In their management interfaces, configure both appliances by first changing their initial root user password set during each appliance deployment. Then register each appliance with the local vCenter Server Lookup service in each site. Finally, pair the on-premises appliance with the provider site.

Prerequisites

Verify that in both vCenter Server instances, each appliance is deployed and powered on. For information about the appliance requirements and deployment, see Deploy both appliances for vSphere DR and migration.

Procedure

  1. Repeat the following steps for each appliance and configure both appliances.
  2. In a Web browser, go to https://Appliance-IP-address.
  3. Log in by using the root user password that you set during the OVA deployment.
  4. If you log in to the appliance for the first time, you must change the initial root user password.
    1. Enter the initial root user password that you set during the OVA deployment.
    2. Enter and confirm a new password.
      The password that you enter must be a secured password with a minimum of eight characters and it must consist of:
      • At least one lowercase letter.
      • At least one uppercase letter.
      • At least one number.
      • At least one special character, such as & # %.
    3. Click Apply.
      The Getting Started tab opens.
  5. To configure this appliance for the first time, click Run the initial setup wizard.
  6. In the Initial Setup window, configure the site name, the local vCenter Server Lookup service, and its credentials.
    Option Description
    Site name Enter a name for this site.
    Important: This site name is used as an identifier and cannot be changed later without impacting the active replications.
    Lookup Service Address Enter the IP address or the FQDN of the local vCenter Server Lookup service in this site and press Tab, auto-completing the address as https://Lookup-Service-IP-or-FQDN:443/lookupservice/sdk.
    Note: To use the VMware Cloud Director Availability vSphere Client Plug-In, go to the URL of the vSphere Client by using the same method - an IP address or an FQDN. Match the configuration in the Lookup Service Address text box.
    SSO Admin Username Enter the vSphereadministratorsingle sign-on (SSO) user name for the vCenter Server Lookup service. This user must belong to the ADMINISTRATORS group.
    Important: For all vSphere DR and migration workflows the principal is this user. That is, this user owns all replications, meaning all users that see the replication have full control over it.

    For information about the required vSphere privileges, see Users Roles Rights and Sessions in the Security Guide.

    Password Enter the vSphereadministrator user password for the vCenter Server Lookup service.
    1. As a provider, for the vCenter Replication Management Appliance, in the License Key text box, enter the VMware Cloud Director Availability license.
      When deploying On-Premises to Cloud vCenter Replication Appliance, skip this step as this appliance requires no licensing for operations.
    2. To complete the initial setup, click Apply.
    3. Verify the thumbprint and accept the SSL certificate of the local vCenter Server Lookup service in this site.
    This appliance is configured. Before pairing, repeat the above steps and similarly configure the remaining appliance until both appliances are configured and ready for pairing.
  7. As a provider, before allowing pairing, you must add each vCenter Replication Management Appliance instance for metering in vCloud Usage Meter.
    For information about adding the appliance instances in vCloud Usage Meter, see vCloud Usage Meter Integration.
    On-Premises to Cloud vCenter Replication Appliance is not metered.
  8. After configuring both appliances, pair the On-Premises to Cloud vCenter Replication Appliance to the vCenter Replication Management Appliance.
    On-premises to provider pairing is managed only from the on-premises site. The On-Premises to Cloud vCenter Replication Appliance does not require a publicly available address for pairing to the provider.
    Note: When pairing, depending on the appliance type you can pair:
    • On-Premises to Cloud vCenter Replication Appliance instances to vCenter Replication Management Appliance in a single pairing step, initiated and completed from the on-premises site.
    • vCenter Replication Management Appliance with another vCenter Replication Management Appliance instance. Then complete the pairing from the remote vCenter Replication Management Appliance.
    Attempting to pair On-Premises to Cloud vCenter Replication Appliance with another On-Premises to Cloud vCenter Replication Appliance shows the following error message in the New Pairing window: Sites are not allowed to pair or start replication. Check site(s) licensing. However, the pairing remains visible and must be manually deleted from both sides. Attempting to create a replication between such paired on-premises sites gets prevented by an error checking the licensing of the sites.
    1. In the left pane, click Peer Sites.
    2. To complete the pairing with the provider, on the Peer Sites page, click New pairing.
    3. In the New Pairing window, enter the pairing details of the provider site then click Pair.
      Option Description
      Public Service Endpoint
      • Enter the address of the Public Public Service Endpoint:443 of the vCenter Replication Management Appliance.
      • Alternatively, enter port 8048 when both appliances reside in the same network.
      SSO Username Enter the user name of the single-sign-on user from the provider site for the pairing. For example, enter [email protected].

      To pair the on-premises appliance with the provider site it is recommended to use a less-privileged user that belongs to the VRUSERS group in the provider site. Alternatively, you can still use a user member of the VRADMINISTRATORS or the ADMINISTRATORS groups in the provider site. For information about these groups, see Users Roles Rights and Sessions in the Security Guide.
      SSO Password Enter the password of the remote single-sign-on user in the provider site.
      Description Optionally, enter a description for this pair.
    4. Verify the thumbprint and accept the SSL certificate of the vCenter Replication Management Appliance.
    Both appliances paired with each other and are ready for replications.

Results

After the vCenter Replication Management Appliance integrated with VMware vCloud ® Usage Meter for metering, both vCenter Server sites are ready for replications between each other.

What to do next

After adding the vCenter Replication Management Appliance in vCloud Usage Meter, you can now create and manage replications between both vCenter Server sites by accessing either of the following two interfaces:

  • Log in to any of the two vCenter Server sites by using the vSphere Client and authenticating in one of the following ways, then access the VMware Cloud Director Availability vSphere Client Plug-In.
    Note: Ensure that the user has sufficient privileges granted to see and interact with vSphere workloads.
    • To authenticate as a tenant, for pairing or replicating workloads, log in by using single sign-on user credentials that belong to the VRUSERS group that VMware Cloud Director Availability created by registering with the vCenter Server Lookup service.
    • To authenticate a session with administrator privileges, log in by using single sign-on user credentials that belong to the ADMINISTRATORS or VRADMINISTRATORS groups.

      For example, the [email protected] single sign-on user is a member of the ADMINISTRATORS group.

    • Any single sign-on users that do not belong to any of these three groups cannot authenticate.
  • Alternatively, go to https://Appliance-IP-address/ui/admin of either of the newly paired VMware Cloud Director Availability appliances management interfaces and log in by using single sign-on user credentials that belong to the ADMINISTRATORS or VRADMINISTRATORS groups, or alternatively by using the password for the built-in root user of the appliances.
For information about accessing the appliances, creating and managing replications, and monitoring, see the User Guide.