Requirement

Instance Configuration Requirements

Overview:

When setting up your AWS instance, you’ll need to configure a few key options. Here’s a detailed guide on the recommended configurations and selections.

1. Instance Type

For optimal performance, we recommend using the following instance types:

t3a.small – 2 virtual CPUs and 2 GB memory.
t3.small – 2 virtual CPUs and 2 GB memory.

However, you can choose an instance type based on your specific workload and traffic needs. Here’s a quick reference table to help you decide:

CPU / Memory	Suitable for
2 CPU cores / 2 GB	Evaluation, and organisations of up to about 50 employees
2 CPU cores / 4 GB	Up to a few hundred employees with self-service in daily use
4 CPU cores / 8 GB	Larger organisations, active recruitment, and regular reporting
8 CPU cores / 16 GB	Thousands of employees, and heavy concurrent use at month end

OrangeHRM is a PHP application backed by MariaDB, and both run on this instance. Memory is the first thing to run short, and the pattern to plan for is peaks rather than averages: leave requests at the start of a holiday period and timesheet submission at month end concentrate a lot of your staff into the same hour.

For more details on different instance types and configurations, refer to the AWS Instance Types documentation.

2. Storage Space

The default allocated storage size for our AMI. You may specify the necessary storage size when launching a new instance or change it after deployment.

30 GB (recommended)

An HR system grows on disk mainly through its database: every employee record, leave request, timesheet entry and job application is kept, and HR records are usually kept for years after someone leaves. Attachments such as CVs and certificates are stored in the database too, so allow room for the history rather than for the headcount.

3. Ports Configuration

To ensure smooth operation of your installation, open the inbound ports below. These three are all that this image needs.

Please note: the database does not need an open port, and must not be given one. MariaDB runs on a private network inside the instance and is reachable only by the application. Opening port 3306 to the internet would expose every employee record, salary field and personal detail your organisation holds, and is not required for anything.

Please also note: do not open port 9090. It is not needed to run your HR system, and the three ports below are the complete list.

Inbound Ports:

Type	Protocol	Port Range	Source	Why
SSH	TCP	22	0.0.0.0/0	To run the one-click installer and the domain setup tool. Restrict this to your own address if you can.
HTTP	TCP	80	0.0.0.0/0	Reaching your system before you add a domain, and SSL certificate validation afterwards.
HTTPS	TCP	443	0.0.0.0/0	Required once you associate a domain. Your staff will be entering personal data, so serve it over HTTPS.

Outbound Ports:

Outbound access is needed to download the application on first boot, to obtain and renew your SSL certificate, and to send email through your own provider. The default AWS security group allows all outbound traffic, and no change is required.