Windows Agent Mode

List of Supported Windows Agent

Support and Conditions

• Basic Requirements:：
  • CPU：x86-64-bit processor
    • CPU Usage Control: You can limit the average CPU usage of DiskSyncAgent through the configuration item CPU_USEAGE_SETTING. By default, CPU usage is limited to 30%.
    • Increasing Synchronization Speed: If your network is sufficient, increasing the CPU usage limit can improve synchronization speed in object storage mode.
    • It’s important to note that if a user’s computer has lower performance or is running other CPU-intensive tasks simultaneously, increasing the CPU usage limit may slow down the system or make it unstable. Therefore, it’s necessary to assess the system’s performance and resource utilization before raising the CPU usage limit.
  • Memory Requirements:
    • To ensure the normal operation of the DiskSyncAgent service, it is recommended to have at least 1 GB of available memory.
    • The DiskSyncAgent service typically consumes 220-350MB of memory. If your system has insufficient memory, it may result in slow operation or crashes of the DiskSyncAgent service.
  • Disk Space: To ensure the proper installation and functioning of the software, it is recommended to have at least 200 MB of available space.
  • Network Connection: To ensure stability and speed in the connection to the target end, it is recommended to use a network connection with a minimum speed of 10 Mbps.
  • System Firmware: To ensure software compatibility, you need to use either BIOS or UEFI firmware.
  • Virtualization Support: DiskSyncAgent supports full virtualization, but support for para-virtualization (e.g., XenServer) is limited. Manual repairs may be required during the final startup.

• Disk Volume Requirements:
  • The number of disks must be less than 32.
  • Offline synchronization is not supported for source disks. All disks must be online before synchronization. User can configure disks not to be synchronized through the source-side configuration file.
  • You can specify disks that should not be synchronized (excluding the boot disk) through configuration. Refer to the EXCLUDE_DISKS configuration item in the configuration file. Disks that are not synchronized can be offline. Note: Modifying the EXCLUDE_DISKS configuration item must be done before the first service startup (node registration). After the host node registration is complete, this configuration item cannot be modified. If you need to make changes, you will need to clear resources and re-register the node.
  • If the source end has shared disks mounted on multiple hosts, you can choose to synchronize only the shared disks on one host during migration. You can exclude shared disks on other hosts through the EXCLUDE_DISK configuration item.
  • The free space ratio of the volume should not be less than 3%. If there is significant incremental data in the system, it may be necessary to increase free space. Reserved space is used for storing VSS snapshots. Insufficient space may cause snapshot issues and synchronization failures.
  • Simple volumes and partition volumes are supported for synchronization, while striped volumes, mirrored volumes, and RAID volumes are not supported.
  • Windows dynamic disks cannot be used as system boot partitions.
  • Windows operating system UEFI boot is not supported.

• File System and Volume Snapshot Requirements:
  • NTFS file system supports VSS synchronization mode, synchronizing only valid data.
  • Raw devices or file systems other than NTFS do not support VSS mode and are fully synchronized based on the actual disk capacity.
  • In VSS mode, the VSS service on the source-end host must be running normally. You can use the built-in Windows vssadmin command line to create and delete shadows.
  • In cloud disk mode, the MsiscsiService service must be running normally.
  • During data synchronization on the source host, do not manually delete Windows VSS shadows. Otherwise, it may lead to synchronization failures, and you will have to perform a full synchronization again.

• Network Requirements:
  • In cloud disk mode, the source platform needs to be able to access port 3260 on the target platform and ensure normal iSCSI communication.
  • In cloud disk mode, if the source platform disk contains iSCSI disks, please be caution and do not change the original Initiator Name to avoid affecting the normal operation of the business system.
  • During synchronization in cloud disk mode, the network bandwidth from the source platform to the target platform should not be less than 5 Mbps to ensure the stability of the iSCSI target disk. Bandwidth below 5 Mbps can result in unstable iSCSI disks, leading to synchronization failures. Additionally, ensure network stability with low latency and low jitter.
  • Proxy mode is supported. Set the correct proxy server and port through the interface during installation and startup phases.

• System Patch Requirements:
  • To ensure the normal operation of the DiskSyncAgent service, you need to install patch KB4474419 on three types of systems, including Windows 2008 32-bit, Windows 2008 64-bit, and Windows 2008 R2 64-bit. After installing the patch, please restart the system before starting the DiskSyncAgent service. For patch installation instructions, please refer to the appendix.

• Security Software Requirements:
  • If your host has security software installed, it is recommended to completely disable it before synchronization. (Some software may not be able to completely disable it. If you are unsure whether the software can be completely disabled, it is advisable to uninstall the relevant software first.)
  • If you cannot completely disable the software, please pay attention to security software warnings during the installation and startup of the Agent service. If a warning message window appears, be sure to trust all operations of the software to prevent security software from blocking or prompting. Do not temporarily disable security software for the installation and startup of Windows Agent, as this may damage the Agent service. If this occurs, you will need to restart the host to restore the host service. Please refer to Appendix 2 for the list of security software that may affect Agent data synchronization.

• Synchronization Requirement:
  • When the host can access the internet, it needs to synchronize its time with internet time sources to maintain consistency. If internet access is not available, it should synchronize its time with an internal time synchronization server within the network.