I was creating a new datastore on a local drive. This is actually 3 physical disks (100 GB SSD). I used HP local RAID controller to create 1 logical drive. Apparently, that did not destroy the existing file system within each disk, as it was detected by ESXi.
So it asked me if I want to just use the free space, or took existing partitions. I chose all available partitions as shown below.
Pre-requisite:
- The SRM database is created. Recommend that it is a separate VM so it’s easier to patch, upgrade, etc.
- The SQL DSN is created on the SRM server.
- The Windows VM are already registered to domain.
- You have created an ID. Suggest you call it VMware SRM so you know it’s from SRM.
- You have an email address of the SRM admin.
- The vCenter are already linked-mode. This is not mandatory, but it makes life easier.
Launch the installer.
You can specify other directory or drive. I’d recommend putting apps on the D:\ drive.
Provide an ID to access vCenter. This is not the same ID used to trigger the DR, although it might be a good idea so we don’t have too many ID.
Name the site. Notice it has to be unique.
Select the DSN that you hav pre-configured earlier.
Notice it has to be native client. Download the native client from microsoft. Just google it J
Here is the sample setup
This is the last screen, prior to installation.
In my case, it took a few minutes only.
And this is what you get.
Once installed, close the VM (logoff). SRM is headless and you manage via admin client.
Do the same thing for the DR site.
Exit the vCenter client if it’s on. Launch it again, and connect to the vCenter. You will see the plug-in already registered. Install it.
That’s it. The next step is configuration, which is where the real fun begin.
I used host profile to help create consistent host configuration. Below is an example of what changes done on a new host.
Please note that the host has to be on maintenance mode. That means any VMs must be shutdown.
