Requirements
Zerto Virtual Manager is installed on each site managed by a vCenter Server. The installation must be on a machine running a Windows operating system with the following requirements:
■ Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 with KB3033929 and KB2864202, Windows Server 2012 base, or Windows Server 2012 R2.
Reserve at least 2 CPUs and 4GB RAM for the machine. The following CPU and RAM are recommended by Zerto for the machine running Zerto Virtual Replication, dependent on the size of the site:
Sites protecting up to 750 virtual machines and up to 5 peer sites: 2 CPUs and 4GB RAM.
Sites protecting 751-2000 virtual machines and up to 15 peer sites: 4 CPUs or 2 Dual Core CPUs and 4GB RAM.
Sites protecting over 2000 virtual machines and over 15 peer sites: 8 CPUs or 4 Dual Core CPUs and 8GB RAM.
The clocks on the machines where Zerto Virtual Replication is installed must be synchronized with UTC and with each other (the timezones can be different). Zerto recommends synchronizing the clocks using NTP.
Note: The following restriction applies to recovering individual files and folders and not to recovering the whole virtual machine: The operating system of the machine on which the recovery site Zerto Virtual Manager is installed determines the types of file systems from which individual files and folders can be recovered. When the recovery site Zerto Virtual Manager virtual machine operating system supports a file system, files and folders can be recovered from this file system in virtual machines that this Zerto Virtual Manager will manage the recovery of. For example, if a protected virtual machine running Windows 2012 has files using the ReFS file system and requires one or more of these files to be recovered and the recovery site Zerto Virtual Manager is on a machine with Windows 2008, which does not support ReFS, the protected virtual machine files and folders cannot be recovered, but the whole virtual machine can be recovered.
■ At least 4GB of free disk space.
■ Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2. The 4.5.2 installation executable is included as part of the Zerto Virtual Replication installation kit and it needs an additional 1.8GB of free disk space. Note that recent Windows operating systems include .NET as part of the operating system. Make sure that you have the latest Windows updates, unless Zerto support warns against a specific update.
Note: If the required version of Microsoft .NET Framework is not installed, you are prompted to install the required version of .NET Framework as part of the Zerto Virtual Replication installation procedure.
You must have VMware vCenter Server version 4.0U1 or higher with at least one ESX/ESXi host installed on each site where Zerto Virtual Manager is to be used. The Zerto Virtual Manager must have access to the vCenter Server via a user with administrator level privileges to the vCenter Server. When recovery is managed by the same vCenter Server as the protection, Zerto Virtual Manager is required to be installed once only. When the protected and recovery sites are managed by different vCenter Servers Zerto Virtual Manager is installed once per vCenter Server. If Zerto Cloud Manager is used, vSphere Standard edition cannot be used. For details about Zerto Cloud Manager, see Zerto Cloud Manager Administration Guide.
Note: When the vCenter Server is installed on a Linux machine via the vCenter Server Linux Virtual Appliance (vCSA), the Zerto Virtual Manager must still be installed on a Windows machine.
Zerto recommends installing the Zerto Virtual Manager with the following profile:
■ On a dedicated virtual machine.
■ With a dedicated administrator account.
■ No other applications installed on this machine. If additional applications are installed, the Zerto Virtual Manager service must receive enough resources and HA remain enabled.
■ With VMware vSphere High Availability (HA) enabled.
■ With the VM Restart Policy set to High.
Note: If a proxy server is used at the site, specify the IP address of the Zerto Virtual Manager in the exception list in the Proxy Server settings.
You cannot take snapshots of the Zerto Virtual Manager as snapshots cause operational problems for the Zerto Virtual Manager, such as creating inconsistencies with peer site Zerto Virtual Managers.
Routable Networks
The Zerto Virtual Replication architecture supports the following network configurations:
■ Flat LAN networks
■ VLAN networks, including private VLANs and stretched VLANs
■ WAN emulation
■ VPN IPsec
The Zerto Virtual Replication architecture does not support NAT (Network Address Translation) firewalls.
Minimum Bandwidth
The connectivity between sites must have the bandwidth capacity to handle the data to be replicated between the sites. The minimum bandwidth must be at least 5 Mb/sec.
The Zerto Virtual Manager Web Client
Microsoft Windows Explorer 9 is not supported and version 10 does not work well with the user interface. Zerto recommends using Chrome, Firefox, or later versions of Internet Explorer. The minimum recommended screen resolution is 1024*768.
The Zerto User Interface in a vSphere Client
When using either the vSphere Web Client or Client console, you must use Internet Explorer version 10 or higher. Zerto recommends using an Internet Explorer version later than version 10.
Database Requirements
By default, an embedded SQL-based database is used but it is possible to use an externally managed database, Microsoft SQL Server. To use an externally managed database, during the installation choose the Custom Installation option.
The following Microsoft SQL Server versions are supported: 2008, 2008R2, 2012, 2014.
You must have the following permissions set:
■ Public and dbcreator server roles.
■ Permission to connect to the database engine.
■ Login enabled.
■ In User Mapping choose the master database under which to create the Zerto Virtual Replication database and set both db_owner and public for database role membership.
Zerto recommends using SQL Server Enterprise Edition if you have 4 or more sites, or 40 or more hosts with virtual machines being protected or recovered, or more than 400 virtual machines to be protected.
Using an externally managed database requires the following configuration for the machine running SQL Server:
■ 4 CPUs or 2 Dual Core CPUs and 16GB RAM.
■ 20GB to accommodate the database and the logs generated by the Zerto Virtual Manager.
Note: If SQL Server is used, it is your responsibility to make sure that database downtime is planned in coordination with your disaster recovery and business continuity requirements. During database downtime, there will be inconsistencies between Zerto Virtual Managers, such as the management of checkpoints, resulting in problems if a recovery is required.
Firewall Considerations
Zerto Virtual Manager (ZVM) requires the following ports to be open in the protected and recovery site firewalls:
Port | Description |
22 | During Virtual Replication Appliance (VRA) installation on ESXi 4.x and 5.x hosts for communication between the ZVM and the ESXi hosts IPs and for ongoing communication between the ZVM in the cloud site – but not the customer site – and a Zerto Cloud Connector. |
443 | During VRA installation on ESX/ESXi hosts for communication between the ZVM and the ESX/ESXi hosts IPs and for ongoing communication between the ZVM and vCenter Server and vCloud Director. |
4005 | Log collection between the ZVM and VRAs on the same site. |
4006 | TCP communication between the ZVM and VRAs and the VBA on the same site. |
4007 | TCP control communication between protecting and recovering VRAs and between a Zerto Cloud Connector and VRAs. |
4008 | TCP communication between VRAs to pass data from protected virtual machines to a VRA on a recovery site and between a Zerto Cloud Connector and VRAs. |
4009 | TCP communication between the ZVM and site VRAs to handle checkpoints. |
5672 | TCP communication between the ZVM and vCloud Director for access to AMQP messaging. |
9080 | HTTP communication between the ZVM and Zerto internal APIs, a Zerto Cloud Manager (ZCM), cmdlets, and a VSS Agent. |
9081 | TCP communication between paired ZVMs and between a ZVM and a Zerto Cloud Connector. |
9082 and up | When a cloud service provider supplies DRaaS – Two TCP ports for each VRA (one for port 4007 and one for port 4008) accessed via the Zerto Cloud Connector installed by the cloud service provider. There is directionality to these ports. Zerto recommends using a port range starting with port 9082. For example, Customer A network has 3 VRAs and customer B network has 2 VRAs and the cloud service provider network has 4 VRAs, then the following ports must be open in the firewall for each cloud: The cloud service provider’s VRAs need to use 6 ports to reach customer A’s VRAs, while customer A’s VRAs need 8 ports to reach the cloud’s VRAs. The cloud service provider’s VRAs need to use 4 ports to reach customer B’s VRAs, while customer B’s VRAs need 8 ports to reach the cloud’s VRAs. |
9180 | Communication between the VBA and VRA. |
9669 | HTTPS communication between the machine running the Zerto User Interface and a ZVM, and for invoking Zerto RESTful APIs. |
9779 | HTTPS communication between the Zerto Self-Service Portal for in-cloud (ICDR) customers and a ZVM. |
9989 | HTTPS communication between a browser and the Zerto Cloud Manager. |
VMware Privileges Required by Zerto Virtual Replication
When Zerto Virtual Replication accesses the vCenter Server, it requires the vSphere privileges assigned to Administrator roles, which includes the following privileges.
Category | Privilege | Notes |
Alarms | Create alarm | Only during install and uninstall |
Remove alarm |
Authorization | Modify permission | Only during install and uninstall |
Modify role |
Reassign role permissions |
Datastore | Allocate space | For source/target replication of datastores |
Browse datastore |
Remove file |
Low level file operations |
Move datastore |
Update virtual machine files |
Datastore cluster | Configure a datastore cluster | For installation of VRAs |
Extension | Register extension | Only during install and uninstall |
Unregister extension |
Update extension |
Folder | Create folder | |
Delete folder |
Move folder |
Global | Cancel task | |
Diagnostics |
Global tag |
Log event |
Manage custom attributes |
Script action |
Set custom attribute |
Host > Configuration | Advanced settings | |
Virtual machine autostart configuration |
Change settings |
Security profile and firewall |
Host > Inventory | Modify cluster | |
Network | Assign network | |
Resource | Assign vApp to resource pool | |
Assign virtual machine to resource pool |
Sessions | Validate session | |
Tasks | Create task | |
Update task |
vApp | vApp application configuration | |
Assign resource pool |
Add virtual machine |
Create |
Delete |
Import |
vApp instance configuration |
vApp managedBy configuration |
Power off |
Power on |
Rename |
vApp resource configuration |
Unregister |
Virtual Machine > Configuration | Add existing disk | Swapfile placement is required to restore an offsite backup. |
Add new disk |
Add or remove device |
Advanced |
Set annotation |
Change CPU count |
Extend virtual disk |
Modify device settings |
Configure managedBy |
Memory |
Raw device |
Remove disk |
Rename |
Change resource |
Settings |
Swapfile placement |
Upgrade virtual machine compatibility |
Virtual machine > Interaction | Power off | |
Power on |
Virtual machine > Inventory | Create from existing | |
Create new |
Move |
Register |
Remove |
Unregister |
Note: The Zerto role must also be available. This role is added to the Administrator user during the Zerto Virtual Replication installation.