Configuration server requirements for VMware disaster recovery to Azure

Note

The information in this article applies to Azure Site Recovery Classic releases. In Modernized, for replication of VMs, you need to create and use Azure site Recovery replication appliance. For detailed information about the requirements of replication appliance and how to deploy, see this article.

You deploy an on-premises configuration server when you use Azure Site Recovery for disaster recovery of VMware VMs and physical servers to Azure.

• The configuration server coordinates communications between on-premises VMware and Azure. It also manages data replication.
• Learn more about the configuration server components and processes.

Configuration server deployment

For disaster recovery of VMware VMs to Azure, you deploy the configuration server as a VMware VM.

• Site Recovery provides an OVA template that you download from the Azure portal, and import into vCenter Server to set up the configuration server VM.
• When you deploy the configuration server using the OVA template, the VM automatically complies with the requirements listed in this article.
• We strongly recommend that you set up the configuration server using the OVA template. However, if you're setting up disaster recovery for VMware VMs and can't use the OVA template, you can deploy the configuration server using these instructions provided.
• If you're deploying the configuration server for disaster recovery of on-premises physical machines to Azure, follow the instructions in this article.

Configuration and process server requirements

Hardware requirements

Component	Requirement
CPU cores	8
RAM	16 GB
Number of disks	3, including the OS disk, process server cache disk, and retention drive for failback
Free disk space (process server cache)	600 GB
Free disk space (retention disk)	600 GB

Software requirements

Component	Requirement
Operating system	Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Server 2016
Operating system locale	English (en-*)
Windows Server roles	Don't enable these roles: - Active Directory Domain Services - Internet Information Services - Hyper-V
Group policies	Don't enable these group policies: - Prevent access to the command prompt. - Prevent access to registry editing tools. - Trust logic for file attachments. - Turn on Script Execution. Learn more
IIS	- No pre-existing default website - No pre-existing website/application listening on port 443 - Enable anonymous authentication - Enable FastCGI setting
FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards)	Do not enable FIPS mode

Network requirements

Component	Requirement
IP address type	Static
Ports	443 (Control channel orchestration) 9443 (Data transport)
NIC type	VMXNET3 (if the configuration server is a VMware VM)
Internet access (the server needs access to the following URLs, directly or via proxy):
*.backup.windowsazure.com	Used for replicated data transfer and coordination
*.blob.core.windows.net	Used to access storage account that stores replicated data. You can provide the specific URL of your cache storage account.
*.hypervrecoverymanager.windowsazure.com	Used for replication management operations and coordination
https://login.microsoftonline.com	Used for replication management operations and coordination
time.nist.gov	Used to check time synchronization between system and global time
time.windows.com	Used to check time synchronization between system and global time
*.management.azure.com https://secure.aadcdn.microsoftonline-p.com https://login.live.com https://graph.windows.net https://login.windows.net *.services.visualstudio.com (Optional) https://www.live.com https://www.microsoft.com	OVF setup needs access to these additional URLs. They're used for access control and identity management by Azure Active Directory.
https://dev.mysql.com/get/Downloads/MySQLInstaller/mysql-installer-community-5.7.20.0.msi	To complete MySQL download. In a few regions, the download might be redirected to the CDN URL. Ensure that the CDN URL is also approved, if necessary.

Note

If you have private links connectivity to Site Recovery vault, you do not need any additional internet access for the Configuration Server. An exception to this is while setting up the CS machine using OVA template, you will need access to following URLs over and above private link access - https://www.live.com and https://www.microsoft.com. If you do not wish to allow access to these URLs, please set up the CS using Unified Installer.

Note

While setting up private endpoints to protect VMware and physical machines, you will need to install MySQL on the configuration server manually. Follow the steps here to perform the manual installation.

Required software

Component	Requirement
VMware vSphere PowerCLI	Not required for versions 9.14 and higher
MYSQL	MySQL should be installed. You can install manually, or Site Recovery can install it. (Refer to configure settings for more information)

Note

Upgrading MySQL on the configuration server is not supported.

Sizing and capacity requirements

The following table summarizes capacity requirements for the configuration server. If you're replicating multiple VMware VMs, review the capacity planning considerations and run the Azure Site Recovery Deployment Planner tool.

CPU	Memory	Cache disk	Data change rate	Replicated machines
8 vCPUs 2 sockets * 4 cores @ 2.5 GHz	16 GB	300 GB	500 GB or less	< 100 machines
12 vCPUs 2 socks * 6 cores @ 2.5 GHz	18 GB	600 GB	500 GB-1 TB	100 to 150 machines
16 vCPUs 2 socks * 8 cores @ 2.5 GHz	32 GB	1 TB	1-2 TB	150 -200 machines

Next steps

Set up disaster recovery of VMware VMs to Azure.