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Data Collection
DMC
Using DMC
Running DMC
Scan Physical

Scan Physical

Pre-Requisites

Download DMC Package

Download the DMC package from your Dr Migrate instance.

Prepare Windows Jumpbox VM

Prepare a Windows-based Jumpbox VM with access to your target environment (physical servers).

Verify System Requirements

Ensure the Jumpbox has:

  • Network access to target physical servers
  • At least 20 GB free disk space

Review Access Requirements

For details, see the System and Access Requirements section.

Launch DMC and Enter License Key

Run DMC as Administrator

Run DMC.exe from your installation directory as Administrator.

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Running as administrator ensures the tool can write to output folders and logs correctly.
If Running DMC.exe Is Blocked
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When an executable is downloaded from the internet, Windows may block it from running by default.
  1. Right-click the .exe file
  2. Select Properties from the context menu
  3. Under the General tab, look for the Security section
  4. If you see an Unblock checkbox, tick it
  5. Click Apply, then OK

Input License Key

Enter the DMC license key you received when downloading DMC.

Select Physical Mode

Click Physical to begin configuring your physical server scan.

Configure

Server Selection

For physical server scans, you have two options to prepare your server list:

Add Physical Servers

You can add physical servers using either of these methods:

Option 1: Add Servers One by One
Use the DMC UI to add each physical server by specifying the FQDN or IP address, selecting the OS type (Windows or Linux), and providing credentials.

Server selection with UI elements

Server selection with UI controls

Option 2: Use a CSV Template
Prepare a CSV file using the provided template to list all physical servers with their details. You can import this CSV using the Import CSV option in the DMC interface.

Import CSV file screen

Importing physical server CSV file in DMC

The CSV template should have the following structure:

CSV Format

host,os

Supported OS values:

  • windows
  • linux

Tip

DMC will try to automatically determine the OS type, however you can override this as needed.

Example:

host,os
host01,windows
host02,linux

Validate Server Connectivity

After adding servers (either manually or via CSV import), DMC will automatically validate the server connection. You can also manually validate servers using the steps below.

Select Servers for Validation

Select the servers you want to validate by checking the checkboxes next to their names.

Click Validate Selected

Click the Validate Selected button to begin validation. DMC will test connectivity and credentials.

Server validation screen showing selected servers and validate button

Selecting servers and clicking validate button

Review Validation Results

DMC will display the validation results.

Mixed validation results

Validation results showing reachable and unreachable servers

Handle Validation Issues

For servers that fail validation, review the error messages and help info.

Help for mixed validation results

Help information for handling validation issues

Remediate Issues

Address connectivity or credential issues before proceeding:

  • Ensure ports 5985/5986 (Windows) or 22 (Linux) are open
  • Verify WINRM/PSRemoting is enabled (Windows)
  • Ensure servers are powered on and accessible
  • Re-import or manually adjust server details
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For detailed troubleshooting steps and solutions, see Remediating Access Issues.

Guest Credentials

Now add credentials that will be used to connect to both Windows and Linux servers.

Add Guest Credentials

DMC supports different authentication methods depending on the guest operating system. Windows servers use password authentication, while Linux servers support both password and SSH key authentication.

Windows Server Authentication

Windows servers require password-based authentication

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Important: DMC requires credentials that can access the guest operating system of each server, not just domain-level access.

  • Domain-joined servers: Use a domain account with local admin rights, or a domain admin account
  • Workgroup servers: Use a local administrator account
  • Mixed environments: Add multiple credential sets for different domains or workgroups

Each credential set must use the same authentication method for all target servers.

Steps:

  1. Click Add Windows button
  2. Enter the Username (domain or local admin account)
  3. Enter the Password for authentication
  4. Provide a Friendly Name (e.g., “Production Windows Servers”)
  5. Click Save
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For detailed Windows account requirements, see System & Access Requirements.

Linux Server Authentication

Linux servers support both password and SSH key authentication methods.

Password Authentication

Traditional username/password combination suitable for environments where SSH keys aren’t configured.

Steps:

  1. Click Add Linux button
  2. Select Password authentication method
  3. Enter the Username (Linux username with sudo access)
  4. Enter the Password for authentication
  5. Provide a Friendly Name (e.g., “Production Linux Servers”)
  6. Click Save

SSH Key Authentication (Recommended)

More secure authentication method using SSH private keys. No password management required.

Steps:

  1. Click Add Linux button
  2. Select SSH Key authentication method
  3. Enter the Username (Linux username with sudo access)
  4. Upload your SSH Private Key file
  5. Provide a Friendly Name (e.g., “SSH Key Linux Servers”)
  6. Click Save
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Need help creating SSH keys? See our Creating SSH Keys for use with DMC guide for step-by-step instructions.

Validate Guest Credentials

DMC will test credentials against a subset of servers.

Guest credentials validation screen

Settings

Customize scan settings as required. These settings provide control over scan thresholds.

Configure Settings

Category Setting Description Default
General Output Path Directory where scan results and logs are saved C:\temp
Max Concurrent Servers Number of servers processed concurrently 20 servers
Operation Timeout Controls the maximum time a scan operation can run before being terminated 5 minutes
Scan Thresholds CPU Usage (0–90%) Skips scanning if CPU usage exceeds this threshold 85%
Memory Usage (0–85%) Skips scanning if memory usage exceeds this threshold 75%
Windows C:\ Drive (1–10 GB) Skips scanning if available disk space is below this threshold 5.0 GB
Linux / Partition (1–10 GB) Skips scanning if available disk space is below this threshold 5.0 GB
Linux /tmp Partition (0.1–1.0 GB) Skips scanning if available disk space is below this threshold 0.5 GB
Performance Operation Timeout Controls the maximum time a scan operation can run before being terminated 5 minutes

Click Next to proceed to the scan phase.

Scan

Monitor Progress

Progress and console output are shown in real time.

Scan progress screen

Results

With the scan completed, you can finalize results and upload them to the Migrate platform.

Scan Summary

Encryption details screen
The summary highlights:

  • Scan Overview – total duration, VM count, success/failure status
  • VM Scan Status – full, partial, or failed scans (color-coded)
  • Error Summary – common reasons (e.g., missing credentials, low disk)
  • Per-vCenter Results – grouped scan outcomes
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  • Full scans = guest + host data
  • Partial scans = hypervisor-only data
  • No VM scanned unless pre-scan checks (CPU/memory/disk) are passed

Offline Troubleshooting Report

Click Download Offline Report to generate a standalone .html summary for troubleshooting.

Offline report HTML showing summary ring charts, filters, and details

Capabilities:

  • Filter VMs by status, OS, vCenter, power state, error
  • View contextual error messages and scan phase icons
  • Export filtered results to .csv
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See Offline Troubleshooting Report Guide for detailed usage.
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This report is for diagnostics only.
Transformation strategy and migration recommendations are provided in the SaaS platform.

Finalize Scan

Click Save and Encrypt Scan Results.
Record the ZIP Password and Decryption Key — these cannot be recovered later.

  • ZIP Password – encrypts the results ZIP (for extraction)
  • Decryption Key – used when uploading to Dr Migrate
DMC scan results screen showing encryption details (ZIP password and decryption key)

Upload Your Scans

You can now upload the Environment file and ZIP to Dr Migrate.

Upload DMC scans
Step-by-step guide to upload your DMC scan data into the Dr Migrate platform.