> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/iLotuus/Enterprise-SOC-Architecture/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Deployment Prerequisites

> Hardware, software, and expertise requirements for deploying the Enterprise SOC Architecture

<Warning>
  This project is currently in the **design phase**. The following prerequisites are based on the conceptual architecture and should be used for planning purposes. Requirements may change as the implementation progresses.
</Warning>

## Overview

Before deploying the Enterprise SOC Architecture, ensure you have the necessary infrastructure, software dependencies, and team expertise. This page outlines all prerequisites for a successful deployment.

## Prerequisites Checklist

<Steps>
  <Step title="Review Hardware Requirements">
    Ensure sufficient compute, memory, and storage resources are available for all SOC components.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Validate Network Infrastructure">
    Confirm network capacity, segmentation capabilities, and traffic mirroring support.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Prepare Software Dependencies">
    Install required operating systems, runtime environments, and support libraries.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assess Team Skills">
    Verify team has necessary expertise in security operations, system administration, and incident response.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Plan Storage Capacity">
    Calculate log retention requirements and allocate appropriate storage capacity.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Hardware Requirements

### Detection Layer (IDS/IPS)

<Accordion title="Snort/Suricata IDS">
  **Minimum Requirements per Instance:**

  * **CPU**: 4+ cores (8+ cores recommended for high-traffic environments)
  * **RAM**: 8 GB minimum, 16-32 GB recommended
  * **Storage**: 500 GB for rule sets and packet captures
  * **Network**: Dedicated monitoring NIC(s) with promiscuous mode support
  * **OS**: Linux (Ubuntu 20.04/22.04, CentOS 8+, or RHEL 8+)

  <Note>
    For high-throughput networks (>1 Gbps), consider multiple instances with load balancing or inline deployment on dedicated hardware.
  </Note>
</Accordion>

### Log Aggregation and Storage

<Accordion title="Logstash/Fluentd Pipeline">
  **Minimum Requirements:**

  * **CPU**: 4 cores minimum, 8+ cores for production
  * **RAM**: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
  * **Storage**: 100 GB for buffer and temporary storage
  * **OS**: Linux (any modern distribution)

  **Scaling Considerations:**

  * Plan for 2 GB RAM per 10,000 events/second processed
  * Multiple pipeline instances may be required for redundancy
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Elasticsearch Cluster">
  **Minimum Requirements per Node:**

  * **CPU**: 8 cores minimum, 16+ cores recommended
  * **RAM**: 32 GB minimum, 64 GB+ recommended (50% for JVM heap)
  * **Storage**: 2-10 TB SSD storage (depends on retention policy)
  * **Network**: 10 Gbps network interfaces for cluster communication
  * **OS**: Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL)

  <Warning>
    Plan for at least 3 nodes for production deployment to ensure high availability. Storage requirements scale with log volume and retention period.
  </Warning>

  **Storage Calculation:**

  * Estimate daily log volume (GB/day)
  * Multiply by retention period (days)
  * Add 20% overhead for indices and metadata
  * Example: 100 GB/day × 90 days × 1.2 = 10.8 TB minimum
</Accordion>

### Infrastructure Monitoring

<Accordion title="Zabbix Server">
  **Minimum Requirements:**

  * **CPU**: 4 cores minimum, 8 cores recommended
  * **RAM**: 16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended
  * **Storage**: 500 GB for database and historical data
  * **Database**: MySQL/PostgreSQL server (can be co-located or separate)
  * **OS**: Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL)
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Prometheus Server">
  **Minimum Requirements:**

  * **CPU**: 4 cores minimum
  * **RAM**: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
  * **Storage**: 500 GB SSD for time-series data
  * **OS**: Linux (any modern distribution)

  <Info>
    Prometheus storage scales with number of metrics and retention period. Use the formula: `needed_disk_space = retention_time_seconds * ingested_samples_per_second * bytes_per_sample`
  </Info>
</Accordion>

### Central Security Platform

<Accordion title="Wazuh Manager">
  **Minimum Requirements:**

  * **CPU**: 8 cores minimum, 16+ cores recommended
  * **RAM**: 16 GB minimum, 32 GB+ recommended
  * **Storage**: 100 GB for Wazuh manager files
  * **OS**: Linux (Ubuntu 20.04/22.04, CentOS 8+, RHEL 8+)

  <Note>
    Wazuh integrates with Elasticsearch for event storage. Resource requirements scale with number of agents (plan for \~25 MB RAM per 1000 agents).
  </Note>
</Accordion>

### Incident Response Platform

<Accordion title="TheHive + Cortex">
  **Minimum Requirements (Combined):**

  * **CPU**: 8 cores minimum
  * **RAM**: 16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended
  * **Storage**: 500 GB for case data and artifacts
  * **Database**: Cassandra or Elasticsearch backend
  * **OS**: Linux (Ubuntu, Debian)

  **Additional for Cortex Analyzers:**

  * External API access for threat intelligence feeds
  * Additional storage for analyzer outputs
</Accordion>

### Long-Term Components (Planning)

<Accordion title="Honeypots (Proxmox)">
  **Future Planning Requirements:**

  * **Virtualization Host**: Proxmox VE server with 16+ cores, 64+ GB RAM
  * **Storage**: 2 TB for multiple honeypot VMs
  * **Network**: Isolated VLAN for deception infrastructure
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="OPNsense Firewall">
  **Future Planning Requirements:**

  * **CPU**: 4-8 cores depending on throughput
  * **RAM**: 8 GB minimum
  * **Network**: Multiple NICs for network segmentation
  * **Storage**: 120 GB SSD
</Accordion>

## Network Requirements

### Bandwidth Considerations

| Component              | Typical Bandwidth | Peak Bandwidth | Notes                                 |
| ---------------------- | ----------------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| IDS/IPS (per instance) | 500 Mbps - 2 Gbps | Up to 10 Gbps  | Depends on monitored network segments |
| Log Aggregation        | 100-500 Mbps      | 1 Gbps         | Varies with event volume              |
| Elasticsearch Cluster  | 1-5 Gbps          | 10 Gbps        | Internal cluster communication        |
| Wazuh Agents → Manager | 10-100 Mbps       | 500 Mbps       | Scales with agent count               |
| Monitoring Systems     | 50-200 Mbps       | 500 Mbps       | Metrics and alerts traffic            |

<Warning>
  Ensure network infrastructure can handle both normal operational traffic and peak loads during security events or bulk log ingestion.
</Warning>

### Network Capabilities Required

* **Port Mirroring/SPAN**: Switch support for traffic mirroring to IDS sensors
* **VLAN Support**: Capability to create isolated network segments
* **Firewall Management**: Ability to configure granular firewall rules
* **High Availability**: Redundant network paths for critical components

## Software Dependencies

### Operating System Requirements

<Info>
  All core components support modern Linux distributions. Ubuntu 20.04/22.04 LTS or RHEL 8+ are recommended for long-term support.
</Info>

**Recommended Distributions:**

* Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS or 22.04 LTS
* Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.x or 9.x
* CentOS Stream 8/9
* Debian 11 or 12

### Runtime Dependencies

<Accordion title="Java Runtime Environment">
  Required for: Elasticsearch, Logstash

  * **Version**: OpenJDK 11 or 17
  * **Installation**: Package manager or official repositories
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Python Environment">
  Required for: Wazuh, PyInfra automation, Cortex analyzers

  * **Version**: Python 3.8 or higher
  * **Packages**: pip, virtualenv
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Database Systems">
  Required for: Various components

  * **MySQL/PostgreSQL**: For Zabbix and TheHive
  * **Cassandra** (optional): For TheHive scalability
  * **Elasticsearch**: Serves as database for multiple components
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Container Runtime (Optional)">
  Recommended for: Simplified deployment

  * **Docker**: Version 20.10+
  * **Docker Compose**: Version 2.x
  * Alternative: Kubernetes for production-scale deployments
</Accordion>

### Additional Software

* **Web Server**: Nginx or Apache for dashboard access
* **SSL/TLS Certificates**: For secure component communication
* **NTP Client**: For time synchronization across all systems
* **Git**: For infrastructure-as-code version control

## Skills and Expertise

### Required Team Expertise

<Steps>
  <Step title="Security Operations">
    * Incident detection and analysis
    * Threat hunting methodologies
    * Security event correlation
    * SIEM platform management
  </Step>

  <Step title="System Administration">
    * Linux server administration
    * Network configuration and troubleshooting
    * Database administration (Elasticsearch, MySQL/PostgreSQL)
    * Log management and analysis
  </Step>

  <Step title="Network Security">
    * IDS/IPS rule development and tuning
    * Network traffic analysis
    * Firewall configuration
    * Network segmentation best practices
  </Step>

  <Step title="Automation and Scripting">
    * Python scripting for automation
    * Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/PyInfra)
    * API integration
    * Playbook development for SOAR
  </Step>

  <Step title="Incident Response">
    * Incident handling procedures
    * Forensic analysis
    * Malware analysis basics
    * Communication and reporting
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Recommended Certifications

<Info>
  While not mandatory, the following certifications indicate relevant expertise:

  * **Security**: CompTIA Security+, CEH, GCIH, GCIA
  * **SOC Operations**: GMON, Splunk Certified Admin/Architect
  * **Incident Response**: GCFA, GCFE, CHFI
  * **Infrastructure**: RHCSA, Linux+, Docker Certified Associate
</Info>

## Storage and Retention Planning

### Log Volume Estimation

Estimate your daily log volume:

| Source Type                          | Typical Volume per Device | Multiplier  | Daily Total |
| ------------------------------------ | ------------------------- | ----------- | ----------- |
| Endpoints (Wazuh agents)             | 10-50 MB/day              | × endpoints |             |
| Network devices (firewall, switches) | 100-500 MB/day            | × devices   |             |
| Servers (application logs)           | 100 MB - 2 GB/day         | × servers   |             |
| IDS/IPS alerts                       | 50-500 MB/day             | × sensors   |             |

### Retention Policy Planning

<Note>
  Retention requirements vary by:

  * **Compliance regulations** (PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, etc.)
  * **Operational needs** (threat hunting, investigation)
  * **Storage budget constraints**

  Typical retention periods:

  * Hot storage (Elasticsearch): 30-90 days
  * Warm storage (compressed): 6-12 months
  * Cold storage (archives): 1-7 years
</Note>

### Storage Architecture Recommendations

* **Primary Storage**: High-performance SSD for active indices
* **Archive Storage**: Lower-cost HDD or object storage (S3-compatible)
* **Backup Strategy**: Regular snapshots to separate storage system
* **Capacity Planning**: Monitor growth and plan for 20-30% annual increase

## Pre-Deployment Checklist

Before proceeding to deployment:

* [ ] Hardware resources allocated and verified
* [ ] Network infrastructure prepared (VLANs, port mirroring configured)
* [ ] Operating systems installed and updated
* [ ] Required software dependencies available
* [ ] Team training completed or planned
* [ ] Storage capacity calculated and provisioned
* [ ] Backup and disaster recovery plan documented
* [ ] Security policies and compliance requirements reviewed
* [ ] Firewall rules and access controls planned
* [ ] Monitoring and alerting thresholds defined

## Next Steps

Once all prerequisites are met:

1. Review [Network Setup](/deployment/network-setup) for detailed network configuration
2. Plan your [Component Installation](/deployment/component-installation) strategy
3. Prepare [Configuration](/deployment/configuration) parameters for each system

<Info>
  For questions about specific requirements or scaling considerations, consult the documentation for each individual component or engage with the SOC architecture planning team.
</Info>