Dell AppAssure solution we’ll be deploying consists of two pieces of hardware. A Dell PowerVault DL4000 and a Dell PowerVault MD1200.
DL4000 is a dual CPU server (Intel Xeon E5-2640 2.5 GHz) with 64 GB of RAM running Windows Server 2012 64 bit. MD1200 is used for extended storage and is directly connected to the DL4000.
Below is the initial deployment of the Dell AppAssure 5 solution.
Select a language you’d like to use, then click on the Next button.
Accept the agreement, then click on the Next button.
Define a password for the built-in administrator account, then click on the Finish button.
Click on the Proceed button.
Log in as administrator. Once logged in, the AppAssure Appliance Configuration Wizard will automatically start.
Select the Network Interface you’d like to use, then click on the Next button.
Configure the Network Interface, by defining the IP address information, subnet mask, default gateway as well as DNS server information.
Specify the hostname for the appliance. You can also join the server to the domain by providing the domain name and credentials for an account with sufficient privileges to join it to the domain.
On the next screen you can configure SNMP for the appliance.
Click on the Next button to apply the settings to the appliance.
Once completed successfully, click on the Reboot button, to restart the appliance.
Next, we’ll need to register the appliance and obtain a license. We can do so by visiting https://appliance.licenseportal.com.
You’ll be prompted to enter in the email address of the person that purchased the appliance as well as it’s service tag.
Service tag is typically listed on a sticker on the appliance itself. Alternatively, you can determine the service tag of a Dell system from the Command Prompt/PowerShell Prompt. See related post here.
Once verified create an account by entering your name and assigning a password for the portal, as well as your contact information.
Finally, you’ll see the screen below with the License Key displayed.
Now that the server has rebooted, log in using the appropriate domain user account. Once logged in the AppAssure Appliance Configuration Wizard will resume.
Click on the Exit button. This will Launch the default web browser and take you to the AppAssure Web interface at https://hostname:8006, where you’ll need to complete the AppAssure 5 Core Setup Wizard.
Note that AppAssure 5 does not support versions of IE older than 8 or IE8 in IE7 compatibility mode.
Here you can specify the Display Name of the appliance, then click on the arrow icon in the upper right corner of the window to proceed.
In the Email Notifications section, you can configure SMTP settings you’d like to use as well as the format of the email message AppAssure appliance will be sending out.
On the next screen, you can define the Encryption Key. This key will be used to encrypt backup data, should you choose to do so.
On the AppAssure License Portal, click on the Downloads section, and download the Core Installer as well as agents for the servers you will be backing up and/or including in your DR.
We’ll be upgrading the AppAssure Core software from version 5.3.4.63865 (that came with the appliance) to the current version of the software at this time (5.3.7.68).
Run the Core Installer package you have downloaded form the portal.
Confirm you’d like to upgrade to the newer version of AppAssure Core.
Once completed, click on Finish.
Note that in the web interface, software version is now 5.3.7.68.
Click on the Appliance tab. You’ll see your available storage there.
Click on the Provision All button to provision all available storage.
Provide a name for a storage repository you are creating. Also you can define a percentage of storage to be used for Standby Virtual Machines (or other).
To be continued in Dell AppAssure Initial Deployment (Pt.2).