Deep Security Virtual Appliance memory allocation

In an NSX Data Center for vSphere (NSX-V) environment, Deep Security Virtual Appliance uses 4 GB of RAM by default. If you expect to need more RAM, you will need to modify the appliance's configuration. There are two options:

  • Modify the configuration of the appliance prior to being imported to the vCenter, thereby setting the default configuration for all subsequent appliance service deployments in that vCenter.
  • Modify the memory allocation of the appliance on a case-by-case basis after it has been imported to the vCenter and deployed as a service on a ESXi.

For information about the amount of RAM to allocate for appliances, see Deep Security Virtual Appliance sizing.

Configure the appliance's memory allocation prior to deployment to the vCenter

This topic is not applicable to NSX-T 3.0 Data Center environments.

To change the appliance's default memory allocation, you must edit the allocation settings in the appliance's OVF file before it gets imported to the vCenter.

  1. Import the appliance ZIP into Deep Security Manager and wait for the appliance package folder to fully download to <DSM_Install>\temp\Appliance-ESX-<appliance_version>.

    You must import the appliance ZIP before changing the memory allocation settings in the OVF. If you reverse these tasks, the modified OVF file will cause a digital signature check failure, which in turn will lead to an import failure.

  2. In a text editor, open dsva.ovf in <DSM_install>\temp\Appliance-ESX-<appliance_version>.
  3. Edit the default memory allocation (4096 MB) to be appropriate for your environment. See, Deep Security Virtual Appliance sizing for more information.

    <Item>
    <rasd:AllocationUnits>byte * 2^20</rasd:AllocationUnits>
    <rasd:Description>Memory Size</rasd:Description>
    <rasd:ElementName xmlns:rasd="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/cim-schema/2/CIM_ResourceAllocationSettingData">4096 MB of memory</rasd:ElementName>
    <rasd:InstanceID xmlns:rasd="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/cim-schema/2/CIM_ResourceAllocationSettingData">2</rasd:InstanceID>
    <rasd:Reservation>4096</rasd:Reservation>
    <rasd:ResourceType>4</rasd:ResourceType>
    <rasd:VirtualQuantity>4096</rasd:VirtualQuantity>
    </Item>

  4. Save the OVF file.
  5. If you imported multiple appliance packages to Deep Security Manager, modify the dsva.ovf in each \Appliance-ESX-<appliance_version> folder.

You can now deploy the virtual appliance OVF file into vCenter. See Deploy the appliance (NSX-T 3.x), or Deploy the appliance (NSX-V).

Configure the memory allocation of an already-deployed appliance

Changing the appliance's memory allocation settings requires powering off the appliance's virtual machine. Virtual machines normally protected by the appliance will be unprotected until it is powered back on. To mitigate this, temporarily configure agent-based protection where possible.
  1. In your VMware vSphere Web Client, right-click on the appliance and select Power > Shut Down Guest.
  2. Right-click on the appliance again and select Edit Settings. The Virtual Machine Properties screen displays.
  3. On the Hardware tab, select Memory and change the memory allocation to the desired value.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Right-click the appliance again and select Power > Power On.