Install Distributed Replay
Applies to: 
SQL Server 2016 (13.x),
SQL Server 2017 (14.x), and
SQL Server 2019 (15.x)
Important
SQL Server Distributed Replay is not available with SQL Server 2022 (16.x).
You can install Distributed Replay in one of three ways:
Install Distributed Replay from the Installation Wizard
Install the MicrosoftSQL Server Distributed Replay features with the SQL Server Installation Wizard. When planning where to install the features, consider the following:
You can install the administration tool on the same computer as the Distributed Replay controller, or on different computers.
There can only be one controller in each Distributed Replay environment.
You can install the client service on up to 16 (physical or virtual) computers.
Only one instance of the client service can be installed on the Distributed Replay controller computer. If your Distributed Replay environment will have more than one client, we don't recommend installing the client service on the same computer as the controller. Doing so may decrease the overall speed of the distributed replay.
For performance testing scenarios, we don't recommend installing the administration tool, Distributed Replay controller service, or client service on the target instance of SQL Server. Installing all of these features on the target server should be limited to functional testing for application compatibility.
After installation, the controller service, SQL Server Distributed Replay controller, must be running before you start the Distributed Replay client service on the clients.
Note
To remove or change the Distributed Replay features, use the Windows Programs and Features window in Control Panel. Select SQL Server in the Uninstall or change a program window, and then select Remove to open the SQL Server Installation Wizard. On the Select Features page, check the Distributed Replay features you want to remove.
Prerequisites:
Make sure that the computers that you want to use meet the requirements that are described in the topic Distributed Replay Requirements.
Before you begin this procedure, you create the domain user accounts that the controller and client services will run under. We recommend that these accounts aren't members of the Windows Administrators group. For more information, see the User and Service Accounts section in the Distributed Replay Security topic.
Note
You can use local user accounts if you are running the administration tool, controller service, and client service on the same computer.
Installation Locations:
Assuming you use the default file locations and a standard installation, the base directory is found at C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server. Within that, following are where the binaries and assemblies are installed to:
On a 32-bit system:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\nnn\Tools
- OR -
<Share Feature Directory>\Tools\(user-supplied alternative shared feature directory)
On a 64-bit system:
C:\Program Files\MicrosoftSQL Server (x86)\130\Tools
- OR -
<Share Feature Directory (x86)>\Tools\(user-supplied alternative shared feature (x86) directory)
To install Distributed Replay features
To start the installation of any of the Distributed Replay features, start the SQL Server Installation Wizard.
The Setup Support Rules page identifies issues that might occur when installing the SQL Server Setup support files. You must correct any Setup support failures before continuing with Setup.
On the Product Key page, select an option button to indicate whether you're installing a free edition of SQL Server, or a production version of the product that has a PID key. For more information, see Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2022.
On the License Terms page, read the license agreement, and then select the check box to accept the license terms and conditions. To help improve SQL Server, you can also enable the feature usage option and send reports to Microsoft.
On the Setup Support Files page, select Install to install or update the Setup Support files for SQL Server.
On the Setup Role page, select SQL Server Feature Installation, and then select Next to continue to the Feature Selection page.
On the Feature Selection page, configure which features you want to install.
To install the administration tool, select Management Tools - Basic.
To install the controller service, select Distributed Replay Controller.
To install the client service, select Distributed Replay Client.
Important
When you configure Distributed Replay controller, you can specify one or more user accounts that will be used to run the Distributed Replay client services. The following is the list of supported accounts:
Domain user account
User created local user account
Administrator
Virtual account and MSA (Managed Service Account)
Network Services, Local Services, and System
Group accounts (local or domain) and other built-in accounts (like Everyone) aren't accepted.
Optionally, select the ellipsis (...) button to change the shared feature directory path.
On 32-bit computers, the default installation path is C:\Program Files\MicrosoftSQL Server\
On 64-bit computers, the default installation path is C:\Program Files (x86)\MicrosoftSQL Server\
When you're finished, select Next.
On the Installation Rules page, SQL Server Setup validates your computer configuration. Once the validation process is completed, select Next.
The Disk Space Requirements page calculates the required disk space for the features that you specify. Then it compares the required space to the available disk space.
On the Error Reporting page, specify the information that you want to send to Microsoft to help improve SQL Server. By default, option for error reporting is enabled.
On the Installation Configuration Rules page, the System Configuration Checker will run one more set of rules to validate your computer configuration with the SQL Server features that you've specified.
On the Ready to Install the Program page, select Install.
Important
After you install Distributed Replay you must create firewall rules on the controller and client computers, and grant each client computer permissions on the target server. For more information, see Complete the Post-Installation Steps.
.NET Framework Security
You must have administrative permissions in order to install any of the Distributed Replay features. Only a SQL Server login having sysadmin permissions can add the client service accounts to the sysadmin server role of the test server. For more information about Distributed Replay security considerations, see Distributed Replay Security.
Install Distributed Replay from the Command Prompt
Installing a new instance of Distributed Replay at the command prompt enables you to specify the features to install and how they should be configured. The command prompt installation supports installing, repairing, upgrading, and uninstalling of the Distributed Replay components. When installing through the command prompt, SQL Server supports full quiet mode by using the /Q parameter.
Note
For local installations, you must run Setup as an administrator. If you install SQL Server from a remote share, you must use a domain account that has read and execute permissions on the remote share.
Installation Parameters
The list of top-level features include SQL Server, Analysis Services, Reporting Services, Integration Services, and Tools. The Tools feature will install SQL Server Management Tools, SQL Server Books Online, SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT), and other shared components. To install the Distributed Replay components, specify the following parameters:
| Component | Parameter |
|---|---|
| Distributed Replay controller | DREPLAY_CTLR |
| Distributed Replay client | DREPLAY_CLT |
| Administration Tool | Tools |
Important
After you install Distributed Replay you must create firewall rules on the controller and client computers, and grant each client computer permissions on the target server. For more information, see Complete the Post-Installation Steps.
Use the parameters in the following table to develop command line scripts for installation.
| Parameter | Description | Supported Values |
|---|---|---|
| /CTLRSVCACCOUNT Optional |
Service account for the Distributed Replay controller service. | Checks account and password |
| /CTLRSVCPASSWORD Optional |
Password for the Distributed Replay controller service account. | Checks account and password |
| /CTLRSTARTUPTYPE Optional |
Start up type for the Distributed Replay controller service. | Automatic Disabled Manual |
| /CTLRUSERS Optional |
Specify which users have permissions for the Distributed Replay controller service. | Set of user account strings using " " (space) for delimiter Important: When you configure the Distributed Replay controller service, you can specify one or more user accounts that will be used to run the Distributed Replay client services. The following is the list of supported accounts: Domain user account User created local user account Administrator Administrator Virtual account and MSA (Managed Service Account) Network Services, Local Services, and System Note: Group accounts (local or domain) and other built-in accounts (like Everyone) aren't accepted. |
| /CLTSVCACCOUNT Optional |
Service account for the Distributed Replay client service. | Checks account and password |
| /CLTSVCPASSWORD Optional |
Password for the Distributed Replay client service account. | Checks account and password |
| /CLTSTARTUPTYPE Optional |
Start up type for the Distributed Replay client service. | Automatic Disabled Manual |
| /CLTCTLRNAME Optional |
The computer name that the client communicates with for the Distributed Replay Controller service. | |
| /CLTWORKINGDIR Optional |
The working directory for the Distributed Replay Client service. | Valid path |
| /CLTRESULTDIR Optional |
The result directory for the Distributed Replay Client service. | Valid path |
Sample Syntax:
To install the Distributed Replay controller component
setup /q /ACTION=Install /FEATURES=DREPLAY_CTLR /IAcceptSQLServerLicenseTerms /CTLRUSERS="domain\user1" "domain\user2" /CTLRSVCACCOUNT="domain\svcuser" /CTLRSVCPASSWORD="password" /CTLRSTARTUPTYPE=Automatic
To install the Distributed Replay client component
setup /q /ACTION=Install /FEATURES=DREPLAY_CLT /IAcceptSQLServerLicenseTerms /CLTSVCACCOUNT="domain\svcuser" /CLTSVCPASSWORD="password" /CLTSTARTUPTYPE=Automatic /CLTCTLRNAME=ControllerMachineName /CLTWORKINGDIR="C:\WorkingDir" /CLTRESULTDIR="C:\ResultDir
Install Distributed Replay Using a Configuration File
SQL Server Setup provides the ability to generate a configuration file based on user input and system defaults. If you specify that you want the Management tools installed, you can use the configuration file to deploy the three Distributed Replay components (administration tool, Distributed Replay controller, and the Distributed Replay client). It supports Installing, repairing, and uninstalling of the Distributed Replay components.
Setup supports the use of the configuration file only through the command-line. The processing order of the parameters while using the configuration file is outlined below:
The configuration file overwrites the defaults in a package
Command-line values overwrite the values in the configuration file
For more information about how to use a configuration file, see Install SQL Server 2016 Using a Configuration File.
Important
After you install Distributed Replay you must create firewall rules on the controller and client computers, and grant each client computer permissions on the target server. For more information, see Complete the Post-Installation Steps.
To generate a configuration file
Follow the Setup wizard through to the Ready to Install page. The path to the configuration file is specified in the Ready to Install page in the configuration file path section.
Cancel the setup without actually completing the installation, to generate the INI file.
To Install Distributed Replay Using the Configuration File
- Run the installation through the command prompt and supply the ConfigurationFile.ini using the ConfigurationFile parameter.
Sample Syntax
Following is an example of how to specify the configuration file at the command prompt:
Setup.exe /CTLRSVCPASSWORD="ctlrsvcpswd" /CLTSVCPASSWORD="cltsvcpswd" / ConfigurationFile=ConfigurationFile.INI\
Note
You must specify both passwords in the command line because you cannot configure them in the configuration file.