Technical Specifications
This document outlines the requirements for the NGINX Management Suite and NGINX Agent, such as compatible platforms, hardware specifications, sizing advice, compatible web browsers, and more.
Overview
The NGINX Management Suite is a comprehensive family of management plane solutions that enable you to effectively scale, secure, and monitor your applications and APIs. At its core is the NGINX Management Suite Instance Manager module, which lets you track, secure, and configure your NGINX OSS and NGINX Plus instances. Instance Manager is available as a standalone product and is automatically included when you license any other NGINX Management Suite modules.
NGINX Management Suite
The guidelines in this section are applicable to the entire NGINX Management Suite gateway. Further, module-specific guidelines are highlighted in the respective sections of this document.
Support for Prior Releases
Unless otherwise specified in the release notes, F5 NGINX typically supports the three most recent releases of Instance Manager, API Connectivity Manager, App Delivery Manager, and NGINX App Protect WAF. This means, for example, if the latest release of Instance Manager is 2.11.0, F5 NGINX would support versions ranging from 2.8.0 to 2.11.0. The same principle applies to the other modules.
If you are using an older version of a module, you might need to upgrade to an intermediate version before upgrading to the final version you want. Make sure to follow the recommended upgrade paths mentioned in each module’s release notes for a successful upgrade process. For more detailed information and guidance on the upgrade process, you can refer to the Upgrade Guide.
Module release notes:
Supported Linux Distributions
The NGINX Management Suite gateway supports the following Linux distributions:
| Distribution | Version | Architecture | Instance Manager | API Connectivity Manager | NGINX App Protect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux | 2 LTS | x86_64 | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| CentOS | 7.4 and later in the 7.x family | x86_64 | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Debian | 10 11 12 |
x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 |
Supported (up to 2.13) Supported Supported on 2.13+ |
Supported (up to 1.9.1) Supported Not supported |
Not supported Supported Not supported |
| Oracle Linux | 7.4 and later in the 7.x family 8.0 and later in the 8.0.x family |
x86_64 x86_64 |
Supported Supported on 2.6.0+ |
Supported Supported on 1.3.0+ |
Supported Supported |
| RHEL | 7.4 and later in the 7.x family 8.x and later in the 8.x family 9.x and later in the 9.x family |
x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 |
Supported Supported Supported on 2.6.0+ |
Supported Supported Supported on 1.3.0+ |
Supported Supported Not supported |
| Ubuntu | 18.04 20.04 22.04 |
x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 |
Supported (up to 2.13) Supported Supported on 2.3.0+ |
Supported (up to 1.9.1) Supported Supported |
Supported (up to 4.5) Supported Not supported |
API Connectivity Manager
Make sure you review the supported distributions for the Developer Portal host before installing the API Connectivity Manager module. There is a slight difference between the supported distributions in that list and this one.
Supported Deployment Environments
You can deploy the NGINX Management Suite gateway in the following environments:
- Bare Metal
- Container
- Public Cloud: AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure
- Virtual Machine
Supported NGINX Versions
NGINX Management Suite supports the following NGINX versions:
| Module | Version | NGINX OSS | NGINX Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instance Manager | 2.7.0 and later 2.0.0–2.6.0 |
1.18–1.25.1 1.18–1.21.6 |
R21–R29 R21–R27 |
| API Connectivity Manager - Management Plane | 1.9.0 and later 1.4.0-1.8.0 1.0.0–1.3.1 |
1.18–1.25.1 1.18–1.25.1 1.18–1.21.6 |
R24–R30 R24–R29 R24–R27 |
| API Connectivity Manager - Data Plane and Dev Portal | 1.9.0 and later 1.7.0-1.8.0 1.4.0-1.6.0 1.0.0–1.3.1 |
Not supported Not supported Not supported Not supported |
R26–R30 R26–R29 R24–R28 R21–R27 |
| App Delivery Manager | 4.0.0-EA3 4.0.0-EA2 4.0.0-EA1 |
Not supported Not supported Not supported |
R25-R29 R25-R29 R24-R28 |
Firewall Ports
The NGINX Management Suite and NGINX Agent services use the Unix domain socket by default and proxy through the gateway on port 443.
Supported Browsers
The NGINX Management Suite web interface works best on the newest versions of these browsers:
Logging
The NGINX Management Suite stores its log files in /var/log/nms. To prevent your system from running out of disk space due to log growth, we suggest creating a separate partition for the logs or enabling log rotation.
Instance Manager
Sizing Recommendations
The following sizing recommendations are the minimum sizing guidelines for Instance Manager. For improved performance, we strongly suggest using SSDs as your storage option.
Standard NGINX Configuration Deployments
The following sizing guidelines are for Instance Manager deployments with data plane instances that have standard configurations; that is, up to 40 upstream servers with associated location and server blocks and up to 350 associated certificates.
We recommend using solid-state drives (SSDs) for better storage performance.
| # of Data Plane Instances | CPU | Memory | Network | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2 vCPU | 4 GB RAM | 1 GbE NIC | 100 GB |
| 100 | 2 vCPU | 4 GB RAM | 1 GbE NIC | 1 TB |
| 1000 | 4 vCPU | 8 GB RAM | 1 GbE NIC | 3 TB |
Large NGINX Configuration Deployments
The following sizing guidelines are for Instance Manager deployments with data plane instances that have large configurations; that is, up to 300 upstream servers with associated location and server blocks.
| # of Data Plane Instances | CPU | Memory | Network | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 4 vCPU | 8 GB RAM | 1 GbE NIC | 1 TB |
| 250 | 4 vCPU | 8 GB RAM | 1 GbE NIC | 2 TB |
Support for NGINX App Protect WAF
Instance Manager supports the following versions of NGINX App Protect WAF:
| Instance Manager | NGINX App Protect WAF |
|---|---|
| 2.14.1 | Release 4.4.0–4.6.0 |
| 2.13.0-2.14.0 | Release 4.3.0–4.5.0 |
| 2.12.0 | Release 4.2.0–4.5.0 |
| 2.11.0 | Release 4.1.0–4.3.0 |
| 2.10.0–2.10.1 | Release 4.0.0–4.3.0 |
| 2.9.0–2.9.1 | Release 3.12.2–4.2.0 |
| 2.8.0 | Release 3.12.2–4.1.0 |
| 2.7.0 | Release 3.12.2–4.0.0 |
| 2.6.0 | Release 3.12.2 |
API Connectivity Manager
Dependencies with Instance Manager
API Connectivity Manager depends on the platform capabilities of Instance Manager. The following table lists the minimum versions of Instance Manager required for API Connectivity Manager:
| API Connectivity Manager | Instance Manager Dependency |
|---|---|
| 1.9.0 - 1.9.1 | 2.13.0 and later |
| 1.8.0 | 2.12.0 and later |
| 1.6.0-1.7.0 | 2.10.0–2.10.1 and later |
| 1.5.0 | 2.9.0 and later |
| 1.4.0–1.4.1 | 2.7.0 and later |
| 1.3.0–1.3.1 | 2.6.0 and later |
| 1.1.0–1.2.0 | 2.4.0 and later |
| 1.0.0 | 2.3.0 and later |
To ensure API Connectivity Manager’s new features work correctly, you may need to install or upgrade Instance Manager to the minimum version specified. If Instance Manager is not installed, API Connectivity Manager will install the latest version. If the installed version is below the minimum required version, API Connectivity Manager will upgrade Instance Manager to the latest version. Otherwise, API Connectivity Manager will leave Instance Manager unchanged.
Important:
If you’re installing API Connectivity Manager in an offline environment and the minimum required version of Instance Manager is not installed, the API Connectivity Manager installer will exit. You’ll need to install Instance Manager manually before installing API Connectivity Manager.
API Connectivity Manager Supported NGINX Versions
API Connectivity Manager works with the following NGINX versions:
| Module | Version | NGINX OSS | NGINX Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| API Connectivity Manager - Management Plane | 1.9.0 and later 1.4.0-1.8.0 1.0.0–1.3.1 |
1.18–1.25.1 1.18–1.25.1 1.18–1.21.6 |
R24–R30 R24–R29 R24–R27 |
| API Connectivity Manager - Data Plane and Dev Portal | 1.7.0 and later 1.4.0-1.6.0 1.0.0–1.3.1 |
Not supported Not supported Not supported |
R26–R29 R24–R28 R21–R27 |
Developer Portal Supported Distributions
The Developer Portal supports the following Linux distributions:
| Distribution | Version | Platform | API Connectivity Manager Developer Portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux | 2 LTS | x86_64 | 1.0.0 and later |
| CentOS | 7.4 and later in the 7.x family | x86_64 | 1.0.0 and later |
| Debian | 10 11 |
x86_64 x86_64 |
1.0.0 and later 1.0.0 and later |
| Oracle Linux | 7.4 and later in the 7.x family | x86_64 | 1.0.0 and later |
| RHEL | 7.4 and later in the 7.x family 8.x 9.x |
x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 |
1.0.0 and later 1.0.0 and later 1.3.0 and later |
| Ubuntu | 18.04 20.04 22.04 |
x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 |
1.0.0 and later 1.0.0 and later 1.2.0 and later |
App Delivery Manager
This topic documents an early access feature. These features are provided for you to try before they are generally available. You shouldn't use early access features for production purposes.
Dependencies with Instance Manager
App Delivery Manager relies on the platform features provided by NGINX Management Suite, specifically those included with Instance Manager.
When installing App Delivery Manager, you may need a newer version of NGINX Management Suite. The installation process will notify you of any version requirements before installing App Delivery Manager and any dependent packages, including NGINX Management Suite. You may cancel the installation process if a backup of the NGINX Management Suite is needed before upgrading.
The following table lists the minimum versions of Instance Manager required by App Delivery Manager:
| App Delivery Manager | Instance Manager Dependency |
|---|---|
| 4.0.0-EA3 | 2.12.0 and later |
| 4.0.0-EA2 | 2.11.0 and later |
| 4.0.0-EA1 | 2.10.1 and later |
Important:
If you’re installing App Delivery Manager in an offline environment and the minimum required version of Instance Manager is not installed, the App Delivery Manager installer will exit. You’ll need to install Instance Manager manually before installing App Delivery Manager.
Security Monitoring Module
Dependencies with Instance Manager
The Security Monitoring module requires the following versions of Instance Manager to be installed on the management plane:
| Security Monitoring | Instance Manager |
|---|---|
| 1.7.0 | 2.14.0 |
| 1.6.0 | 2.12.0-2.13.0 |
| 1.5.0 | 2.11.0 |
| 1.4.0 | 2.10.0–2.10.1 |
| 1.3.0 | 2.9.0 |
| 1.2.0 | 2.8.0 |
| 1.1.0 | 2.7.0 |
| 1.0.0 | 2.6.0 |
Important:
The Security Monitoring module installation does not automatically install or upgrade Instance Manager. You’ll need to manually install Instance Manager, or upgrade it to a version supported for use with Security Monitoring.
Dependencies with NGINX App Protect WAF and NGINX Plus
The Security Monitoring module requires the following versions of NGINX App Protect WAF and NGINX Plus for the data plane:
| Security Monitoring | NGINX App Protect WAF |
|---|---|
| 1.7.0 | Release 4.4.0 - 4.6.0 |
| 1.6.0 | Release 4.3.0 - 4.4.0 |
| 1.5.0 | Release 4.3.0 |
| 1.4.0 | Release 4.2.0 |
| 1.3.0 | Release 3.12.2 - 4.2.0 |
| 1.2.0 | Release 3.12.2 - 4.1.0 |
| 1.1.0 | Release 3.12.2 - 4.0.0 |
| 1.0.0 | Release 3.12.2 |
NGINX Agent (Data Plane)
Supported Distributions
The NGINX Agent can run on most environments. For the supported distributions, see the NGINX Agent Technical Specs guide.
Supported Deployment Environments
You can deploy the NGINX Agent in the following environments:
- Bare Metal
- Container
- Public Cloud: AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure
- Virtual Machine
Supported NGINX Versions
The NGINX Agent works with all versions of NGINX OSS and NGINX Plus.
Sizing Recommendations
The following table lists the minimum sizing recommendations for the NGINX Agent:
| CPU | Memory | Network | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 CPU core | 1 GB RAM | 1 GbE NIC | 20 GB |
Logging
The NGINX Agent utilizes log files and formats to collect metrics. Increasing the log formats and instance counts will result in increased log file sizes. To prevent system storage issues due to a growing log directory, it is recommended to add a separate partition for /var/log/nginx-agent and enable log rotation.