Merge branch 'gy-testing-network-ra-docs' into 'master'

Add expanded req, testing and cost notes to Reference Architecture docs See merge request gitlab-org/gitlab!76748

Merge branch 'gy-testing-network-ra-docs' into 'master'
Add expanded req, testing and cost notes to Reference Architecture docs See merge request gitlab-org/gitlab!76748
ffe18959 · Achilleas Pipinellis · b2820d25 · 15a6bb5e · ffe18959 · ffe18959
Commit ffe18959 authored Dec 15, 2021 by Achilleas Pipinellis
8 changed files
--- a/doc/administration/reference_architectures/10k_users.md
+++ b/doc/administration/reference_architectures/10k_users.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ full list of reference architectures, see

 > - **Supported users (approximate):** 10,000
 > - **High Availability:** Yes ([Praefect](#configure-praefect-postgresql) needs a third-party PostgreSQL solution for HA)
+> - **Estimated Costs:** [GCP](https://cloud.google.com/products/calculator#id=e77713f6-dc0b-4bb3-bcef-cea904ac8efd)
 > - **Cloud Native Hybrid Alternative:** [Yes](#cloud-native-hybrid-reference-architecture-with-helm-charts-alternative)
 > - **Performance tested daily with the [GitLab Performance Tool](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance)**:
 >   - **Test requests per second (RPS) rates:** API: 200 RPS, Web: 20 RPS, Git (Pull): 20 RPS, Git (Push): 4 RPS
@@ -133,21 +134,34 @@ monitor .[#7FFFD4,norank]u--> elb
 @enduml
 ```

-The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) architectures were built and tested using the
+## Requirements
+
+Before starting, you should take note of the following requirements / guidance for this reference architecture.
+
+### Supported CPUs
+
+This reference architecture was built and tested on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using the
 [Intel Xeon E5 v3 (Haswell)](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/cpu-platforms)
 CPU platform. On different hardware you may find that adjustments, either lower
 or higher, are required for your CPU or node counts. For more information, see
 our [Sysbench](https://github.com/akopytov/sysbench)-based
 [CPU benchmarks](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Reference-Architectures/GCP-CPU-Benchmarks).

-Due to better performance and availability, for data objects (such as LFS,
-uploads, or artifacts), using an [object storage service](#configure-the-object-storage)
-is recommended.
+### Supported infrastructure
+
+As a general guidance, GitLab should run on most infrastructure such as reputable Cloud Providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) and their services, or self managed (ESXi) that meet both the specs detailed above, as well as any requirements in this section. However, this does not constitute a guarantee for every potential permutation.
+
+Be aware of the following specific call outs:
+
+- [Azure Database for PostgreSQL](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/#:~:text=Azure%20Database%20for%20PostgreSQL%20is,high%20availability%2C%20and%20dynamic%20scalability.) is [not recommended](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/reference-architectures/-/issues/61) due to known performance issues or missing features.
+- [Azure Blob Storage](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/) is recommended to be configured with [Premium accounts](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-block-blob-premium) to ensure consistent performance.
+
+### Praefect PostgreSQL

-It's also worth noting that at this time [Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql) and
+It's worth noting that at this time [Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql) and
 that to achieve full High Availability a third-party PostgreSQL database solution will be required.
 We hope to offer a built in solutions for these restrictions in the future but in the meantime a non HA PostgreSQL server
-can be set up via Omnibus GitLab, which the above specs reflect. Refer to the following issues for more information: [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919) & [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398)
+can be set up via Omnibus GitLab, which the above specs reflect. Refer to the following issues for more information: [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919) & [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398).

 ## Setup components


--- a/doc/administration/reference_architectures/1k_users.md
+++ b/doc/administration/reference_architectures/1k_users.md
@@ -29,13 +29,30 @@ many organizations.
 | Up to 500    | 4 vCPU, 3.6 GB memory   | `n1-highcpu-4` | `c5.xlarge`  | `F4s v2` |
 | Up to 1,000  | 8 vCPU, 7.2 GB memory   | `n1-highcpu-8` | `c5.2xlarge` | `F8s v2` |

-The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) architectures were built and tested using the
+## Requirements
+
+Before starting, you should take note of the following requirements / guidance for this reference architecture.
+
+### Supported CPUs
+
+This reference architecture was built and tested on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using the
 [Intel Xeon E5 v3 (Haswell)](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/cpu-platforms)
 CPU platform. On different hardware you may find that adjustments, either lower
 or higher, are required for your CPU or node counts. For more information, see
 our [Sysbench](https://github.com/akopytov/sysbench)-based
 [CPU benchmarks](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Reference-Architectures/GCP-CPU-Benchmarks).

+### Supported infrastructure
+
+As a general guidance, GitLab should run on most infrastructure such as reputable Cloud Providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) and their services, or self managed (ESXi) that meet both the specs detailed above, as well as any requirements in this section. However, this does not constitute a guarantee for every potential permutation.
+
+Be aware of the following specific call outs:
+
+- [Azure Database for PostgreSQL](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/#:~:text=Azure%20Database%20for%20PostgreSQL%20is,high%20availability%2C%20and%20dynamic%20scalability.) is [not recommended](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/reference-architectures/-/issues/61) due to known performance issues or missing features.
+- [Azure Blob Storage](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/) is recommended to be configured with [Premium accounts](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-block-blob-premium) to ensure consistent performance.
+
+### Swap
+
 In addition to the stated configurations, we recommend having at least 2 GB of
 swap on your server, even if you currently have enough available memory. Having
 swap helps to reduce the chance of errors occurring if your available memory

--- a/doc/administration/reference_architectures/25k_users.md
+++ b/doc/administration/reference_architectures/25k_users.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ full list of reference architectures, see

 > - **Supported users (approximate):** 25,000
 > - **High Availability:** Yes ([Praefect](#configure-praefect-postgresql) needs a third-party PostgreSQL solution for HA)
+> - **Estimated Costs:** [GCP](https://cloud.google.com/products/calculator#id=925386e1-c01c-4c0a-8d7d-ebde1824b7b0)
 > - **Cloud Native Hybrid Alternative:** [Yes](#cloud-native-hybrid-reference-architecture-with-helm-charts-alternative)
 > - **Performance tested weekly with the [GitLab Performance Tool (GPT)](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance)**:
 >   - **Test requests per second (RPS) rates:** API: 500 RPS, Web: 50 RPS, Git (Pull): 50 RPS, Git (Push): 10 RPS
@@ -133,21 +134,34 @@ monitor .[#7FFFD4,norank]u--> elb
 @enduml
 ```

-The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) architectures were built and tested using the
+## Requirements
+
+Before starting, you should take note of the following requirements / guidance for this reference architecture.
+
+### Supported CPUs
+
+This reference architecture was built and tested on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using the
 [Intel Xeon E5 v3 (Haswell)](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/cpu-platforms)
 CPU platform. On different hardware you may find that adjustments, either lower
 or higher, are required for your CPU or node counts. For more information, see
 our [Sysbench](https://github.com/akopytov/sysbench)-based
 [CPU benchmarks](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Reference-Architectures/GCP-CPU-Benchmarks).

-Due to better performance and availability, for data objects (such as LFS,
-uploads, or artifacts), using an [object storage service](#configure-the-object-storage)
-is recommended.
+### Supported infrastructure
+
+As a general guidance, GitLab should run on most infrastructure such as reputable Cloud Providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) and their services, or self managed (ESXi) that meet both the specs detailed above, as well as any requirements in this section. However, this does not constitute a guarantee for every potential permutation.
+
+Be aware of the following specific call outs:
+
+- [Azure Database for PostgreSQL](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/#:~:text=Azure%20Database%20for%20PostgreSQL%20is,high%20availability%2C%20and%20dynamic%20scalability.) is [not recommended](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/reference-architectures/-/issues/61) due to known performance issues or missing features.
+- [Azure Blob Storage](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/) is recommended to be configured with [Premium accounts](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-block-blob-premium) to ensure consistent performance.
+
+### Praefect PostgreSQL

-It's also worth noting that at this time [Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql) and
+It's worth noting that at this time [Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql) and
 that to achieve full High Availability a third-party PostgreSQL database solution will be required.
 We hope to offer a built in solutions for these restrictions in the future but in the meantime a non HA PostgreSQL server
-can be set up via Omnibus GitLab, which the above specs reflect. Refer to the following issues for more information: [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919) & [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398)
+can be set up via Omnibus GitLab, which the above specs reflect. Refer to the following issues for more information: [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919) & [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398).

 ## Setup components


--- a/doc/administration/reference_architectures/2k_users.md
+++ b/doc/administration/reference_architectures/2k_users.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ For a full list of reference architectures, see
 > - **Supported users (approximate):** 2,000
 > - **High Availability:** No. For a highly-available environment, you can
 >   follow a modified [3K reference architecture](3k_users.md#supported-modifications-for-lower-user-counts-ha).
+> - **Estimated Costs:** [GCP](https://cloud.google.com/products/calculator#id=84d11491-d72a-493c-a16e-650931faa658)
 > - **Cloud Native Hybrid:** [Yes](#cloud-native-hybrid-reference-architecture-with-helm-charts-alternative)
 > - **Performance tested daily with the [GitLab Performance Tool (GPT)](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance)**:
 >   - **Test requests per second (RPS) rates:** API: 40 RPS, Web: 4 RPS, Git (Pull): 4 RPS, Git (Push): 1 RPS
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ For a full list of reference architectures, see
 | GitLab Rails                             | 2      | 8 vCPU, 7.2 GB memory   | `n1-highcpu-8`  | `c5.2xlarge` | `F8s v2` |
 | Monitoring node                          | 1      | 2 vCPU, 1.8 GB memory   | `n1-highcpu-2`  | `c5.large`   | `F2s v2` |
 | Object storage<sup>4</sup>               | n/a    | n/a                     | n/a             | n/a          | n/a      |
-| NFS server (optional, not recommended)   | 1      | 4 vCPU, 3.6 GB memory   | `n1-highcpu-4`  | `c5.xlarge`  | `F4s v2` |
+| NFS server (non-Gitaly)   | 1      | 4 vCPU, 3.6 GB memory   | `n1-highcpu-4`  | `c5.xlarge`  | `F4s v2` |

 <!-- markdownlint-disable MD029 -->
 1. Can be optionally run on reputable third-party external PaaS PostgreSQL solutions. [Google Cloud SQL](https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/postgres/high-availability#normal) and [Amazon RDS](https://aws.amazon.com/rds/) are known to work, however Azure Database for PostgreSQL is **not recommended** due to [performance issues](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/reference-architectures/-/issues/61). Consul is primarily used for PostgreSQL high availability so can be ignored when using a PostgreSQL PaaS setup. However it is also used optionally by Prometheus for Omnibus auto host discovery.
@@ -69,17 +70,27 @@ monitor .[#7FFFD4,norank]u--> elb
 @enduml
 ```

-The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) architectures were built and tested using the
+## Requirements
+
+Before starting, you should take note of the following requirements / guidance for this reference architecture.
+
+### Supported CPUs
+
+This reference architecture was built and tested on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using the
 [Intel Xeon E5 v3 (Haswell)](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/cpu-platforms)
 CPU platform. On different hardware you may find that adjustments, either lower
 or higher, are required for your CPU or node counts. For more information, see
 our [Sysbench](https://github.com/akopytov/sysbench)-based
 [CPU benchmarks](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Reference-Architectures/GCP-CPU-Benchmarks).

-Due to better performance and availability, for data objects (such as LFS,
-uploads, or artifacts), using an [object storage service](#configure-the-object-storage)
-is recommended instead of using NFS. Using an object storage service also
-doesn't require you to provision and maintain a node.
+### Supported infrastructure
+
+As a general guidance, GitLab should run on most infrastructure such as reputable Cloud Providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) and their services, or self managed (ESXi) that meet both the specs detailed above, as well as any requirements in this section. However, this does not constitute a guarantee for every potential permutation.
+
+Be aware of the following specific call outs:
+
+- [Azure Database for PostgreSQL](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/#:~:text=Azure%20Database%20for%20PostgreSQL%20is,high%20availability%2C%20and%20dynamic%20scalability.) is [not recommended](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/reference-architectures/-/issues/61) due to known performance issues or missing features.
+- [Azure Blob Storage](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/) is recommended to be configured with [Premium accounts](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-block-blob-premium) to ensure consistent performance.

 ## Setup components


--- a/doc/administration/reference_architectures/3k_users.md
+++ b/doc/administration/reference_architectures/3k_users.md
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ For a full list of reference architectures, see

 > - **Supported users (approximate):** 3,000
 > - **High Availability:** Yes, although [Praefect](#configure-praefect-postgresql) needs a third-party PostgreSQL solution
+> - **Estimated Costs:** [GCP](https://cloud.google.com/products/calculator/#id=ac4838e6-9c40-4a36-ac43-6d1bc1843e08)
 > - **Cloud Native Hybrid Alternative:** [Yes](#cloud-native-hybrid-reference-architecture-with-helm-charts-alternative)
 > - **Performance tested weekly with the [GitLab Performance Tool (GPT)](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance)**:
 >   - **Test requests per second (RPS) rates:** API: 60 RPS, Web: 6 RPS, Git (Pull): 6 RPS, Git (Push): 1 RPS
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ For a full list of reference architectures, see
 | GitLab Rails                               | 3           | 8 vCPU, 7.2 GB memory | `n1-highcpu-8`  | `c5.2xlarge` | `F8s v2` |
 | Monitoring node                            | 1           | 2 vCPU, 1.8 GB memory | `n1-highcpu-2`  | `c5.large`   | `F2s v2` |
 | Object storage<sup>4</sup>                 | n/a         | n/a                   | n/a             | n/a          | n/a      |
-| NFS server (optional, not recommended)     | 1           | 4 vCPU, 3.6 GB memory | `n1-highcpu-4`  | `c5.xlarge`  | `F4s v2` |
+| NFS server (non-Gitaly)     | 1           | 4 vCPU, 3.6 GB memory | `n1-highcpu-4`  | `c5.xlarge`  | `F4s v2` |

 <!-- Disable ordered list rule https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint/blob/main/doc/Rules.md#md029---ordered-list-item-prefix -->
 <!-- markdownlint-disable MD029 -->
@@ -139,27 +140,34 @@ monitor .[#7FFFD4,norank]u--> elb
 @enduml
 ```

-The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) architectures were built and tested using the
+## Requirements
+
+Before starting, you should take note of the following requirements / guidance for this reference architecture.
+
+### Supported CPUs
+
+This reference architecture was built and tested on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using the
 [Intel Xeon E5 v3 (Haswell)](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/cpu-platforms)
 CPU platform. On different hardware you may find that adjustments, either lower
 or higher, are required for your CPU or node counts. For more information, see
 our [Sysbench](https://github.com/akopytov/sysbench)-based
 [CPU benchmarks](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Reference-Architectures/GCP-CPU-Benchmarks).

-Due to better performance and availability, for data objects (such as LFS,
-uploads, or artifacts), using an [object storage service](#configure-the-object-storage)
-is recommended instead of using NFS. Using an object storage service also
-doesn't require you to provision and maintain a node.
+### Supported infrastructure
+
+As a general guidance, GitLab should run on most infrastructure such as reputable Cloud Providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) and their services, or self managed (ESXi) that meet both the specs detailed above, as well as any requirements in this section. However, this does not constitute a guarantee for every potential permutation.
+
+Be aware of the following specific call outs:
+
+- [Azure Database for PostgreSQL](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/#:~:text=Azure%20Database%20for%20PostgreSQL%20is,high%20availability%2C%20and%20dynamic%20scalability.) is [not recommended](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/reference-architectures/-/issues/61) due to known performance issues or missing features.
+- [Azure Blob Storage](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/) is recommended to be configured with [Premium accounts](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-block-blob-premium) to ensure consistent performance.

-[Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql),
-and a third-party PostgreSQL database solution is required to achieve full
-high availability. Although we hope to offer a built-in solution for these
-restrictions in the future, you can set up a non-HA PostgreSQL server by using
-Omnibus GitLab (which the previous specifications reflect). Refer to the
-following issues for more information:
+### Praefect PostgreSQL

- [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919)
- [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398)
+It's worth noting that at this time [Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql) and
+that to achieve full High Availability a third-party PostgreSQL database solution will be required.
+We hope to offer a built in solutions for these restrictions in the future but in the meantime a non HA PostgreSQL server
+can be set up via Omnibus GitLab, which the above specs reflect. Refer to the following issues for more information: [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919) & [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398).

 ## Setup components


--- a/doc/administration/reference_architectures/50k_users.md
+++ b/doc/administration/reference_architectures/50k_users.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ full list of reference architectures, see

 > - **Supported users (approximate):** 50,000
 > - **High Availability:** Yes ([Praefect](#configure-praefect-postgresql) needs a third-party PostgreSQL solution for HA)
+> - **Estimated Costs:** [GCP](https://cloud.google.com/products/calculator/#id=8006396b-88ee-40cd-a1c8-77cdefa4d3c8)
 > - **Cloud Native Hybrid Alternative:** [Yes](#cloud-native-hybrid-reference-architecture-with-helm-charts-alternative)
 > - **Performance tested weekly with the [GitLab Performance Tool (GPT)](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance)**:
 >   - **Test requests per second (RPS) rates:** API: 1000 RPS, Web: 100 RPS, Git (Pull): 100 RPS, Git (Push): 20 RPS
@@ -133,21 +134,34 @@ monitor .[#7FFFD4,norank]u--> elb
 @enduml
 ```

-The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) architectures were built and tested using the
+## Requirements
+
+Before starting, you should take note of the following requirements / guidance for this reference architecture.
+
+### Supported CPUs
+
+This reference architecture was built and tested on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using the
 [Intel Xeon E5 v3 (Haswell)](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/cpu-platforms)
 CPU platform. On different hardware you may find that adjustments, either lower
 or higher, are required for your CPU or node counts. For more information, see
 our [Sysbench](https://github.com/akopytov/sysbench)-based
 [CPU benchmarks](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Reference-Architectures/GCP-CPU-Benchmarks).

-Due to better performance and availability, for data objects (such as LFS,
-uploads, or artifacts), using an [object storage service](#configure-the-object-storage)
-is recommended.
+### Supported infrastructure
+
+As a general guidance, GitLab should run on most infrastructure such as reputable Cloud Providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) and their services, or self managed (ESXi) that meet both the specs detailed above, as well as any requirements in this section. However, this does not constitute a guarantee for every potential permutation.
+
+Be aware of the following specific call outs:
+
+- [Azure Database for PostgreSQL](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/#:~:text=Azure%20Database%20for%20PostgreSQL%20is,high%20availability%2C%20and%20dynamic%20scalability.) is [not recommended](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/reference-architectures/-/issues/61) due to known performance issues or missing features.
+- [Azure Blob Storage](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/) is recommended to be configured with [Premium accounts](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-block-blob-premium) to ensure consistent performance.
+
+### Praefect PostgreSQL

-It's also worth noting that at this time [Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql) and
+It's worth noting that at this time [Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql) and
 that to achieve full High Availability a third-party PostgreSQL database solution will be required.
 We hope to offer a built in solutions for these restrictions in the future but in the meantime a non HA PostgreSQL server
-can be set up via Omnibus GitLab, which the above specs reflect. Refer to the following issues for more information: [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919) & [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398)
+can be set up via Omnibus GitLab, which the above specs reflect. Refer to the following issues for more information: [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919) & [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398).

 ## Setup components


--- a/doc/administration/reference_architectures/5k_users.md
+++ b/doc/administration/reference_architectures/5k_users.md
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ costly-to-operate environment by using the

 > - **Supported users (approximate):** 5,000
 > - **High Availability:** Yes ([Praefect](#configure-praefect-postgresql) needs a third-party PostgreSQL solution for HA)
+> - **Estimated Costs:** [GCP](https://cloud.google.com/products/calculator/#id=8742e8ea-c08f-4e0a-b058-02f3a1c38a2f)
 > - **Cloud Native Hybrid Alternative:** [Yes](#cloud-native-hybrid-reference-architecture-with-helm-charts-alternative)
 > - **Performance tested weekly with the [GitLab Performance Tool (GPT)](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance)**:
 >   - **Test requests per second (RPS) rates:** API: 100 RPS, Web: 10 RPS, Git (Pull): 10 RPS, Git (Push): 2 RPS
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ costly-to-operate environment by using the
 | GitLab Rails                               | 3           | 16 vCPU, 14.4 GB memory | `n1-highcpu-16` | `c5.4xlarge` | `F16s v2`|
 | Monitoring node                            | 1           | 2 vCPU, 1.8 GB memory   | `n1-highcpu-2`  | `c5.large`   | `F2s v2` |
 | Object storage<sup>4</sup>                 | n/a         | n/a                     | n/a             | n/a          | n/a      |
-| NFS server (optional, not recommended)     | 1           | 4 vCPU, 3.6 GB memory   | `n1-highcpu-4`  | `c5.xlarge`  | `F4s v2` |
+| NFS server (non-Gitaly)     | 1           | 4 vCPU, 3.6 GB memory   | `n1-highcpu-4`  | `c5.xlarge`  | `F4s v2` |

 <!-- Disable ordered list rule https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint/blob/main/doc/Rules.md#md029---ordered-list-item-prefix -->
 <!-- markdownlint-disable MD029 -->
@@ -136,22 +137,34 @@ monitor .[#7FFFD4,norank]u--> elb
 @enduml
 ```

-The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) architectures were built and tested using the
+## Requirements
+
+Before starting, you should take note of the following requirements / guidance for this reference architecture.
+
+### Supported CPUs
+
+This reference architecture was built and tested on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using the
 [Intel Xeon E5 v3 (Haswell)](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/cpu-platforms)
 CPU platform. On different hardware you may find that adjustments, either lower
 or higher, are required for your CPU or node counts. For more information, see
 our [Sysbench](https://github.com/akopytov/sysbench)-based
 [CPU benchmarks](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Reference-Architectures/GCP-CPU-Benchmarks).

-Due to better performance and availability, for data objects (such as LFS,
-uploads, or artifacts), using an [object storage service](#configure-the-object-storage)
-is recommended instead of using NFS. Using an object storage service also
-doesn't require you to provision and maintain a node.
+### Supported infrastructure
+
+As a general guidance, GitLab should run on most infrastructure such as reputable Cloud Providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) and their services, or self managed (ESXi) that meet both the specs detailed above, as well as any requirements in this section. However, this does not constitute a guarantee for every potential permutation.
+
+Be aware of the following specific call outs:
+
+- [Azure Database for PostgreSQL](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/#:~:text=Azure%20Database%20for%20PostgreSQL%20is,high%20availability%2C%20and%20dynamic%20scalability.) is [not recommended](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/reference-architectures/-/issues/61) due to known performance issues or missing features.
+- [Azure Blob Storage](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/) is recommended to be configured with [Premium accounts](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-block-blob-premium) to ensure consistent performance.
+
+### Praefect PostgreSQL

-It's also worth noting that at this time [Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql) and
+It's worth noting that at this time [Praefect requires its own database server](../gitaly/praefect.md#postgresql) and
 that to achieve full High Availability a third-party PostgreSQL database solution will be required.
 We hope to offer a built in solutions for these restrictions in the future but in the meantime a non HA PostgreSQL server
-can be set up via Omnibus GitLab, which the above specs reflect. Refer to the following issues for more information: [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919) & [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398)
+can be set up via Omnibus GitLab, which the above specs reflect. Refer to the following issues for more information: [`omnibus-gitlab#5919`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/5919) & [`gitaly#3398`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/3398).

 ## Setup components


--- a/doc/administration/reference_architectures/index.md
+++ b/doc/administration/reference_architectures/index.md
@@ -191,3 +191,32 @@ The reference architectures for user counts [3,000](3k_users.md) and up support
 In the specific case you have the requirement to achieve HA but have a lower user count, select modifications to the [3,000 user](3k_users.md) architecture are supported.

 For more details, [refer to this section in the architecture's documentation](3k_users.md#supported-modifications-for-lower-user-counts-ha).
+
+## Testing process and results
+
+The [Quality Engineering - Enablement team](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/quality/quality-engineering/) does regular smoke and performance tests for the reference architectures to ensure they remain compliant.
+
+In this section, we detail some of the process as well as the results.
+
+Note the following about the testing process:
+
+- Testing occurs against all main reference architectures and cloud providers in an automated and ad-hoc fashion.
+  This is achieved through two tools built by the team:
+  - The [GitLab Environment Toolkit](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/gitlab-environment-toolkit) for building the environments.
+  - The [GitLab Performance Tool](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance) for performance testing.
+- Network latency on the test environments between components on all Cloud Providers were measured at <5ms. Note that this is shared as an observation and not as an implicit recommendation.
+- We aim to have a "test smart" approach where architectures tested have a good range that can also apply to others. Testing focuses on 10k Omnibus on GCP as the testing has shown this is a good bellwether for the other architectures and cloud providers as well as Cloud Native Hybrids.
+- Testing is done publicly and all results are shared.
+
+Τhe following table details the testing done against the reference architectures along with the frequency and results.
+Testing is continuously evaluated and iterated on, so the table is constantly updated.
+
+| Reference architecture size | GCP                                                                                                 | AWS | Azure |
+|-----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|-------|
+| 1k                          | [Omnibus - Daily](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Benchmarks/Latest/1k)   | -   | -     |
+| 2k                          | [Omnibus - Daily](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Benchmarks/Latest/2k)   | -   | -     |
+| 3k                          | [Omnibus - Weekly](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Benchmarks/Latest/3k)  | -   | -     |
+| 5k                          | [Omnibus - Weekly](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Benchmarks/Latest/5k)  | -   | -     |
+| 10k                         | [Omnibus - Daily](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Benchmarks/Latest/10k) <br/> [Omnibus (inc Cloud Services) - Ad-Hoc](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Past-Results/10k) <br/> [Cloud Native Hybrid - Ad-Hoc](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Past-Results/10k-Cloud-Native-Hybrid) | [Omnibus (inc Cloud Services) - Ad-Hoc](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Past-Results/10k) | [Omnibus - Ad-Hoc](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Past-Results/10k) |
+| 25k                         | [Omnibus - Weekly](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Benchmarks/Latest/25k) | -   | [Omnibus - Ad-Hoc](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Past-Results/25k) |
+| 50k                         | [Omnibus - Weekly](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Benchmarks/Latest/50k) | [Omnibus (inc Cloud Services) - Ad-Hoc](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/performance/-/wikis/Past-Results/50k) | - |