Installing VSA 10. X
Welcome to the Installation of IT Complete Virtual System Administrator (VSA). You will also see the VSA mentioned as VSA10 or VSAX. These are all synonymous in this guide. VSA10 and VSAX are our shorthand to describe VSA Version 10. x.
The VSA10 is easy to install. We provide a single installation executable which can be downloaded from this link: https://slv.vsax.net/download/Installer.exe. More importantly, you are not required to purchase a license to unlock the full experience of VSA10. We give you the opportunity to generate a demo license key later in the installation. This demo license will give you 30 days to trial the product. For security reasons, we do require that an Installation Code be generated based on your Fully Qualified DNS name. Here is how you can obtain the Installation Code:
- If you are an existing Kaseya customer, please contact your Kaseya Account Manager and request the Installation Code for VSA10.
- If you are new to Kaseya, please contact our Sales team at Sales@kaseya.com to obtain the Installation Code for VSA10.
The Kaseya Team can provide you with the most updated information about new features and functionality to ensure your experience is delightful.
Note : Unofficial links can be a security risk or point to an outdated installer! If you are interested in other IT Complete Modules integrated with the VSA10, please work with our Sales Team to give you trial licenses for these modules as well.
Production License
Whether you are an existing or new Kaseya customer, your trial can be upgraded to a full production license without the need to re-enter licensing information or a license file. You can contact your Account Manager or Kaseya Sales team to upgrade your trial license to a production license automatically!
Upgrading from a previous VSA release
IMPORTANT: Do not run the VSA10 Installer on an existing VSA9 server. VSA10 is not designed for an in-place upgrade. It will break both VSA9 and VSA10 functionality requiring a restore of your existing VSA.
Instead, we designed VSA10 to run in parallel with VSA 9. Via licensing, we can enable a Wizard to migrate data from VSA9 which can move specific data all at once or incrementally. More information on upgrading is available through your Account Manager or Support. This documentation covers new installations of VSA10 only.
Hardware and Software Specification
The VSA will run on one Windows Server or can be split into a single Application server and database server for larger implementations. This guide will show both the application and database server in one instance. Kaseya recommends the most recent OS (Operating System) and DBMS as possible.
Server Requirements.
- Windows Server 2012+
- SQL Server 2012+
- Minimum of 8GB of RAM (Usage will vary with agent loads)
- .NET Framework 4.5 (or higher)
- 1 SSL Certificate or a Wildcard Certificate
(Note: Self-Signed certificates are NOT supported). - The server needs to have an FQDN accessible from the outside that matches the URL you specified if you purchased a license.
- Make sure all patches have been applied to your server(s) so it will not reboot during the installation of VSA10. You may wish to disable updates temporarily.
- VSA10 Installation requires access to the internet. Offline installation is not supported.
Split Server Configuration
VSA10 does support a split server configuration. A split server configuration is a Windows Server running Microsoft IIS and another server running Microsoft SQL Server. The SQL server can be shared with other databases; however, we do recommend you give VSA10 its own SQL Server Instance and/or Dedicated Server.
Firewall Port Settings
Please set up the following rules on your firewall:
- Allow connections on port TCP 443(HTTPS) IN/OUT for vsax.<yourdomainname> in the firewall.
- Allow connections on port TCP 443(HTTPS) OUT to slv.vsax.net, slv2.vsax.net, and dispatcher.vsax.net in the firewall.
Note: Agent traffic will no longer use port 5721 which was a requirement from previous VSA versions (9.5.x and earlier).
RAM
Sufficient memory is critical to the optimal performance of the VSA and SQL Server. Kaseya recommends starting with 8 Gigabytes of memory initially and accessing the memory consumption as agents and database growth increases. Always make sure you save at least 2 Gigabytes or more for the Operating System.
SQL Server
You must install SQL Server before running the VSA Installer. This can be local on the application server or on a remote instance. Only database services are required for VSA.
Getting Started
The installer will deploy VSA10 via an easy-to-use wizard. The wizard will:
- Run the Kaseya Server Setup step-by-step,
- Tests and configures all prerequisites,
- Connects to a SQL Server if already installed,
- Installs the Kaseya Server and all features you are licensed to use,
- Prompts for information necessary to obtain a Free trial license key,
- Set up your first account.
Perform the following steps to install VSA 10
- Login to the machine on which you want to install VSA 10 as an administrator.
- Download the installer into a temporary working directory and run it As Administrator. The download link is provided by the Kaseya Team.
The VSA X Server Setup Wizard displays.
- Select Next.
The End User License Agreement page displays.
Note: If you get the error below, please verify firewall settings are set per the requirements specified above. The server needs to have access to slv.vsax.net and slv2.vsax.net.
- Select the I have read and I Accept the End User License Agreement check box.
- Click Next.
The Network Configuration page displays.
- Enter the DNS Name in which the server will be known externally.
- If the Bind to this IP Address Only check box is selected, enter the IP address to Bind only to this site.
- Enter the Install Code provided by Kaseya Sales or your Kaseya Account Manager.
- Click the Browse button.
- Select your certificate pfx file
- Enter the certificate Password.
- Click Next.
The SQL Server Connection Details page displays. - Select the Server Type.
Local Installation: Connect to the “Local” instance of the SQL Server. This would be the same server you will be setting up the application server in later steps. This is the default setting.
Remote Installation: If the SQL Server is on another server, please enter the DNS or IP address in the name field. - Select the Instance.
Default Instance: The default value for SQL Server is usually used for a single instance of SQL Server. More information about what instances can be found here on the Microsoft Website.
Named Instance: If the default instance name is not used for a SQL Server Installation or there are multiple instances of SQL Server Installed on one server, enter the instance name used for the SQL implementation. More information on instances can be found here on the Microsoft Website. - Select the Use Windows Authentication check box, if this is a local installation of SQL Server or if the server is part of a Domain. If unchecked, you will need to provide a SQL Account that has System Administrator rights to create the database. More information on Windows Authentication for SQL Server can be found here.
- Select the I already have a license option, if you were provided a Product Key and License File, please enter that information
or
Select the I want to obtain a free 30-day trial license option. - Select Next.
Note: You will need to enter some information for us to send you a Free 30-day license Trial. Please fill out the fields. Please ensure a valid email address is entered to ensure you receive the Trial License key. This information will be needed later in the installation. While the key is being generated, you can continue to the next step by selecting Next.
The installer will perform a system check for all prerequisites required to complete the installation successfully. In most cases, System Check can fix a prerequisite for you. Just click the result link to perform the fix.
Note: Warning errors and missing features will be listed in the result column. Click on the links to fix any that are reported.
In the case of operating system errors, by clicking the 11 Warnings link the following screen will be displayed.
- Select “Fix” to perform the fix(es).
If you wish to document the details, click the “Copy Details” links provided on the page and paste them into a text document for future reference or support.
After applying the fixes, you will be prompted one more time to continue modifications to the server.
- Select “Yes” to continue the installation.
The Installer will rerun the tests and display the next set of warnings, errors, or missing features if needed. Continue this until all your status icons turn green as shown below. At this point, the “Next” button will be enabled.
- Select Next.
After the system checks are completed, you will be prompted to enter your Product Key.
This should be in your inbox now. If you have not received your Product Key, please contact Kaseya support at support@kaseya.com.
Note: Your email should have a subject line of VSA X Server License Key.
The contents will provide a Product Key.
- Copy this key and paste it into the Product Key Field.
- Select Next.
The Ready-to-Install page displays.
This will also create a license file that now can be upgraded to a full production license.
- Click “Install”.
The installation process begins.
After a short time, you will get the Installation Complete screen. Your VSA should be fully operational now.
- Click on “Finish”.
The installer exits.
The Administration tool will automatically start so you can create your initial account.
Creating Administrator Account
After the installation is completed, the VSA X Server Administrator will be started. To log into the VSA10 User Interface, you must first create a New Administrator Account.
Enter the appropriate information in the fields above and click Create.
Attempt to log into the UI (User Interfaces) with the credentials created. You will be required to set up MFA (multifactor authentication) before logging in. Follow the instructions.
Register your browser.
You are successfully logged in to VSA 10 UI. Congratulations.
Reporting Installer Problems
If you encounter installation issues VSA10 will report the error to support for you. However, it is recommended to have the following information available:
- Document your Install Code
- Screenshot the error to a file.
- Provide system configuration.
- Windows OS Version and Patch Level
- SQL Server Version and Patch Level
- Configuration of CPU and RAM
- Provide current logs in c:\logs.
Note: If this is a trial, please contact support and indicate it, otherwise, as a Kaseya Customer, you can create a Zendesk Ticket providing the information above.
Post Installation Configuration and Verification
Verify system functionality by performing the following tasks:
- Create Additional User Account(s)
- Test Browser Access
- Test Outbound Email
- Test Installing an Agent
- Test Remote Control
VSA 10 Patching Process
VSA10 no longer requires customers to run an installer to keep their environments updated. This process is done automatically in the background by a service called VSAXServerUpdate.
Note: This service can be disabled to keep updates from applying.
To view if updates have been applied, you can look in the c:\logs directory of the VSA10 Application Server. You will see the logs starting with ServerUpdate.
Configurations and Capacities
VSA10 leverages similar architecture as VSA9. It still uses Windows IIS for the Web Application Server and Microsoft SQL Server for the Database. There are differences that will change how servers are configured.
Ports
All external traffic only requires port 443 to be open. There is no longer a need for a dedicated port for endpoints (5721).
.NET Memory Cache
VSA10 now leverages .NET Memory Cache which substantially reduces the resource requirements for SQL Server. Most of the data used by VSA10 is about 75% reads and 25% writes. This local cache improves Web responsiveness by retrieving the data from memory on the Application Server instead of the original source.
Split Configuration
VSA10 can be configured for a separate SQL Server or “Split Configuration”. If using a Split Configuration, please ensure that firewalls are set up to allow Web Traffic from agents and administrator machines through port 443. Additionally, ensure that IIS has access to SQL Server via Port 1433.
A split configuration provides better performance than both the Application and Database on the same server. Because of the .NET Memory Cache, more emphasis on Compute and Memory resources is placed on the application server versus the SQL Server.
Recommended Server Sizing for various endpoint loads
The recommended server sizing below assumes that all requirements are met in the requirements section above in this document.
Up to 1,000 Endpoints
- Single Server with both IIS and SQL Server Installed
- 8GB RAM
- 4 Cores @ 2.1 GHz
1,000-5,000 Endpoints
Single Server with both IIS and SQL Server Installed
- 24GB RAM
- 8 Cores @ 2.1 GHz
5,000-10,000
Split Configuration is recommended for this configuration to ensure optimal performance.
- Application Server
- 24 GB RAM
- 8 Cores @ 2.1 GHz
- Database Server
- 16 GB RAM
- 4 Cores @ 2.1 GHz
10,000-15,000 Endpoints
Split Configuration is highly recommended for this configuration to ensure optimal performance.
- Application Server
- 32 GB RAM
- 8 Cores @ 2.1 GHz
- Database Server
- 24 GB RAM
- 4 Cores @ 2.1 GHz
15,000-30,000 Endpoints
This configuration uses two application servers and one database server. The application servers will connect to their respective Named Instances on the SQL Server.
- Application Server 01
- 32 GB RAM
- 8 Cores @ 2.1 GHz
- Application Server 02
- 32 GB RAM
- 8 Cores @ 2.1 GHz
Database Server
Database Server is configured for multiple Named instances. Each Application Server will point to a specific named Instance on the SQL Server. This is typical for clustered SQL Servers.
- 32 GB RAM
- 8 Cores @ 2.1 GHz
Additional SQL Server Tunning
Memory on SQL Servers can vary depending on the size of the database and the types of transactions against the database. You can fine-tune the memory of the SQL Server by monitoring the Cache Hit Ratio. Ideally, you would like to see a Cache Hit Ratio of 98% or better. Memory can be adjusted for each Named Instance on the SQL Server to set optimal cache hit ratios. This will ensure you are only using the memory you need for the instances being supported. For example, we can change the maximum memory that is used for our VSA10_01 Instance as shown below.
You also can adjust the amount of CPU resources that are associated with a SQL Server Instance. This can be done by setting processor affinity settings to each Instance as shown below…
Kaseya Consulting
Enterprise environments can get quite sophisticated and no two VSA implementations are the same. Kaseya recommends that you engage with your Sales Team, CSE, or Account Manager to leverage our professional services to keep you updated on the latest developments and best practices for large-scale VSA10 environments.