Quick start

This guide installs the Datamotive CLI, registers a source node, creates a protection plan, and verifies the first replication. It targets a single workload so you can validate the setup quickly.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Install the CLI

curl -L https://example.datamotive.io/cli/install.sh | bash
dm version

Step 2: Authenticate

$ dm auth login --token $DM_TOKEN

The token is stored in your OS keychain. See API authentication for token rotation.

Step 3: Register a source node

1. Tag the workload

   Tag the source instance so a selector can match it. For VMware, use a tag in vCenter. For AWS, use an EC2 instance tag.

   bash

   dm sources tag --name web-01 --tag tier=production

2. Verify registration

   The source should appear in the sources list within a minute.

   bash

   dm sources list --tag tier=production

Step 4: Create a protection plan

apiVersion: dr.datamotive.io/v1
kind: ProtectionPlan
metadata:
  name: quickstart-plan
spec:
  rpoSeconds: 300
  retention: 7d
  sources:
    - selector: tier=production
  target:
    site: aws-mumbai
    network: recovery-net

Apply it:

$ dm plan apply -f protection-plan.yaml

Step 5: Run the first replication

$ dm plan run --name quickstart-plan

Monitor the job:

dm jobs watch --plan quickstart-plan

A healthy first run shows progress through Seed, Sync, and Steady states. When the plan reaches Steady, the RPO is being met.

Verify the recovery point

$ dm recovery-points list --plan quickstart-plan --limit 5

You should see at least one recovery point with a timestamp within the RPO window.

What you built