Docs
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.exe from your installation directory as Administrator.

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

Input License Key

Input the license key you received when downloading DMC.

Select Physical Mode

Click Physical to start configuring your physical server scan.

VMware Environment Limitations: If you scan your VMware environment using Physical Mode, due to constraints in availability of hypervisor credentials, there are some limitations:

  • Only current performance metrics are collected
  • AVS sizing / pricing will not be considered

Configure Output Directory and Review Existing Scans

Set Output Directory

Before proceeding with scan configuration, you can specify where scan results will be saved:

  1. Review Default Location: The default output directory is C:\temp
  2. Change Directory (optional):
    • Click the Browse button next to the output directory field
    • Navigate to your desired directory
    • Select the folder and click OK
  3. Verify Path: Confirm the path displayed in the input field is correct

Output Directory Purpose: All scan results, logs, and metadata will be saved to this directory. The path you set here applies to all scan types (VMware, Physical, Database Assessment).

Default Location: If not changed, scans will be saved to C:\temp. You can change this at any time before starting a scan.

Review Existing Scans

The “Existing Scans Found” section displays any previous scan results in the selected output directory:

  • If scans are found: You’ll see a count of available scans (e.g., “1 scans found in C:\temp”) and a table listing scan details
  • If no scans are found: The section displays “No previous scans found in this directory”

Scan Discovery: Database Assessment can automatically discover SQL Server instances from previous VMware or Physical scans stored in this directory. If you’ve completed infrastructure scans, they will be available for SQL Server discovery.

Scan Management: After completing scans, you can return to this screen to review, export, and manage your scan results. Use the checkboxes to select scans for export, then click “Export Selected Scans” or “Download Offline Report”.

Scan Target Selection screen showing Output Directory and Existing Scans Found sections

Output Directory and Existing Scans Found sections on the Scan Target Selection screen

Configure

  • DMC is specifically designed to allow a customer Administrator to securely utilise their admin credentials for a one-time operation.
  • All credentials are stored in memory only and never persist beyond execution.
  • Credential requirements are tailored for one-time use, allowing administrators to securely employ their personal credentials.

Add Physical Servers

Begin by adding the physical servers that you wish to target for scanning.

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

Click Next after you have added all target physical servers.
DMC will validate connectivity for the servers that have been added and provide a detailed report.

Server validation screen showing selected servers and validate button

Server validation results

Click the Status button to show the connection report.

This report provides:

  • Server Connectivity: Network communication status
  • Credentials: Access rights verification for the provided credentials
  • Server Health: Overall system status and performance
It is highly recommended that you review the connection status of each server you add to ensure that connectivity, credentials, and health are all correct before you move through to the next step.

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

Help for mixed validation results

Help information for handling validation 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
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

Windows servers require password-based authentication

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

For detailed Windows account requirements, see System & Access Requirements.

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
Need help creating SSH keys? See our Creating SSH Keys for use with DMC guide for step-by-step instructions.

Validate Guest Credentials

Click Next. DMC will validate the entered credentials on a subset of your servers. Any invalid credentials are flagged.

Guest credentials validation screen showing Windows and Linux verification results

Click Continue after validation completes.

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 5 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 90%
Memory Usage (0–90%) Skips scanning if memory usage exceeds this threshold 90%
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 1.0 GB
Linux /tmp Partition (0.1–1.0 GB) Skips scanning if available disk space is below this threshold 0.1 GB

Click Next to proceed to the scan phase.

Scan

Now that you have successfully configured DMC, you can proceed to scanning your estate.

Review Servers

DMC scan preparation screen showing discovered servers list, CSV options, search, and filters

Options for managing server scope:

  • Export CSV: Download detected servers, edit externally, then re-import.
  • Import CSV: Upload a pre-edited list of servers to include.
  • Manual Selection: Use checkboxes, search, and OS filters to select servers.
CSV files can be edited with free tools like VS Code or Notepad++ for easier bulk editing.

Once satisfied, click Save to confirm the scan scope, then click Run Scan.

Monitor Progress

Progress updates in real time with a Console Output log.

Each server typically requires ~45 seconds.
Total scan duration varies with the Max Concurrent Servers setting.
DMC scan progress screen showing completion status and logging output

Results

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

Scan Summary

DMC Scan Summary screen showing collection results and error breakdown

The summary highlights:

  • Status Bar – unified metrics showing scan status, duration, VMs scanned, Physical Servers scanned (if applicable), and SQL Servers scanned (if applicable)
  • Scan Status Chart – donut chart showing full, partial, or failed scans (color-coded)
  • Error Summary Chart – donut chart showing common error categories (e.g., credentials, network, agent, access, other)
  • Scan Results Per Discovery Target – table showing grouped scan outcomes per discovery target with Full/Partial/Failed/Total counts
  • Full scans = guest data
  • Partial scans = host-only data
  • No server scanned unless pre-scan checks (CPU/memory/disk) are passed

SQL Server Discovery

During your Physical scan, DMC automatically discovers SQL Server instances installed on your servers. When SQL Server installations are detected, DMC collects detailed information about each instance.

What Was Discovered:

  • SQL Server instances are automatically detected when found during the scan
  • Detailed information is collected for each SQL Server instance
  • Instance details include: hostname, instance name, edition, version, port, and configuration
Important: This Physical scan discovers SQL Server instances. SQL Server assessment can be performed after infrastructure discovery by completing additional steps using the separate Database Assessment mode.

Next Step: Database Assessment (Required for SQL Assessment)

To assess your discovered SQL Server instances for migration readiness, you must complete a separate Database Assessment workflow.

When to Proceed: You can start Database Assessment immediately after completing your Physical scan, or return to it later. Your discovered SQL Server instances will be available whenever you run a Database Scan.

What You Need to Do:

  1. Navigate back to the scan target selection page (click the back arrow or use the navigation menu)
  2. Select Database Assessment as the scan target
  3. Click Discover SQL Servers — this automatically loads SQL Server instances from your scan results
  4. Add SQL Server credentials (Windows Integrated or SQL Server Authentication) — these are different from the guest OS credentials used in Physical scans
  5. Map credentials to SQL Server instances — assign the appropriate credentials to each SQL Server instance
  6. Run Database Scan — execute the assessment to evaluate migration readiness

Important: SQL Server assessment can be performed after completing your Physical scan. Follow the complete Database Assessment workflow, which includes adding SQL Server-specific credentials and mapping them to instances.

For complete step-by-step instructions on assessing SQL Server instances, including credential management and assessment execution, see the Database Assessment documentation.

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 by discovery target and search by server name or error description
  • View server details including Server Name, OS Type, Error Description, Log Path, and Resolution
  • Sortable columns for easy organization
  • Pagination (10 items per page) for large result sets
  • Clickable log file links to open individual server logs
  • Export filtered results to .csv
See Offline Troubleshooting Report Guide for detailed usage.
This report is for diagnostics only.
Transformation strategy and migration recommendations are provided in the SaaS platform.

Finalize Scan

Click Finalise Scan to return to the scan target selection screen, where you can export your scan results and download the offline report.

Export and Download Results

After clicking Finalise Scan, you’ll be returned to the scan target selection screen. Here you can manage your completed scans:

Review Existing Scans

The “Existing Scans Found” section displays all completed scans in your output directory:

  • Scan Count: Shows the total number of scans found (e.g., “1 scans found in C:\temp”)
  • Scan Details Table: Lists each scan with:
    • Scan Details: Scan type (VMware Scan, Physical Scan, etc.) and unique identifier
    • Servers: Number of servers scanned
    • Version: DMC version used (e.g., “DMC 1.1.5”)
    • Date & Time: When the scan was completed
  • Selection: Use checkboxes to select which scans you want to export
Scan Management: You can select multiple scans to export together, or export them individually. Selected scans will be packaged into a single encrypted ZIP file.
Existing Scans Found section showing scan details table with selection checkboxes

Export Selected Scans

  1. Select the scan from the list of discovered scans by checking the box next to it
  2. Click Export Selected Scans (the button shows the count of selected scans, e.g., “Export Selected Scans (1)”)
  3. Name the Scan: Enter a descriptive friendly name for the export in the modal dialog

After export completes, you’ll see:

  • ZIP Password – encrypts the results ZIP (for extraction)
  • Decryption Key – used when uploading to Dr Migrate
Important: Record the ZIP Password and Decryption Key immediately — these cannot be recovered once DMC closes.
Export Selected Scans button and export modal with friendly name input

Download Offline Report

Click Download Offline Report to generate a standalone .html troubleshooting report for the selected scan(s).

The offline report includes the same capabilities as described in the Offline Troubleshooting Report section above.

Upload Your Scans

After exporting your scans, you can 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.