The Mirage Management server is the component that controls and manages the Mirage server cluster.

About this task

When you install Mirage Management servers, Mirage installs an instance of MongoDB file database to store small files, which reduces IOPS and upload time. It is important to install additional Mirage Image Service Management servers to create a replica of MongoDB files, which ensures data availability and system fault tolerance.

When you install multiple Mirage Management servers, Mirage configures the MongoDB instances as a single node. To achieve a fault tolerance deployment, you need a minimum of three server machines. Two of the server machines should have a Mirage Management server installed, and one server machine should have the Mirage server installed on it.

In the installation process, you are prompted to join the VMware Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP). If you join CEIP, the CEIP tool collects technical data from the Mirage database and log files, and sends the data to VMware on a daily basis. Before the data is sent to VMware, the identification details are removed and the data it encrypted in your systems or servers. If you do not join CEIP during the Mirage Image Service Management server installation, you can join CEIP by updating the CEIP settings in the Web Management. See the VMware Mirage Web Management Guide.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that you have local administrator privileges on the Mirage Management server machine.

  • Verify that you have db_creator privileges on the SQL Server.

  • Verify that you have dbo permissions on the MongoDB database.

  • The relevant software requirements are met. See Software Requirements.

  • You have a dedicated drive with at least 250 GB of free disk space for the MongoDB database files. If you cannot designate a local drive or SAN for the MongoDB database files, designate a dedicated NAS volume on higher-end storage with lower latency to minimize disconnection between MongoDB and the MongoDB files.

  • VMware recommends that you install two or more Mirage Management servers so that Mirage remains available in the event of system or storage failure.

  • Do not use the same drive for Mirage storage and MongoDB database files. Also, you need to provide separate MongoDB database paths when installing multiple Mirage Management Servers.

Procedure

  1. Start the installation wizard.

    Option

    Action

    .msi file

    • Double-click the mirage.management.server.x64.buildnumber.msi file to start the installation wizard.

    Command prompt

    • Access the command prompt as an administrator and run the .msi installation file.

      Use this option if you are not a local administrator.

  2. Follow the prompts to install the Mirage Management server.

    Use the configuration information that you gathered in the Worksheet for Installing the Mirage Management Server.

Results

The Mirage Management server is installed.

What to do next

  • Set the SQL server recovery model to simple.

  • Install a Mirage server. See Install a Mirage Server.

  • If you plan to use Mirage PowerCLI, you must enable the WCF HTTP Activation option in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012. See the VMware Mirage API Programming Guide.

  • In the event that you install a single Mirage Management server, install an additional Mirage Management server to ensure fault tolerance and maintain data availability.