DMC (Dr Migrate Collector)
This guide walks you through the complete process of downloading, preparing, and running the Dr Migrate Collector (DMC) in your environment.
Before running DMC in your environment, ensure the following prerequisites are in place. This checklist will help ensure a smooth and successful data collection process.
Prerequisites
| Requirement | Learn More | |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ | Access to your Dr Migrate SaaS instance. | Learn More |
| ✅ | Windows-based VM (Jump Box) with required specifications. | Learn More |
| ✅ | Network connectivity to vCenter and ESXi hosts. | Learn More |
| ✅ | Appropriate vCenter and guest OS credentials. | Learn More |
| ➡️ | Download and run DMC. | Learn More |
System Requirements
- Access to your Dr Migrate SaaS instance
- Windows-based VM (Jump Box) with:
- Windows Server 2016 or later
- 4 vCPUs minimum
- 8 GB RAM minimum
- 25 GB free space per 4,000 VMs scanned (for temporary data storage)
- Network line-of-sight access to vCenter and ESXi hosts (port 443)
- Minimum resolution of 800×600
VMware Requirements
- vSphere Version: vSphere 6.0 and above
- Network Access:
- Jump Box → vCenter Servers (port 443/HTTPS) for API communication
- Jump Box → ESXi Hosts (port 443/HTTPS) for guest VM metrics transfer
Credential Requirements
Security Note:
- DMC is designed for one-time operations using administrator credentials
- All credentials are stored in memory only and never persist beyond execution
- This approach eliminates the need for creating bespoke accounts
vCenter Access
- vCenter Admin Account with:
- Read-only access to VMs, Hosts, and Datastores
- Guest Operations execution role
- Access to retrieve performance metrics
Guest OS Credentials
- Windows VMs: Domain Admin or Local Admin (for system settings, software inventory, network stack, and processes)
- Linux VMs: Root or Sudo-enabled user (for installed packages, active processes, and network connections)
Permissions Required
- Appropriate permissions to run discovery tools in your environment
- Ability to execute lightweight guest operations without impacting environment stability
For detailed system requirements and least privilege setup options, see the System and Access Requirements section.
Download DMC
Connect to Your Dr Migrate Instance
Each customer is provisioned with their own dedicated, secure Dr Migrate instance.
Once you are logged in, you will see your deployment. If the VM is not started, please click Start.
Choose DMC Data Collection Source
When logging in for the first time, you will be prompted to select a ‘Data Source’ to connect to. Choose DMC.
Download DMC
- Accept the Dr Migrate End User License Agreement (EULA).
- Proceed to download the DMC application.
- Copy the provided license key.
Prepare and Run DMC
Launch DMC
Launch DMC.exe as Administrator from your installation directory.
Enter Access Key
Enter the DMC Access Key that was provided during the download step.
If DMC.exe is blocked by Windows
- Right-click the .exe file you downloaded.
- Select Properties from the context menu.
- Under the General tab, look at the bottom for a section called Security.
- If you see a checkbox or button labeled Unblock, tick it or click it.
- Click Apply, then OK.
Configure Scan Settings
- DMC is specifically designed to allow a customer Administrator to securely utilize their admin credentials for a one-time operation.
- All credentials are stored in memory only and never persist beyond execution.
- Credentials requirements are tailored for one-time use, allowing administrators to securely employ their personal credentials.
Add vCenter Details
Begin by adding one or more vCenters that you wish to target for scanning.
Select the Add vCenter button.
Enter vCenter Credentials
Enter the vCenter Host and associated Username and Password with sufficient permission to perform the scan.
Initial vCenter connection screen
Click Next after you have added all target vCenters.
Add Guest Credentials
Now add credentials that will be used to connect to both Windows and Linux servers.
Select Add Windows / Add Linux buttons.
Enter the Username and Password with sufficient permission to collect guest metrics.
Validate Guest Credentials
Click Next. DMC will validate the entered credentials on a subset of your servers. Any invalid credentials are flagged.
Click Continue after validation completes.
Configure Settings
Customize scan settings as required:
| Category | Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | Output Path | Directory where scan results and logs are saved. | C:\temp |
| Max Concurrent Servers | The number of servers that will be processed concurrently during discovery. | 20 servers | |
| Scan Thresholds | CPU Usage Threshold (0-90%) | Skips scanning if a server’s CPU usage exceeds this threshold. | 85% |
| Memory Usage Threshold (0-85%) | Skips scanning if a server’s 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 |
Continue to Scan
Click Next to proceed to the scan phase.
Execute the Scan
Review Servers
After configuring your scan settings, you will be presented with a list of all detected servers targeted for scanning. This screen provides flexible options to manage which servers are included in the scan:
Import/Export Servers
- Export CSV: Download a CSV file containing all detected servers. You can edit this file to remove any servers you do not want included in the scan. Once your changes are made, you can re-import the file to update your selections in bulk.
- Import CSV: Upload a CSV file listing the servers you want to include in the scan. Any server in your list that matches a detected server by name will be marked as in-scope for scanning.
This functionality is especially useful for managing large environments, allowing you to quickly select or deselect servers at scale.
Manual Selection
You can also manually select or deselect servers directly in the interface:
- Use the checkboxes next to each server to include or exclude them from the scan.
- Use the search bar to quickly find specific servers by name.
- Filter the list by operating system to focus on particular server types.
Filtering by Operating System
To help you quickly focus on specific server types, use the Filter OS dropdown located next to the search bar. This dropdown allows you to:
- Select or deselect all operating systems at once using the “Select All” option.
- Individually include or exclude servers by their operating system (e.g., CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Microsoft Windows Server 2016/2019/2022, etc.).
- Each OS option is accompanied by an icon for easy identification.
When you adjust these filters, the server list updates in real time to show only the servers matching your selected operating systems. This makes it easy to target or exclude certain platforms from your scan with just a few clicks.
This approach is ideal for conducting test scans or making quick adjustments to your scan scope.
Once you are satisfied with your selections, click Save to confirm your scan scope, then proceed by clicking Run Scan.
Monitor Progress
The scan’s overall progress will be updated in real time, accompanied by a Console Output that displays detailed logging information.
Scan Summary
Once the scan is complete, the final screen presents a summary of the virtual machine (VM) data collection results. This helps users understand what was collected, identify any issues, and determine whether further action is needed.
The summary provides a high-level breakdown of scan success and completeness across all VMs. It is designed to highlight how many VMs were fully scanned, partially scanned, or failed, and to assist with troubleshooting when issues occur.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Scan Overview | Shows total duration, number of VMs scanned, and whether the scan completed successfully. |
| VM Scan Status | Categorizes VMs into Full, Partial, or Failed scans using a color-coded ring chart. |
| Error Summary | Lists the most common reasons for partial or failed scans (e.g. missing credentials, low disk space). A pie chart shows their relative frequency. |
| Scan Results per vCenter | Displays how many VMs were scanned under each connected vCenter, grouped by outcome. |
Offline Troubleshooting Report
After the scan completes, clicking Download Offline Report generates a standalone .html file containing a full summary of the scan results. This file runs locally in your browser and is designed to support troubleshooting of scan issues during deployment.
Key capabilities include:
- Filtering VMs by scan status, operating system, vCenter, power state, and error reason.
- Viewing contextual error messages and scan phase icons.
- Exporting filtered results to
.csvfor handoff to application or infrastructure teams.
Finalize Scan
Once the scan and troubleshooting has completed, click the Save and Encrypt Scan Results button.
It is very important that you record the ZIP Password and decryption key. For security reasons, you cannot recover them once DMC closes and will need to rerun the scan.
ZIP Password – encrypts the scan results ZIP (used for unzipping on any machine)
Decryption Key – used in the next step to decrypt the scan results when uploading to Dr Migrate
Next Steps
After completing the scan, you can: