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System configuration

In the following sections, the software requirements for the CMDBuild system and the installation and configuration of its components are described.

When planning the system configuration, information security must be taken into account. Deploying a web application such as CMDBuild requires hardware and network components with appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorized external access (firewall, DMZ) and to ensure adequate availability and response times.

Hardware requirements​

CMDBuild requires a physical or virtual server with the following minimum specifications:

  • Recent generation CPU
  • At least 16 GB of RAM — 32 GB recommended for intensive use of additional features such as DMS, map server, or BIM server
  • At least 150 GB of disk storage — significantly more if extensive document archives are expected

The following practices are also recommended:

  • Configure disk storage in RAID
  • Schedule daily backups of CMDBuild system data
  • Ensure a UPS is available to prevent data loss from sudden power failures

Software requirements​

CMDBuild installation and use require the following software components.

Operating system​

CMDBuild supports any operating system that runs a JVM and the required software dependencies. Linux is recommended, as CMDBuild is more extensively tested on it.

Database​

PostgreSQL versions 12 through 17 are supported; version 17 is recommended.

Ensure that the plpgsql extension is active and that the database encoding is set to UTF-8.

CMDBuild uses the tomcat-dbcp library to connect to the database. This library is bundled with Tomcat but may be absent in some Linux distributions. In that case, it can be retrieved from the official Tomcat distribution or from the extras/tomcat-libs/{Tomcat version dir} folder inside the CMDBuild zip file. The library must be placed in /usr/share/{Tomcat version dir}/lib.

Note: CMDBuild supports PostgreSQL exclusively, as it is the only database that implements table inheritance in the object-oriented sense — a feature required for subclass management and card history tracking.

If GIS features are required, install the PostGIS spatial extension for PostgreSQL. For PostGIS installation and configuration, refer to the official documentation.

Servlet container / web server​

CMDBuild requires Apache Tomcat 10.x or later (recommended: Tomcat 10.1.52). When installing via GUI, a fresh Tomcat instance is provided automatically.

To ensure correct UTF-8 encoding when using attachments, edit server.xml and add the URIEncoding="UTF-8" attribute to the main Connector element.

Apache 2.4.65 can optionally be used as a front-end web server to expose multiple CMDBuild instances through virtual hosts on different domains.

Learn more here.

Document Management System (DMS)​

Any DMS supporting the CMIS protocol can be used for document management (this feature is optional). Alfresco is the recommended DMS.

Learn more here.

Java​

CMDBuild requires Java 17. The Java libraries are required by Apache Tomcat.

Learn more here.

Libraries included in the release​

The CMDBuild package downloaded from the project website includes the following libraries:

For designing custom reports, use Jasper Studio 6.x or IReport 5.x, both of which produce output compatible with the Jasper Reports engine.

For designing custom workflows, use TWE Together Workflow Editor 5.5 , which produces XPDL 2.0 files compatible with the Together Workflow Server 5.5 engine.

For automatic inventory integration, OCS Inventory 2.12.3 is supported .

Some CMDBuild features can be embedded as portlets in JSR-compatible portal systems, including Liferay 7.4.132 or later .

All software listed above is released under an open-source license (excluding the operating system if a non-Linux OS is used).

Client requirements​

All interactions with CMDBuild — including use, administration, system updates, and database configuration — are performed through a web interface.

Users are required to have a recent-generation web browser installed. Supported browsers include: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Internet Explorer 11, and Apple Safari.

The web-based architecture ensures full usability across distributed IT organizations, allowing any authorized user to connect and interact with the system from any location using a standard browser.