Deployment Guide
Cloud and on-premises deployment requirements and options for ABB Ability™ BuildingPro Suites
This guide describes the system requirements, architecture, network configuration, hosting models, deployment options, and backup strategy for ABB Ability™ BuildingPro Suites cloud and on-premises installations.
System Requirements
The following requirements apply to a BuildingPro Suites installation:
Processor
8 CPUs
16 CPUs
Additional capacity may be required for larger installations.
RAM
32 GB
64 GB
Additional memory may be required for data-intensive workloads.
Storage
1 TB SSD
Based on the expected data volume
Storage is used primarily for trending data.
Operating system
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Use a supported and maintained Ubuntu installation.
An internet connection specified by the integrator is required for installation and maintenance. Some functions also require a permanent internet connection during operation.
Certificates and Encryption
Self-signed certificates are considered insecure and are marked as such by browsers. They can also prevent devices from some manufacturers from accessing BuildingPro Suites. Use certificates issued by a recognized certificate authority, such as Let's Encrypt, SwissSign, or VeriSign.
Ports
The following ports must be accessible when the platform is reached from outside the hosting environment:
22
Deployment of BuildingPro Suites and automatic updates.
443
Encrypted browser and app access to BuildingPro Suites.
8883
Encrypted MQTT access to BuildingPro Suites.
9092
Encrypted Kafka access to BuildingPro Suites.
Ports 8883 and 9092 must be opened when Kubernetes is used. Some external load balancers only permit ports in the range 30000–32000. In that case, port forwarding is required. Within the Kubernetes cluster, MQTT uses port 31833 and MQTTS uses port 31888.
Hosting
BuildingPro Suites is available through ABB Cloud in Germany or as a virtual machine image.
ABB Cloud
Hosted service in Germany.
Virtual machine image
Customer-managed virtual machine.
ABB Cloud is hosted in Germany. Customer installations use a dedicated virtual machine.
AI Features in On-Premises Installations
Not all AI features are available in on-premises installations. Some features use Microsoft Azure AI models and require an internet connection.
Some models can run locally but need substantial compute resources. Larger models may require dedicated GPU capacity and are not suitable for every on-premises environment.
Managed Service
For stable and reliable long-term operation, a managed service is strongly recommended. It includes regular database maintenance and monitoring of relevant system logs, helping maintain a consistent and high-performing system environment.
Deployment Options
1. ABB Cloud
Access to ABB Cloud is included in the subscription price and provided as part of the service package. The service is hosted in Germany. A Deployment Package is required for the initial setup. Refer to the applicable price list for details.
2. Virtual Machine Image
BuildingPro Suites is delivered as a virtual machine with a preconfigured installation image. A Deployment Package is required for the initial deployment in the target environment. Additional integration work in the customer's data center is billed according to the actual time and materials required.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
The backup strategy follows a modular approach that treats different data types separately. This improves availability, shortens recovery times, and minimizes data loss.
Separation of Concerns
Schema
Database structure required for the platform to function.
Infrequent
Configuration
Users, tenants, rules, and other operational settings.
Moderate
Measurement data
Continuously growing time-series and trending data.
Continuous
Each category uses a backup method and frequency appropriate to its importance, size, and rate of change.
Recovery Time Objective
The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) defines how quickly a system or data category should be restored:
Schema
Recovery within seconds, for example after a failed update.
Configuration
Recovery within minutes after a misconfiguration or deletion.
Measurement data
Staged recovery over a longer period because of the larger data volume.
Recovery Point Objective
The Recovery Point Objective (RPO) defines the maximum acceptable period of data loss:
Schema
Weekly, because changes are infrequent.
Configuration
Daily, to preserve current operational settings.
Measurement data
Every six hours, limiting potential data loss to a few hours.
Benefits
This strategy reduces backup duration and storage requirements. It enables targeted restores without unnecessarily overwriting unaffected data and reduces downtime. Clear recovery paths support incidents ranging from individual configuration errors to complete database loss.
An individual backup and disaster recovery strategy, including one tailored to an on-premises installation, is defined and implemented through a separate service-level agreement (SLA).
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