Preparing your environment for System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator

 

Updated: May 13, 2016

Applies To: System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator

Here are the system requirements and considerations to keep in mind before you deploy System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator.

If you’re evaluating your environment, see System Requirements for System Center 2012 R2

Before installing on a single computer

Here are the system requirements and considerations to keep in mind before you deploy System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator on a single computer.

If you’re evaluating your environment, see System Requirements for System Center 2012 R2

Note

Installing Orchestrator on the same computer as a domain controller is not supported.

Hardware

Orchestrator requires supported hardware. For a list of the supported hardware for Orchestrator, see Hardware.

Operating system

Orchestrator features require a supported operating system. For a list of the supported operating systems for each feature, see Server Operating Systems in System Center 2012 R2.

Software

The following software is required for a full installation of Orchestrator on a single computer.

Requirement Additional information
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 or Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Orchestrator requires only the basic SQL Server features found in the Database Engine Service. No additional features are required.

 Orchestrator supports SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS for collation.

The installation wizard uses SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS as the default collation to create the orchestration database.

Management servers and runbook servers installed on the same computer must use the same database.

The management server must run as a 32-bit application.
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Setup enables the IIS role if it is not enabled.
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Must be manually installed before running Setup
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 (see the procedure immediately following this table) Also requires WCF HTTP Activation
Join the computer to an Active Directory domain
Microsoft Silverlight 4 On first use of the Orchestration console, you are prompted to install Microsoft Silverlight 4 on the computer if it is not already installed.
To install .NET Framework 4.5 and HTTP Activation on Windows Server 2012
  1. On the Windows Start screen, click the Server Manager tile.

  2. On the Manage menu in the Server Manager console, click Add Roles and Features.

  3. Go through the wizard until you reach the Features page.

  4. Expand .NET Framework 4.5 Features.

  5. Select .NET Framework 4.5 if it isn’t already selected.

  6. Expand WCF Services.

  7. Select HTTP Activation if it isn’t already selected.

  8. Click Next and follow the prompts to finish the installation. If you have problems, check the issues covered in Troubleshoot Your Orchestrator Installation.

Before a distributed installation

Here are the system requirements and considerations to keep in mind before you deploy individual features of System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator.

If you’re evaluating your environment, see System Requirements for System Center 2012 R2

Management server requirements

Here are the system requirements and considerations to keep in mind before you deploy the Orchestrator management server.

Hardware

Orchestrator features require supported hardware. For a list of the supported hardware for each Orchestrator feature, see Hardware.

Operating system

Orchestrator features require a supported operating system. For a list of the supported operating systems for each feature, see Server Operating Systems in System Center 2012 R2.

Feature Operating system
Management server Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2012

Windows Server 2012 R2

Software

The following software must be deployed and available to install the Orchestrator management server:

Requirement Additional information
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 or Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Orchestrator requires only the basic SQL Server features found in the Database Engine Service. No additional features are required.

 Orchestrator supports SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS for collation.

The installation wizard uses SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS as the default collation to create the orchestration database.

Management servers and runbook servers installed on the same computer must use the same database.

The management server must run as a 32-bit application.
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Orchestrator Setup installs and enables .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 if it is not installed and enabled.

Runbook server requirements

Here are the system requirements and considerations to keep in mind before you deploy the Orchestrator runbook server.

Hardware

Orchestrator features require supported hardware. For a list of the supported hardware for each Orchestrator feature, see Hardware.

Operating system

Orchestrator features require a supported operating system. For a list of the supported operating systems for each feature, see Server Operating Systems in System Center 2012 R2.

Software

The following software must be deployed and available to install the Orchestrator runbook server:

Requirement Additional information
The Orchestrator management server and database must be already deployed and functional.
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Must be manually installed before running Setup

Orchestrator web service requirements

Here are the system requirements and considerations to keep in mind before you deploy the Orchestrator web service.

Hardware

Orchestrator features require supported hardware. For a list of the supported hardware for each Orchestrator feature, see Hardware.

Operating system

Orchestrator features require a supported operating system. For a list of the supported operating systems for each feature, see Server Operating Systems in System Center 2012 R2.

Software

The following must be deployed and available to successfully install the Orchestrator web service:

Requirement Additional information
The Orchestrator management server and database must be already deployed and functional.
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 Setup enables the IIS role if it is not enabled.
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Must be manually installed before running Setup
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 (see the procedure immediately following this table) Also requires WCF HTTP Activation
Microsoft Silverlight 4 Microsoft Silverlight 4 is not required for the Orchestrator web service installation. It is required for any computer that runs the Orchestration console.
To install .NET Framework 4.5 and HTTP Activation on Windows Server 2012
  1. On the Windows Start screen, click the Server Manager tile.

  2. On the Manage menu in the Server Manager console, click Add Roles and Features.

  3. Go through the wizard until you reach the Features page.

  4. Expand .NET Framework 4.5 Features.

  5. Select .NET Framework 4.5 if it isn’t already selected.

  6. Expand WCF Services.

  7. Select HTTP Activation if it isn’t already selected.

  8. Click Next and follow the prompts to finish the installation. If you have problems, check the issues covered in Troubleshoot Your Orchestrator Installation.

Runbook Designer requirements

Here are the system requirements and considerations to keep in mind before you deploy the Orchestrator Runbook Designer.

Hardware

Orchestrator features require supported hardware. For a list of the supported hardware for each Orchestrator feature, see Hardware.

Operating system

The following table lists the supported operating systems for the Orchestrator Runbook Designer.

Feature Operating system
Runbook Designer Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2012

Windows Server 2012 R2

Windows 7, 32-bit or 64-bit

Software

The following software must be deployed and available to successfully install the Orchestrator Runbook Designer.

Requirement Additional information
The Orchestrator management server and database must be already deployed and functional.
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Must be manually installed before running Setup

Running Orchestrator in an on-premises virtual machine

The system requirements for an System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator installation in an on-premises virtual machine are the same as they are for Orchestrator on a physical computer. Orchestrator does not require a domain controller to be deployed with it.

Running Orchestrator in a Windows Azure virtual machine

System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator runs on Windows Azure just as it does on physical computer systems.

Orchestrator was tested by Microsoft by installing and using it in a Windows Azure virtual machine. The testing concluded that Orchestrator was fully functional and operated exactly the same as it does on physical hardware.Stability and performance benchmarks inside a Windows Azure virtual machine were at a level where no special considerations were needed. Orchestrator does not require a domain controller to be deployed with it, and the virtual machine requirements do not differ from what is recommended for the product that is deployed in an on-premises virtual machine.

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