Hi,
Please reference the AirWave 7.4 sizing guide as it is the most current sizing guide available. That being said, we are working on a 7.5 sizing guide based upon next generation server hardware and cpu architecture. It should be available soon.
The priority for CPU sizing is as follows:
1) Processor Speed (Faster is better)
1a) Tasks are multithreaded, but faster CPU speed results in faster task completion and improves backend data handling as well as UI responsiveness
2) Multiple Physical CPU Cores (More is better) (Physical CPU cores i.e. a Quad Core CPU w/ HT = 4 physical cores and 8 total logical cores, Hyperthreading adds logical cores and some performance gains, but not as much as additional physical cores). The number of "physical" processors (i.e. 1 socket 8 core versus 2 socket 4 core each is equivalent) doesn't have much impact as long as the available cpu cores meets our recommendations
2a) Again, tasks are multithreaded and will take advantage of additional available cores (up to a reasonable number). This can be configured under AMP Setup.
3) RAM - The amount of memory is crucial to provide sufficient working memory space for processes. (More is better)
3a) It is highly recommended that you meet or exceed the recommended memory amounts
4) Cache size (More is better)
4a) affects CPU speed when processing tasks
As a side note, the planned next generation of CPUs we're going to be including in our appliances will be the Intel E5-2640 but you're welcome to spec faster/bigger CPUs.
If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact Aruba Support (support@arubanetworks.com)