Deploying and configuring a Data Center Expert virtual appliance

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The virtual appliance demo version monitors up to five device nodes and one surveillance node. You can upgrade to a production version after you deploy.

The minimum configuration is 4 CPU and 4 GB RAM. See the DCE sizing guide for more information.

Get started

 VMware

1. Download the *.ova file from the APC web site.
2. In your virtualization platform client interface, choose to deploy an OVF template.
3. Browse to the location of the *.ova file, and load the OVA. This may take several minutes.
   Alternatively, you may have the option to specify the URL for the *.ova file in your virtualization environment client interface.
4. Follow the prompts to accept the end user license agreement, and respond to options required to configure the OVA.
   Select thin provisioned disk format to allocate storage space on demand. Select thick provisioned disk format to allocate all storage space immediately.

Note: Starting with Data Center Expert 8.1, VMware ESXi 6.7 is used as the reference virtualization platform for the Data Center Expert virtual appliance. Only E1000E and VMXNET3 network adapters are supported. 

 Hyper-V

1. Download the *.vhdx file from the APC website.
2. In your virtualization platform client interface, choose to create a new virtual machine.
3. Specify Generation 1 when prompted.
4. Choose Use an existing virtual hard disk and browse to load the *.vhdx.
5. Follow the prompts to finish the creation of the virtual appliance.

Note: RAM is configured as part of the VM deployment. You can add additional an additional network interface, RAM, CPUs, and hard drives after the setup is complete.  

Configure the VM settings

You must provide the MAC Address, IP Address, hostname, and network settings before using the Data Center Expert virtual appliance.

1. Select the virtual appliance you created, and select the option to edit the virtual machine settings.
2. Specify the MAC Address for the virtual appliance manually.
   A unique MAC Address is required for each Data Center Expert. If the MAC Address originally assigned to the virtual appliance is changed, an error will occur on the primary interface, and the virtual appliance will not start.
3. Power on the virtual appliance.
4. In the console view, log in to the virtual appliance using apcsetup as the username and password.
5. Within five seconds, press m to modify the settings.
6. Follow the prompts to specify the IP Address, hostname, subnet mask, and DNS servers for the virtual appliance.
7. After the virtual appliance has restarted, type its IP Address or hostname into a browser to login to the client.

How to add an additional network adapter

You can add one additional network adapter to enable private networking. You cannot remove a network adapter once it has been added.

1. Gracefully shut down the virtual appliance.
2. Select the virtual appliance, and select the option to edit the virtual machine settings.
3. Select the options to add an ethernet adapter.
4. Specify the type and the network connection.
   Ensure this connection is mapped correctly, particularly when the DHCP server will be enabled on the private network interface.
5. Power on the virtual appliance.
6. In the console view, login to the virtual appliance using apcsetup as the username and password.
7. Within five seconds, press m to modify the settings.
8. Accept the settings you configured previously, or modify settings if needed.
9. Press y to accept the Enable private network interface option.
10. Specify whether you want to enable the DHCP server on the private network interface.