Modify a Site Recovery Manager Server Installation

To change some of the information that you supplied when you installed Site Recovery Manager Server, you can run the Site Recovery Manager installer in modify mode.

About this task

Installing Site Recovery Manager Server binds the installation to a number of values that you supply, including the vCenter Server instance to extend, the Site Recovery Manager database type, DSN and credentials, the type of authentication, and so on. The Site Recovery Manager installer supports a modify mode that allows you to change certain values that you configured when you installed Site Recovery Manager Server.

• The user name and password of the vCenter Server administrator, if they changed since you installed Site Recovery Manager

• The type of authentication (certificate-based or credential-based), the authentication details, or both.

• The user name, password, and connection numbers for the Site Recovery Manager database

• The user account under which the Site Recovery Manager Server service runs

The installer's modify mode presents modified versions of some of the pages that are part of the Site Recovery Manager Server installer. You cannot modify the host and administrator configuration information, including the local site name, Site Recovery Manager administrator email address, local host address, or the listener ports. This page is omitted when you run the installer in modify mode. Site Recovery Manager does not use the administrator email address that you provided during installation, so if the Site Recovery Manager administrator changes after you installed Site Recovery Manager Server, Site Recovery Manager operation is not affected.

Caution:

Updating the certificate affects the thumbprint, which can affect the connection between the protected site and the recovery site. Check the connection between the protected site and the recovery site after you run the installer in modify mode. For information about how to configure the connection between the protected site and the recovery site, see Connect the Site Recovery Manager Server Instances on the Protected and Recovery Sites.

If you selected the embedded database when you installed Site Recovery Manager, you cannot modify the installation to use an external database, and the reverse.

Prerequisites

• Verify that you have administrator privileges on Site Recovery Manager Server or that you are a member of the Administrators group. Disable Windows User Account Control (UAC) before you attempt the change operation or select Run as administrator when you start the Site Recovery Manager installer

• If you change the Site Recovery Manager installation to use certificate-based authentication instead of credential-based authentication, or if you upload a new custom certificate, you must provide the certificate for the remote site to the vSphere Web Client service on each site. See Provide Trusted CA Certificates to vSphere Web Client.

Procedure

1. Log in to the Site Recovery Manager Server host.
2. Open Programs and Features from the Windows Control Panel.
3. Select the entry for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager and click Change.
4. Click Next.
5. Select Modify and click Next.
6. Enter the username and password for the vCenter Server instance that Site Recovery Manager extends.

   If you use auto-generated certificates, Site Recovery Manager Server uses the username and password that you specify here to authenticate with vCenter Server whenever you connect to Site Recovery Manager. If you use custom certificates, only the Site Recovery Manager installer uses this account to register Site Recovery Manager with vCenter Server during installation.

   You cannot use the installer's modify mode to change the vCenter Server address or port. When you click Next, the installer contacts the specified vCenter Server instance and validates the information you supplied.

7. Select an authentication method and click Next.

   Option	Description
   Leave the current authentication method unchanged	Select Use existing certificate. If the installed certificate is not valid, this option is unavailable.
   Use credential-based authentication	Select Automatically generate a certificate to generate a new certificate.
   Use certificate-based authentication	Select Use a PKCS #12 certificate file to upload a new certificate.

   If you do not select Use existing certificate, you are prompted to supply additional authentication details such as certificate location or strings to use for Organization and Organizational Unit.

8. Provide or change the database configuration information and click Next.

   Option	Description
   Username	A user ID valid for the specified database.
   Password	The password for the specified user ID.
   Connection Count	The initial connection pool size.
   Max Connections	The maximum number of database connections open simultaneously.

9. Choose whether to keep or discard the database contents and click Next.

   Option	Description
   Use existing data	Preserves the contents of the existing database.
   Recreate the database	Overwrites the existing database and deletes its contents.

10. Select or deselect the Use Local System account check box to change the user account under which the Site Recovery Manager Server service runs, and click Next.

    • If you deselect Use Local System account, you must provide a username and password for a valid user account.

    • If you are using SQL Server with Integrated Windows Authentication, the username text box shows the username of the account that is running the installer and cannot be modified.
11. Click Install to modify the installation.

    The installer makes the requested modifications and restarts the Site Recovery Manager Server.

12. When the modification operation is finished and the Site Recovery Manager Server restarts, log in to the vSphere Web Client to check the status of the connection between the protected site and the recovery site.
13. (Optional) If the connection between the protected site and the recovery site is broken, reconfigure the connection, starting from the Site Recovery Manager Server that you updated.