Installing DPM

This recipe will cover two installation scenarios:

•  Installing DPM using a local SQL Server
•  Installing DPM using a remote SQL Server

Getting ready

Before you start installing System Center Data Protection Manager, it is recommended that you read the Planning your DPM deployment and Preparing your DPM deployment recipes in this chapter.

How to do it...

This step will cover the installation process of DPM using a local SQL Server on the same operating system as DPM.

Option 1 – installing DPM using a local SQL Server

Make sure that your operating system is fully patched and rebooted before you start the installation. Now follow these steps:

1. Insert the DPM media and start the setup for System Center Data Protection Manager. When the installation list is presented, click on Data Protection Manager to start the installation:

2. The installation wizard will start and prompt you with the Microsoft Software License Terms. Accept the license terms by checking the I accept the license terms and conditions checkbox, which will continue the installation.
3. Please wait while the setup starts copying the temporary files.

4. The installation wizard will now prompt you with eight different installation steps. Currently, you are on the Welcome step. To continue with the installation, click on Next.
5. The next step is the Prerequisites Check, where you can choose to install the DPM database by using a standalone or a clustered SQL Server.

Please read the Installing DPM using a remote SQL Server scenario in this recipe.

6. In the Instance of SQL Server box, type in your server name and the instance name that should host your DPM database. In this example, the server name and SQL instance is WS16-SQL16-01\DPMDB:

Please note that when you install DPM and use a local SQL Server installation, the setup will use the current user's credentials for the SQL Server instance. If the domain account that is logged on and performing the installation is not a member of the DPM Admin group in the Active Directory, the installation will fail.

7. Click on the Check and Install button to run a verification that all of the prerequisites have been met before the installation can continue.
8. In this step, there are some prerequisites that will be installed as part of the required Windows components by DPM. The Hyper-V role and Hyper-V PowerShell module will be installed as well during this step. You will be required to restart afterward.

The Hyper-V role needs to be installed on the DPM server for Item-Level Recovery (ILR) support. Please read Chapter 3, Protecting Hyper-V VMs, for more information on this.

9. Simply restart the DPM server and start the installation wizard one more time. When you run the prerequisites checker in the Prerequisites Check step, it will be successful. Click on Next > to continue.
10. In the Product Registration step, enter the User name, Company, and Product key and click on Next > to continue.
11. The next step of the installation wizard brings up the Installation Settings, which is where you specify the location of the DPM files and read the summary of the Space requirements. If you want to place the DPM files in a specific location, then click on the Change… button and specify the new destination. We recommend that you store the DPM Files on a separate drive. To continue to the next step, click on Next >:

12. You can specify in the Microsoft Update Opt-In box whether the local Windows Update should be redirected so that you can use Microsoft Updates instead.
13. Choose the most appropriate option for your implementation and click on Next > to continue.
14. In the Summary of settings section, you can verify your installation's configuration. If everything looks good, click on the Install button to start the installation.

15. The last step is the Installation. Here, you can keep a watch on the installation progress in real time. When the installation has finished, click on the Close button.

Finally, you need to install and update DPM server to the latest Update Rollup (UR) if you are using the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC). At the time of writing this book, DPM 2016 Update Rollup 6 has been released and is available for download. You can download it at https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=4456327.
If you are using the Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) for DPM (that is, DPM 1801, 1807, 1901, and so on), then the Semi-Annual Channel, with its more frequent release cycle, will not receive update releases.

Option 2 – installing DPM using a remote SQL Server

This step will cover and explain the configuration needed to complete a DPM installation when you are using a backend, dedicated, standalone server or a SQL cluster for achieving a high-availability scenario.

Please note that SQL Server Always-On is not supported to host the DPM database.

Before you can start your DPM sever installation, you need to prepare SQL Server so that you can host the DPM database. Please read the Installing SQL Server for DPM Database recipe in this chapter, since it is a prerequisite.

The only difference in the installation wizard when you install the DPM server on a separate machine or on the same server with SQL Server is the Prerequisites Check step. Now, follow these steps:

1. Insert the DPM media on a separate machine and start the setup for System Center Data Protection Manager. When the installation list is presented, click on Data Protection Manager to start the installation.
2. In the Prerequisites Check step of the installation wizard, you have the option to choose whether you would like to place the DPM database on a remote standalone SQL Server or a SQL cluster.

3. For a standalone backend remote SQL Server hosting your DPM database, enter SQLSERVER\INSTANCE in the Instance of SQL Server field:

4. Enter the User Name, Password, and Domain for the account that has the appropriate rights for the SQL configuration. Click on the Check and Install button to verify these prerequisites.

The account that's used for this configuration must be a member of the DPM Admin group in the Active Directory.

5. In the case of a SQL clustered environment, you must specify both the SQL Server Instance for the DPM database and also where the Instance of SQL Server Reporting Service is located, since the SQL Server Reporting Service does not support being clustered:

6. Enter the Instance of SQL Server for the DPMDB and also provide information for the Instance of SQL Server Reporting Service that will host the reporting for the DPM server.
7. Provide the credentials that have rights in the SQL Server configuration; the accounts should be members of the DPM Admin group in the Active Directory. Click on the Check button to check the prerequisites.
8. Click on Next > to continue with the installation wizard.

How it works...

The installation media for System Center Data Protection Manager will provide you with the installation bits for the DPM software. Since the 2012 R2 release of DPM, the SQL media is no longer included on the DPM media, so you need to consider how you design and install the SQL Server that will host the DPM server software.

The DPM server installation wizard will provide you with the right configuration that's needed regarding the SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) configuration for the DPM reports. The SSRS does not support being clustered.

When System Center Data Protection Manager's installation has completed successfully, DPM's setup will create the following firewall exceptions for you:

• Exception for DCOM communication on port 135 (TCP and UDP) in all profiles
• Exception for Msdpm.exe in all profiles
• Exception for DPMRA.exe in all profiles
• Exception for AMSvcHost.exe in all profiles
• Exception for DPMAM Service communication on port 6075 (TCP and UDP) in all profiles

There's more...

When System Center Data Protection Manager has been installed, you need to perform a number of post-installation tasks before your DPM servers are able to start protecting your production environment.