Quick start

Datamotive deployment is a three-step process: implement the prerequisites, deploy the Datamotive nodes, and configure them. This quick start takes you from nothing to a verified first replication for a small environment (up to 15 VMs / 40 virtual disks), where only the Management Server is needed on each site.

Step 1 — Deploy the Management Servers

Deploy one Management Server on the protected site and one on the recovery site, using the platform's native tooling (vCenter/OVFTool for the OVA; the AWS, Azure, or GCP console for machine images — enable IMDSv2 on AWS).

1. Deploy the image

   Management Server sizing is 4 vCPU / 16 GB RAM / 50 GB storage on all platforms. Place it per the deployment location rules — same region as the workloads it protects or recovers.

2. Set a static IP

   Nodes boot with DHCP; configure a static IP before going further (netplan on VMware, private/reserved IP in cloud). A node must never hold two IPs at once. See Firewall — IP configuration.

3. Validate the console

   Open https://<management-node-ip>:5000/mgmt. The Datamotive login screen should render (the self-signed certificate triggers a browser warning — expected). Log in with the default credentials Administrator / admin; a password change is mandatory on first login.

If the console does not load, verify services on the node — see Maintenance.

Step 2 — Register nodes and create sites

1. Register the remote management node

   On the protected site's console, go to Configure → Nodes and add the recovery site's management node. The local node registers automatically. See Nodes.

2. Create the protection and recovery sites

   Under Configure → Sites, create a Protect site for the source platform and a Recover site for the target, supplying the platform credentials prepared during permissions setup. See Sites.

3. Install the license

   Under Settings → License, install the license file provided by Datamotive. Replication runs without it, but recovery and migration operations require it. See Licensing.

Step 3 — Create a protection plan and replicate

1. Create the plan

   Under Configure → Protection Plans, click + New and walk the wizard: name and sites, VM selection (enable CBT when prompted on VMware), per-VM recovery configuration, boot order, and the replication schedule. Full walkthrough: Create a plan.

2. Watch the first iteration

   On Finish, replication jobs start. The first iteration is a full transfer per disk. Track it under Jobs → Replication until each VM shows init-success. See Status check for the vocabulary.

3. Validate with a test recovery

   Once in sync, run a test recovery into an isolated network to prove the replicated copy boots. Test recoveries do not consume license capacity.

Scaling beyond the quick start

When the environment grows past ~40 virtual disks, add Replication Node pairs (one per site per additional 40 disks), Windows Prep Nodes on the recovery site for Windows recoveries, and optionally a DeDup Node. See Deployment models.

Next steps

• Deployment models

• Create a plan (full walkthrough)

• Recovery testing