
- Generator hookup for extended outages
Hardware Optimization Tips
Maximize performance and efficiency with these optimization strategies.
BIOS/UEFI Settings
- Enable virtualization extensions
- Disable power saving features
- Set performance profile
- Enable NUMA if available
- Configure memory interleaving
Thermal Management
- Quality thermal paste application
- Regular dust cleaning schedule
- Monitor fan speeds and temps
- Consider liquid cooling for GPUs
- Maintain positive air pressure
Reliability Features
- Use ECC memory
- Implement RAID for all storage
- Redundant power supplies
- Out-of-band management (IPMI)
- Hardware monitoring alerts
Scaling Your Infrastructure
Plan for growth from the beginning to scale efficiently.
Growth Planning Checklist
