> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.macstadium.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Prerequisites
> Hardware, account, software, and capacity planning requirements to review before deploying MacStadium VDI in self-hosted or MSDC-hosted environments.
Confirm everything on this page is in place before you start deploying MacStadium VDI. Items that vary by deployment model are called out in each section.
## Mac hosts
Apple's software license agreement limits each host to two concurrent macOS VMs. Plan your host count accordingly: divide your peak concurrent user count by two and round up.
### Hardware specifications
MacStadium VDI supports any Apple silicon Mac meeting the following requirements. Intel-based Macs are not supported.
| Specification | Minimum | Recommended |
| ------------- | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Processor | Apple silicon (any M-series) | M2 Pro, M4 Pro, or higher |
| RAM | 8 GB | 32 GB |
| Storage | 256 GB | 1 TB+ |
| Ethernet | 1 GbE | 10 GbE |
| macOS | 13 (Ventura) or later | 14 (Sonoma), 15 (Sequoia), or 26 (Tahoe) |
MacStadium provisions and manages the Mac hardware. Contact your MacStadium account team to confirm host availability and reserve capacity before you begin setup.
You provide Mac mini or Mac Studio hardware meeting the host specifications listed in this section. Hosts must have SSH access enabled and be reachable from your control plane machine over the network.
You provision EC2 Mac dedicated instances in your AWS account. Supported instance types: mac2, mac2-m2, and mac2-m2pro. A 24-hour minimum allocation period applies per host. Hosts must be in a VPC subnet that can reach your control plane.
## Control plane
The control plane runs on a dedicated machine separate from your Mac hosts. It hosts Docker (for the management UI) and acts as the Ansible control node.
| Requirement | Minimum |
| ---------------- | --------------------------- |
| Operating system | macOS or Linux |
| CPU | 2 vCPUs |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Disk | 20 GB |
| Network | SSH access to all Mac hosts |
## Software
Install the following on the control plane machine before setup:
| Software | Purpose |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) and Docker Compose | Runs the management UI |
| [Ansible](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/installation_guide/) | Runs orchestration playbooks |
| [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) | Python package manager used by the orchestration layer |
| Python 3.x | Required by Ansible and the orchestration layer |
| `sshpass` | Required for Ansible playbooks that SSH into VMs via the host as a jump proxy |
## Accounts and licenses
| Item | Notes |
| --------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| MacStadium account | Required for all deployments |
| Orka Engine license key | Provided by MacStadium at onboarding |
| VDI broker subscription | Any platform that supports macOS VDI, such as Citrix DaaS or HP Anyware |
| AWS account with EC2 Mac capacity | Self-Hosted (AWS) only |
## VDI broker
Before setup, confirm you have:
* An active VDI broker subscription and Delivery Controller configured
* The VDA installer for macOS (for Citrix DaaS, a `.dmg` file; MacStadium recommends hosting it in S3 with a presigned URL)
* An enrollment token for registering VMs with your Delivery Controller
## Identity provider
MacStadium VDI uses your VDI broker's identity integration. You need one of the following:
* Active Directory (on-premises or Microsoft Entra ID)
* Okta
* Any SAML 2.0-compatible provider your VDI broker supports
No MacStadium-specific identity configuration is required.
## MDM (optional, recommended for production)
Supported MDM platforms: Jamf, Kandji, and Intune. MDM is not required to run VMs, but it's the recommended way to manage configuration profiles, compliance reporting, and app deployment in production.
If you plan to use MDM, have your MDM server URL and an enrollment invitation ready before you seal your golden image. See [MDM enrollment](/remote-desktop-vdi/configuration/mdm-enrollment) for a full walkthrough.
## Capacity planning
Use the following to size your deployment before onboarding.
### Host count
Each host runs a maximum of two macOS VMs. Divide your peak concurrent user count by 2 and round up, then add 10 to 15 percent for maintenance windows, rolling updates, and peak headroom.
| Concurrent users | Hosts needed |
| ---------------- | ------------ |
| 10 | 5 |
| 25 | 13 |
| 50 | 25 |
| 100 | 50 |
For **dedicated (persistent) desktops**, size for your total user count rather than peak concurrency: each user holds a VM whether they're logged in or not. For **pooled (non-persistent) desktops**, size for peak concurrency, typically 60 to 80 percent of total users.
### VM resource defaults
| Resource | Default |
| ---------------- | -------------- |
| vCPUs per VM | 2 |
| RAM per VM | 4,096 MB |
| Max VMs per host | 2 (Apple EULA) |
### RAM guidance by workload
| Workload type | RAM per VM | Recommended host RAM |
| ------------------------------- | ---------- | -------------------- |
| Standard office / browser-based | 4 GB | 16 GB |
| Developer / Xcode / compilation | 8 GB | 32 GB |
| Heavy creative / ML inference | 8 to 16 GB | 64 GB+ (Mac Studio) |
Start conservative. MacStadium hosted deployments can add nodes without re-architecting. It's easier to add hosts than to right-size VM RAM after users are in production.