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Recovery server requirements

This is the server that will become your new source when you are recovering an entire server. This server can be an existing physical or virtual machine, or Double-Take RecoverNow can provision (automatically create) a virtual machine for you during the recovery process.

Operating system—You have several options for your recovery server operating system.

Physical or existing virtual machine—If your recovery server is a physical server or an existing virtual server, it can have any of the following Windows operating system editions.
- Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2 Enterprise (x86, x64), Standard (x86, x64), Web Server.
- Windows Server 2003 or 2003 R2 Enterprise (x86, x64), Standard (x86, x64), Web Server. Each of the Windows 2003 operating systems require Service Pack 1 or later.
A physical or existing virtual recovery server must have the same operating system as the original source. For example, you cannot have Windows 2003 on the original source and Windows 2008 on the recovery server. The two servers do not have to have the same level of service pack or hotfix. Windows 2003 and 2003 R2 are considered the same operating system, however the Windows 2008 and 2008 R2 releases are considered different operating systems. Therefore, you can have Windows 2003 on the original source and Windows 2003 R2 on the recovery server, but you cannot have Windows 2008 on the original source and Windows 2008 R2 on the recovery server. The Windows edition (Standard, Enterprise, and so on) does not have to be the same.
Provisioned virtual machine on Hyper-V—If your recovery server will be provisioned (automatically created during the recovery process), you must have a physical Hyper-V host machine where Double-Take RecoverNow can create the new virtual server. Provisioning a virtual machine on Hyper-V also includes the following requirements.

Your physical Hyper-V host machine can be any Windows 2008 or 2008 R2 operating system from the supported source server operating systems that has the Hyper-V role enabled. In addition, you can use Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 or Server Core 2008 R2 with the Hyper-V role enabled. (Hyper-V Server 2008 and Server Core 2008 are not supported.)
If you are using Hyper-V Integration Services and your source is running Windows 2003, the source must have Service Pack 2 or later.
The virtual machines cannot use raw, pass-through, or differencing disks.

Provisioned virtual machine on ESX—If your recovery server will be provisioned (automatically created during the recovery process), you must have a physical ESX host machine where Double-Take RecoverNow can create the new virtual server. Provisioning a virtual machine on ESX also includes the following requirements. Note that ESX is commonly referred to as the Classic edition and ESXi as the Embedded and Installable edition.

ESX 3.5.x or ESXi 3.5.x Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus
ESX 4.0.x or 4.1 or ESXi 4.0.x or 4.1 Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus

If you are using the Standard edition of ESX 4.0 or ESXi 4.0, you must have update 1 or later.

If your source is a Windows 2008 R2 server, your ESX server must have version 3.5 update 5 or later or ESX 4.0 update 1 or later.
VirtualCenter—Although VirtualCenter is not required for the ESX versions, if you are using it, then you must use version 2.5 or later.

VMotion is only supported if you are using VirtualCenter.
Virtual recovery appliance—The ESX server must have an existing virtual machine, known as a virtual recovery appliance, that meets the following requirements. (When you are ready for recovery, the virtual recovery appliance will create a new virtual server, mount disks, format disks, and so on. Then the new virtual machine is detached from the virtual recovery appliance and powered on. Once the new virtual machine is online, it will have the identity, data, and system state of the original source. Since the virtual recovery appliance maintains its own identity, it can be reused for additional recoveries.)

The virtual recovery appliance must be running Windows Server 2008, 2008 R2, 2003, or 2003 R2.
The virtual recovery appliance must have the same or newer operating system than the source (not including service pack level).
The virtual recovery appliance must have Double-Take RecoverNow installed and licensed on it.

System memory—For your existing servers and the virtual recover appliance, there are different memory requirements depending on the system architecture you are using. Be sure you have at least the minimum amount of memory for your environment. You should consider having at least the recommended amount of system memory.

i386 operating systems—The minimum system memory is 1 GB.
x64 operating systems—The minimum system memory is 1 GB. The recommended system memory is at least 2 GB.

Disk space for program files—For your existing servers and the virtual recover appliance, this is the amount of disk space, approximately 130 MB, needed for the Double-Take RecoverNow program files.
Disk space for data files—For your existing servers, this is the amount of disk space on the recovery server to hold all of the source data files. This will be dependent on the applications you are running and the amount of data files you have.
Disk space for system state image—For your existing servers, this is the amount of disk space on a physical or existing virtual recovery server to hold the image of the source system state. You should have at least 5 GB of space on the recovery server for the system state. The more applications you are running on the source, the larger the system state image will be. Therefore, you may need additional space if your source has many applications.
Server name—Double-Take RecoverNow includes Unicode file system support, but your existing servers and the virtual recovery appliance must be in ASCII format.
Microsoft .NET Framework—For your existing servers and the virtual recover appliance, Double-Take RecoverNow requires the Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5 Service Pack 1. This version is not included in the .NET version 4.0 release. Therefore, even if you have .NET version 4.0 installed, you will also need version 3.5.1. You can install this version from the Double-Take RecoverNow CD, via a web connection during the Double-Take RecoverNow installation, or from a copy you have obtained manually from the Microsoft web site.
Network protocols—Your servers must use TCP/IP with static IP addressing.