Overview

This topic covers everything needed to get the DCT appliance running on Hyper-V: prerequisites to complete before you begin, steps to create and configure the VM, and first boot. Confirm that your environment meets the requirements on the Deployment for Hyper-V page before starting.

Prerequisites

  • Download the DCT VHDX image from the Delphix download site (DCT Appliance folder) and copy it to the Hyper-V host or a network path accessible from it.

  • Verify storage space. The NTFS volume where the VHDX files will be stored must have at least 178 GB of free space — 128 GB for the system disk and 50 GB for the metadata volume.

  • Confirm the host is not overcommitted. Review CPU and memory allocation across all VMs on the host before adding DCT. See Deployment for Hyper-V for reservation guidance.

  • Identify the virtual switch the DCT VM will use for network connectivity. DCT communicates with registered engines over HTTPS only and does not require a high-bandwidth adapter.

Create the DCT VM

  1. Open Hyper-V Manager. In the Actions pane, select New > Virtual Machine to start the New Virtual Machine wizard.

    1. Name and Location: Enter a name for the VM and specify the folder where VM configuration files will be stored. Select Next.

    2. Generation: Select Generation 2. Generation 1 is not supported. Select Next.

    3. Memory: Set Startup memory to 32768 MB (32 GB) minimum. Clear the Use Dynamic Memory for this virtual machine checkbox. Select Next.

    4. Networking: Select the virtual switch identified in Prerequisites from the Connection list. Select Next.

    5. Virtual Hard Disk: Select Use an existing virtual hard disk. Browse to the VHDX image downloaded in Prerequisites and select it. Select Next.

  2. Review the summary. Select Finish. The VM appears in the Hyper-V Manager inventory in an Off state.

Configure the VM

Before starting the VM for the first time, open its Settings and make the following changes. Because DCT requires Generation 2 VMs, these steps reference the Firmware settings (UEFI) rather than the BIOS settings used in Continuous Data engine documentation. DCT also requires only one additional data disk — a single metadata volume — rather than the multiple storage disks used by a Continuous Data engine for its DxFS storage pool.

  • Firmware: Under Security, disable Secure Boot. Confirm that the boot order lists the VHDX as the first boot device. Leave Enable Trusted Platform Module selected if present.

  • CPU: Under Processor, set Number of virtual processors to 8 or more.

  • Add the metadata volume: Under SCSI Controller, select Hard Drive and then Add. Select New virtual hard disk, choose Fixed size, and set the size to 50 GB minimum. Differencing disk types are not supported.

  • Apply and close: Select OK to save the settings.

Fixed size and Dynamically expanding VHDX types are supported. Differencing disks are not supported. Fixed size is recommended for predictable I/O performance.

Start the VM and complete network setup

  1. In Hyper-V Manager, right-click the VM and select Connect to open the VM console.

  2. Select Start. The VM will begin booting.

  3. Wait for both the Delphix Management Service and the Delphix DCT Service to appear as online in the console output. This process can take up to 30 minutes on first boot.

  4. Once the services are online, configure network access to the appliance.

Complete initial setup

Once the VM is network-accessible, complete the Setup UI wizard to configure credentials, TLS, storage, and engine registration.

  1. From a supported browser, navigate to https://<appliance-hostname-or-ip>.

  2. Log in with the default credentials: username sysadmin, password sysadmin. You will be prompted to set a new password immediately.

  3. Follow the steps in Initial setup to complete the wizard.

After setup completes, the DCT application UI is available at https://<appliance-hostname-or-ip>/dct. The Setup UI remains accessible via a link on the DCT login screen.

After deployment, register DCT and enable telemetry to meet telemetry requirements.

Last updated
Oct 20, 2026