Pairing Two Sites
Before you can replicate or recover anything, the two sites must be paired at two layers: Cockpit-to-Cockpit (for replication and recovery orchestration) and DRM-to-DRM (for recovery-plan replication).
1. Pair the Cockpit sites
Site pairing tells the primary Cockpit how to reach the recovery Cockpit and authorizes it to replicate and orchestrate there.
Create an API access token on the remote site
On the recovery site's Cockpit, create a durable API access token for pairing. You will receive two values:
- an API Access Token ID
- an API Access Token Secret
Use a durable token, not a login session
Pairing must survive over time. Use a service-account API access token, not a short-lived interactive login token, which expires and breaks the pairing.
Register the remote site
On the primary Cockpit, open the Replication & Site Pairing panel and choose Link Site Pair. Fill in the form:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Site Name | A display name for the remote site, e.g. DR-Site-B |
| API Endpoint URL | The remote Cockpit API URL, e.g. https://<recovery-cockpit>:7771/api/v1 |
| API Access Token ID | The token ID created on the remote site |
| API Access Token Secret | The token secret created on the remote site |
| TLS Trusted Certificate Path (optional) | Path to the remote site's certificate, if you pin certificates |
Select Establish Connection. The site should appear in the Paired Replication Sites table with status connected.
Pairing direction
Cockpit pairing is directional: the source registers the target. For failback later, you will also need the reverse pairing — register the primary site on the recovery Cockpit the same way.
2. Pair the DRM instances
DRM-to-DRM pairing lets the primary DRM replicate its recovery plans to the recovery DRM, so the surviving site can execute them if the primary is lost.
In the primary DRM console, open the Clusters (site pairing) view and choose Add Cluster. The form mirrors the Cockpit one:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Cluster Display Name | A name for the peer site |
| Target Cockpit API URL | The peer site's Cockpit API URL |
| API Access Token ID | The peer site's API access token ID |
| API Access Token Secret | The peer site's API access token secret |
After you register it, the peer appears as a remote site. Repeat in the opposite direction if you want plans authored at either site to replicate to the other.
Verify the pairing
Confirm the following before protecting workloads:
- The remote site shows connected on both Cockpits.
- From the primary DRM, you can browse the recovery site's storage pools (this proves the pairing and the recovery target are reachable).
- The DRM peer shows a paired status.
If pairing fails
- "Invalid token" — the API access token expired or was revoked. Create a new durable token on the remote site and re-register.
- Connection refused / timeout — check that ports
7771(Cockpit) and7772(DRM) are open between the sites, and that the URLs use routable IPs. - Certificate errors — for self-signed certificates, either provide the TLS certificate path or ensure the deployment is configured to accept the peer's certificate.