RecoverPoint for VMs: How to Register and Unregister the RP4VMs Plugin Server using the API

Proper communication between the Virtual RecoverPoint Appliances (vRPAs), and the Plugin Server is required in order for the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines UI to display properly. This communication is completed by running the Configure Plugin Server Wizard from the RecoverPoint WDM.

This same process can be done using the Plugin Server API if the Configure Plugin Server Wizard from the RecoverPoint WDM is failing.

The Plugin Server API can also be used to remove a Plugin Server from a specific vCenter if this is required for uninstall or reinstall purposes.

One of the advantages of using the Plugin Server API is that it can provide additional information to help with the Plugin Server registration.

Below are two separate processes which illustrate how to both register and unregister a Plugin Server from an RP4VMs environment.

Process to Register the RP4VMs Plugin Server using the API:

1. Open a web browser to the Plugin Server with the following syntax:
   https://Plugin_Server_IP/ui

2. In the upper right corner, there is a button that is called Authorize. Click this button and enter in an administrator username and password for the vCenter where you want to register your RP4VMs Plugin Server. Once entered, click the Close button to bring you back to the previous screen.

3. Using the Find option within the web browser, locate the API section-labeled VC Inventory.

4. Under the VC Inventory header, select the POST option. Inside this section on the right side of the screen, there is a button that is labeled "Try It Out." Click the button. Doing so enables text to be entered into the body section of the JSON box.

5. The default body of the JSON is the following:

{
  "address": "string",
  "certificate": "string",
  "password": "string",
  "port": 443,
  "userName": "string"
}

1. We want to confirm which root CA certificate the Plugin Server requires. To do that, we want to have the first registration process fail on purpose. Doing so presents a message which states the certificate that is needed.
   Enter in the following information to have the registration process fail on purpose, providing us with the certificate the Plugin Server requires.

   PLEASE NOTE the "certificate": "string," line remains unchanged. Again, we want this to fail to confirm the certificate that we require from vCenter.

{
  "address": "vCenter_IP_Address",
  "certificate": "string",
  "password": "vCenter_Password",
  "port": 443,
  "userName": "vCenter_User_Name"
}

6. Once the vCenter information has been entered into the JSON body, scroll down and click the long, blue button labeled "Execute."

7. A return code appears below the "Execute" button, which should be 400 Error: BAD REQUEST, confirming the operation failed. The operation failed on purpose as we denied the vCenter certificate the Plugin Server that is required to finish the operation. Below the error code a message is displayed:

You must confirm the root CA certificate for vCenter Server '<vCenter_IP>:443' before you can register it.

1. Below this there is a certificate that is listed. This is the vCenter root certificate that the Plugin Server requires.

   Copy the certificate to your clipboard. Copy everything beginning with and including the first quote after the following: "message": and end the copy after the following: END CERTIFICATE-----\n

   Replace the "string" field with the copied output above and press the "Execute" button once again.

8. Because the required CA Certificate was given ahead of time to the Plugin Server, a successful return code of 200 should be displayed. Browse the vCenter server UI.
   A message stating the Plugin Server extension has been installed appear at the top of the vCenter UI.
   Few messages may also be recorded in the "Recent Tasks" that state the RP4VMs Plugin was downloaded and deployed. Refresh your browser to view the RP4VMs icon.
   If this does not happen, log out of the vCenter and back in to view the newly installed RP4VMs Plugin.

Process to Unregister the RP4VMs Plugin Server using the API:
For various reasons, such as uninstalling or reinstalling RP4VMs, removal of the Plugin Server from the vCenter may be required. The steps below outline out to accomplish this.

1. Open a web browser to the Plugin Server with the following syntax:
   https://Plugin_Server_IP/ui

2. In the upper right corner, there is a button that is called Authorize. Click this button and enter in an administrator username and password for the vCenter where you want to register your RP4VMs Plugin Server. Once entered, click the Close button to bring you back to the previous screen.

3. Using the Find option within the web browser, locate the API section labeled "VC Inventory."

4. Under the VC Inventory header, select the GET option. Inside this section on the right side of the screen, there is a button-labeled "Try It Out." Click this button.

5. No parameters are required here. Within this section, there should be a field that is labeled "id" followed by an alphanumeric string of characters. Copy this string of characters without quotes. This is the vCenter UUID that you need for the removal command.

6. Under the VC Inventory header, select the DELETE option. Inside this section on the right side of the screen, there is a button that is labeled "Try It Out." Click this button. Doing so enables text to be entered into the body section of the JSON box.

7. Paste the vCenter UUID copied from the GET command into the "vc-id" field and select the "Execute" button.

8. A return code appears below the "Execute" button, which should be 204 Successful Request, confirming the operation successfully removed the RP4VMs Plugin Server from vCenter. Within the RP4VMs Plugin, a series of unknown error messages are reported and the UI is not responding, due to the Plugin being removed.

9. Allow a few minutes to pass and then log out of vCenter and then log back in. After doing so, the RP4VMs icon should be removed from the vCenter list of menu items. After this, you can register a new Plugin Server without incident.

If the above options do not work to properly register or unregister the RP4VMs Plugin Server, contact Dell Technologies RecoverPoint support for additional assistance.