There is no single correct server specification. Size the file platform and the browser-based document editor as separate workloads, then add their CPU, memory, network and temporary-disk requirements if they share a machine. The decisive inputs are concurrent people with documents open, document complexity, enabled apps, file-library growth, backup retention and the performance you need during maintenance.
Start with concurrent activity, not account totals
A self-hosted office suite normally has at least two services: a durable file platform and an online editor. The file platform stores accounts, permissions, files, versions and metadata. The editor opens documents in temporary working areas and streams changes to users. They can run on one host for a small installation or on separate hosts as demand grows.
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Workload questions to answer before buying hardware
- How many viewers and editors might be active during the busiest hour?
- Are documents mostly text files, or do they include large spreadsheets, complex formulas, charts, images and macros?
- How large is the current library, and how fast will it grow over one, three or five years?
- Which platform apps will run alongside files and editing, such as search, previews, calendars, chat or antivirus scanning?
- Must the service remain responsive while backups, antivirus scans, indexing or upgrades run?
- What recovery point and recovery time do you need if the host or its disks fail?
Those answers matter more than a headline such as “one server for 100 users.” Vendor tables are reference configurations, not guarantees for an unspecified document mix.
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Requirements for the file platform
For a current Nextcloud Server deployment, begin with a 64-bit CPU, operating system and PHP. The stable Server 35 manual supports Apache 2.4 or nginx with PHP-FPM and lists MySQL, MariaDB and PostgreSQL among the current database choices. SQLite is intended for testing and very small instances, not a normal multi-user production installation. These support lists change, so verify the live manual for the exact server release you plan to install.
Memory guidance
Nextcloud’s home-user guidance recommends 512 MB RAM for the most basic single-user setup and 3–8 GB for a full Nextcloud Hub installation with multiple users. The administration manual also specifies a minimum of 128 MB per process and recommends 512 MB per process. A process figure is not a whole-machine specification: the operating system, database, PHP workers, web server, caches, background jobs and editor all need memory too.
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CPU, database and web-server layout
A modern 64-bit processor is the safe baseline. CPU demand comes from PHP requests, database queries, previews, full-text indexing, encryption, background jobs and the online editor if it is colocated. Use a supported database server rather than SQLite for a multi-user service, and place the database on fast storage. Separate database and editor services when one workload regularly delays the other; this is an architectural choice, not a Nextcloud-mandated topology.
Online editor sizing
The editor has its own resource profile. The two sets of vendor guidance below use different models and should not be treated as a benchmark comparison.
Collabora Online guidance
Collabora’s technical document dated 2026-08-11 gives conservative rules of thumb of:
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- 15 concurrent users per CPU thread.
- 10 concurrent users per Mbit/s of network throughput.
- 1 GB RAM per server plus 50 MB per concurrent user.
- Temporary
/tmpcapacity of roughly four times the required RAM per machine.
Its calculation distinguishes viewers from editors: each viewer counts as one tenth of an editor for the estimate, then the weighted viewers and editors are added together. These are planning rules, not a promise that any arbitrary document will perform at that rate.
Illustrative Collabora calculation
Suppose a peak consists of 20 editors and 30 viewers. The weighted load is 20 + (30 × 0.1) = 23 concurrent-user units. The rule of thumb implies about two CPU threads (23 ÷ 15, rounded up), approximately 2.15 GB for the editor process (1 GB + 23 × 50 MB), and roughly 2.3 Mbit/s of editor traffic (23 ÷ 10). Round up for burstiness and reserve separate resources for the file platform, database and operating system. This arithmetic is an illustration of the published model, not a capacity test.
Collabora temporary and jail storage
Collabora describes scratch and jail storage separately from durable user files. With the required bind mounts or hard links, less than 100 GB of fast local storage per system may be enough for jail data in some environments. If the system must copy images instead, the guide describes consumption of about 1 GB per concurrent document and advises avoiding that configuration. It says a normally configured system should function with 500 GB; that statement concerns application operation, not the size of your document library or backups.
ONLYOFFICE Docs Enterprise Edition for Linux
The current Linux requirements page lists a basic minimum of one 2 GHz CPU core, 2 GB RAM, 40 GB free disk and 4 GB swap. Its reference configurations are:
| Concurrent active users | CPU reference | RAM | Free disk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 100 | One 2.8 GHz or better core | 4 GB | 40 GB |
| 100–200 | Dual core | 4 GB | 80 GB |
| 200–400 | Quad core | 4 GB | 160 GB |
ONLYOFFICE explicitly says actual supported counts depend on the number, type and size of documents. The table is therefore a starting point for the editor service, not the complete specification for a Nextcloud-plus-editor host. A separate Nextcloud installation article gives a short rule of one core and 2 GB RAM per 100 concurrent connections; use it only in its stated context and do not substitute it for the detailed editor table.
Plan storage in separate buckets
Do not confuse the disk listed by an editor vendor with the space required for your files. Plan at least three independent buckets.
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- Purpose built for NAS enclosures, IronWolf delivers less wear and tear, little to no noise/vibration, no lags or down time, increased file-sharing performance, and much more
- Easily monitor the health of drives using the integrated IronWolf Health Management system and enjoy long-term reliability with 1M hours MTBF
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1. Persistent document data
This is the file library users create and upload. Include the current dataset, expected growth and retained versions. Collabora’s architecture keeps long-term document data in the connected data layer, accessed through mechanisms such as WOPI or WebDAV; the editor’s jail and scratch directories are not a replacement for that storage.
2. Editor runtime and scratch space
Reserve local, fast space for temporary files, document jails, logs and swap according to the editor’s guidance. For Collabora, start with the four-times-RAM temporary-space rule and confirm whether your mount and hard-link configuration avoids copied system images. For ONLYOFFICE, retain at least the stated free-disk and swap minimums, then add operating-system, database and log headroom.
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A restorable service needs more than a second copy of the documents. Back up the file data, database, configuration, encryption keys and any required certificates. The official guidance does not prescribe a universal backup percentage or retention period. Calculate space from your recovery-point objective, retention schedule and number of backup generations. Test restoring a representative file and the database rather than assuming that a completed copy is usable.
A practical capacity formula
Use this planning equation:
Required persistent capacity = current files + growth during the planning period + retained versions + backup generations + recovery overhead.
Measure the current library instead of guessing an average file size. Then choose a growth horizon, such as three years, and document how versioning and deleted-file retention affect it. Keep the resulting number separate from editor scratch capacity and from the free space needed to rebuild the host.
Can a NAS run the office suite?
Nextcloud states that it can run on a Linux server or NAS, so a NAS is a supported deployment option for a home or small-office file platform. A NAS hard drive can therefore be part of the storage plan, but its capacity and redundancy cannot be selected responsibly without your library size, growth rate, backup design and availability target.
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Single NAS or general-purpose Linux host
A small personal installation may consolidate storage, database, file platform and editor on one capable NAS or Linux machine. This reduces administration and hardware count, but a CPU or disk bottleneck affects every service at once. Ensure the NAS supports the required 64-bit operating system, PHP, database and container or virtual-machine method before committing.
Separate editor and storage
As concurrent editing grows, placing the editor on a compute-oriented host and keeping bulk files on separate storage makes resource allocation and maintenance easier. The editor still needs reliable, low-latency access to the file platform, and both systems need independent backups. Separation is an architectural inference for clearer scaling, not a universal requirement from the vendors.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Network and performance planning
Bandwidth is part of editor capacity. Collabora’s rough planning ratio is 10 concurrent users per Mbit/s, but real traffic varies with document type, autosave behavior, images and simultaneous activity. Treat the ratio as a baseline for the editor path, then monitor throughput and latency under a peak workload. A fast local disk cannot compensate for a saturated uplink or high-latency connection.
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Three sizing examples
Personal or two-person installation
Use a 64-bit Linux or supported NAS platform, a supported database, SSD or otherwise responsive storage, and enough RAM for the operating system plus the file platform. Nextcloud’s 512 MB figure is for its most basic single-user setup; a practical machine needs additional memory for the database, web stack, caches, backups and an editor. Keep persistent files, editor scratch space and backup copies in separate capacity calculations.
Small office with occasional peaks
Count the busiest simultaneous sessions rather than all employees. Apply the editor’s own formula or reference table, then add the file platform’s memory and CPU needs. Leave headroom for previews, search, versioning and backups. If a single host begins swapping or editor response degrades during maintenance, move the editor or database to a separate host before simply adding disk.
Hundreds of active sessions
Use the vendor reference ranges only as an initial architecture. For example, ONLYOFFICE lists 100–200 active users with a dual-core reference, 4 GB RAM and 80 GB free disk, and 200–400 with a quad-core reference, 4 GB RAM and 160 GB free disk. Those figures apply to the editor reference configuration; they do not include your file library, database, backup repository or a performance guarantee for complex documents. At this scale, measure a representative workload and design for service separation and failure recovery.
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Deployment checklist
- Record peak concurrent viewers and editors, document types and largest files.
- Measure the current file library and define a growth horizon and version-retention policy.
- Choose a 64-bit operating system, supported web server, PHP version and database for the file platform.
- Select the editor and apply its specific CPU, RAM, network, scratch and free-disk guidance.
- Add operating-system, database, cache, logging and maintenance headroom; do not total only the vendor minimums.
- Design persistent storage, editor temporary storage and backup storage as separate buckets.
- Configure monitoring for active sessions, memory pressure, CPU saturation, disk latency and network throughput.
- Run a peak test with realistic documents and a backup or indexing job active.
- Test restoration of files, database, configuration and keys before declaring the installation ready.
- Recheck support matrices and sizing guidance before upgrades; the cited Nextcloud manual, editor requirements and support lists are version-sensitive.
Common sizing mistakes and fixes
- Using account count as capacity: replace registered users with simultaneous open documents and distinguish viewers from editors.
- Calling editor disk “storage capacity”: reserve separate space for the persistent library, versions and backups.
- Installing SQLite for a normal multi-user service: use a supported production database; SQLite is for testing and minimal instances.
- Allocating the exact minimum RAM: add headroom for the operating system, database, caches, background jobs and the other service.
- Ignoring copied jail images: configure the required mounts or hard links where supported, or budget for the approximately 1 GB per concurrent document behavior described by Collabora.
- Assuming vendor tables are benchmarks: validate with your document sizes, formulas, images and peak concurrency.
- Backing up only the file directory: include the database, configuration, keys and certificates, then perform a restore test.
- Letting maintenance compete with users: schedule backups and indexing off-peak or separate compute-heavy services as load increases.
The Bottom Line
Build from concurrent document sessions and document complexity, not account totals. Reserve separate resources for the file platform, editor runtime and persistent storage, then add versioning and tested backups. Vendor figures are useful starting points, but a realistic peak test is what turns them into a dependable self-hosted specification.
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