Install Dimension on Hyper-V

WatchGuard Dimension is distributed as a VHD file for installation on Hyper-V for Microsoft Windows Server 2019, 2022, or 2025, and Hyper-V Server 2019.

We recommend you use the Microsoft Server Hyper-V Manager to install your Dimension virtual machine (VM), but you can choose to use another Hyper-V environment.

To install Dimension on Hyper-V, you must complete these steps:

  1. Deploy the Dimension VM.
  2. Add a data disk (SCSI or IDE) to use as the Dimension data disk.
  3. Start the Dimension VM.
  4. Run the web-based WatchGuard Dimension Setup Wizard to configure the basic settings for your new instance of Dimension.

Before You Begin

Before you can deploy the Dimension VHD file and set up your Dimension VM, you must:

  • Download the WatchGuard Dimension VHD file.
    From the WatchGuard Software Downloads Center, find and download the watchguard-dimension_2_2_2_vhd.zip file and extract the watchguard-dimension_2_2_2.vhd file to install WatchGuard Dimension on your Hyper-V server.
  • Have a DHCP server configured in the network you choose for the Dimension virtual machine, if you want to use a DHCP server to get the initial IP address for Dimension. You can also manually set a static IP address for Dimension. You then use this initial IP address to connect to Dimension to run the Dimension Setup Wizard and complete your Dimension configuration.
  • Have Hyper-V installed on a server where you can deploy your Dimension VM.

Install the Dimension VM

When you install the Dimension VM, you must allocate the minimum amount of start-up memory for Dimension. Dynamic memory allocation is not supported.

To deploy the WatchGuard Dimension VM:

  1. On your Windows server, launch Hyper-V Manager.
  2. In the Hyper-V Manager tree, right-click your Hyper-V server and select New > Virtual Machine.
    The New Virtual Machine wizard opens, with the Before You Begin page selected.
  3. Read the instructions for the wizard and click Next.
    The Specify Name and location page opens.
  4. In the Name text box, type a descriptive name for this instance of Dimension.
  5. To store the virtual machine in a folder other than the default folder, select the Store the virtual machine in a different location check box. Click Browse and select the location to store the virtual machine.
  6. Click Next.
  7. On the Specify Generation page, select Generation 1. Click Next.
    The Assign Memory page opens.
  8. In the Startup memory text box, type the amount of memory to allocate to your Dimension VM. You must allocate a minimum of 2048 MB. 4096 MB is recommended. Click Next.
    The Configure Networking page opens.
  9. From the Connection drop-down list, select the virtual network adapter to use for the external interface, Eth0. Click Next.
    The Connect Virtual Hard Disk page opens.
  10. Select Use an existing virtual hard disk.
  11. Click Browse and select the location where you saved the Dimension VHD file.
  12. Click Next.
    The Summary page opens.
  13. Review the settings you specified for this instance of Dimension. Click Finish.
    The Dimension VM appears in the Virtual Machines list.

Add a Hard Disk to the Dimension VM and Configure Virtual Processors

After you have deployed your Dimension VM, you must add a new virtual hard disk to the Dimension VM for the Dimension server log database. You can add either an IDE or an SCSI virtual hard drive. You must also configure the number of CPU cores.

If you choose to add an SCSI virtual hard drive, for the most flexibility, make sure to add a dynamically expanding hard disk.

From the Virtual Machines list:

  1. Right-click your Dimension VM and select Settings.
    The Settings page for your Dimension VM opens.
  2. Select Processor.
  3. In the Number of virtual processors drop-down list, select the number of CPU cores.
  4. Click SCSI Controller
  5. Select Hard Drive and click Add.
    The Hard Drive page opens.
  6. In the Media section, select Virtual hard disk and click New.
    The New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard opens, with the Before You Begin page selected.
  7. Read the instructions for the wizard and click Next.
    The Choose Disk Format page opens.
  8. Select VHDX. Click Next.
    The Choose Disk Type page opens.
  9. Select Dynamically expanding. Click Next.
    The Specify Name and Location page opens.
  10. In the Name text box, type a descriptive name for this virtual hard disk.
  11. To specify a location for the hard disk other than the default location, click Browse and select a location.
  12. Click Next.
    The Configure Disk Size page opens.
  13. Select Create a new blank virtual hard disk.
  14. In the text box, type the size for the virtual hard disk in GB.
    Select a minimum of 40 GB.
  15. Click Next.
    The Summary page opens.
  16. Review the settings you specified for the hard disk. Click Finish.
    The wizard completes and the Hard Drive page in the Dimension VM Settings opens.
  17. On the Settings page, click Processor and change the number of virtual processors to 2.
  18. Click OK.
    The Settings dialog box closes.

From the Virtual Machines list:

  1. Right-click your Dimension VM and select Settings.
    The Settings page for your Dimension VM opens.
  2. Select Hardware > IDE Controller 0 and click Add.
    The IDE Controller page opens.
  3. From the IDE Controller 0 list, select Hard Drive and click Add.
    The Hard Drive page opens.
  4. Select Virtual hard disk and click New.
    The New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard opens, with the Before You Begin page selected.
  5. Read the instructions for the wizard and click Next.
    For Server 2012, 2012 R2, and 2016, the Choose Disk Format page opens.
  6. (Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016) Select VHD or VHDX. Click Next.
    If you select VHDX, the installation process might take longer to complete than if you select VHD. The Choose Disk Type page opens.
  7. Select Dynamically expanding. Click Next.
    The Specify Name and Location page opens.
  8. In the Name text box, type a descriptive name for this virtual hard disk.
  9. To specify a location for the hard disk other than the default location, click Browse and select a location.
  10. Click Next.
    The Configure Disk Size page opens.
  11. Select Create a new blank virtual hard disk.
  12. In the text box, type the size for the virtual hard disk in GB.
    Specify a minimum of 40 GB.
  13. Click Next.
    The Summary page opens.
  14. Review the settings you specified for the hard disk. Click Finish.
    The wizard completes and the Hard Drive page in the Dimension VM Settings opens.
  15. On the Settings page, click Processor and change the number of virtual processors to 2.
  16. Click OK.
    The Settings dialog box closes.

Start the Dimension VM

After you add a virtual hard disk to your Dimension VM, you can start the Dimension VM.

  1. From the Hyper-V Manager Virtual Machines list, select your Dimension VM.
  2. Right-click the Dimension VM and select Start.
    The Dimension VM starts.

After you have finished the Dimension installation and started the VM, you can make additional changes to the VM or run the WatchGuard Dimension Setup Wizard to configure your instance of Dimension.

Find the External IP Address

If the external network has a DHCP server, the Dimension external interface is automatically assigned an IP address. To find the IP address to use to connect to Dimension, you can use the command line.

To use the command line to find the IP address for Dimension:

  1. From the Virtual Machines list , select the Dimension VM.
  2. Right-click the VM and select Connect.
  3. At the login prompt, type wgsupport. Press Enter on your keyboard.
  4. At the passphrase prompt, type readwrite. Press Enter on your keyboard.
    This is the default admin account passphrase. A prompt to change the password opens.
  5. Type the new passphrase to use for the wgsupport account. Press Enter on your keyboard.
    The passphrase is changed.
  6. Record the IP address on the screen. If the IP address does not show for the external interface, type ifconfig or ip addr. Press Enter on your keyboard.
    The IP address for the external interface opens.
  7. To log out, type exit. Press Enter on your keyboard.

Set a Static IP Address for Dimension

If you do not have a DHCP server, you must set a static IP address for the Dimension external interface. This is the IP address you use to connect to Dimension and run the Dimension Setup Wizard. To set a static IP address you make a console connection to Dimension with the wgsupport credentials and specify the IP address for the Eth0 interface.

The first time you make a console connection to Dimension, you must change the default password for the wgsupport user.

The command tool that you use to change the IP address is located in the /opt/watchguard/dimension/bin directory. To change the IP address, you must specify this directory, run the wg_ip_addr.sh command, and type the new IP address and default gateway for the interface.

To make a console connection to Dimension and configure Dimension with a static IP address:

  1. Log in to the Hyper-V Manager and select your Dimension VM.
  2. Start a console connection to your Dimension VM.
  3. Type the user name wgsupport.
  4. Type the passphrase readwrite.
  5. Type and confirm the new passphrase for the wgsupport user account.
  6. To set the static IP address for Dimension, at the command line, type:

/opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_ip_addr.sh -i <IP address> -m <mask> -g <gateway>.

For example, to configure Dimension with a static IP address of 203.0.113.201/24 and a gateway of 203.0.113.1, type:

/opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_ip_addr.sh -i 203.0.113.201 -m 24 -g 203.0.113.1.

  1. Press Enter on your keyboard.

For more information about console connections to Dimension, go to Console Access to Dimension.

Run the WatchGuard Dimension Setup Wizard

After your Dimension VM is set up and powered on, you can connect to Dimension to run the Dimension Setup Wizard and complete the configuration for your Dimension system.

Before you start the Setup Wizard, make sure you have this information to add in the wizard:

To run the Dimension Setup Wizard:

  1. Open a web browser and connect to Dimension at https://<Dimension IP address>.
    For example, if the IP address assigned to the external interface of your instance of Dimension is 203.0.113.201, you connect to Dimension at https://203.0.113.201.
    The login page opens.
  2. Type the default user credentials:
    • User Name — admin
    • Passphrase — readwrite

    3. You will change the administrator passphrase when you run the Setup Wizard.

  3. Complete the wizard to configure Dimension.
    After you finish the wizard, the Dimension login page opens.
  4. Use the new administrator passphrase that you specified in the wizard to log in to Dimension.

After you have completed the wizard and logged in to Dimension, you can complete the configuration settings for your Dimension system and Log Server, create report schedules, and manage users, as described in these topics:

Expand the Dimension VM Capacity

To expand the capacity of the Dimension VM, you can modify the settings for the IDE or SCSI virtual hard disk to increase capacity. You cannot increase the VM capacity if you have a snapshot on your VM. You must remove the snapshot before you can increase the VM capacity.

From the Virtual Machines list:

  1. Select your Dimension VM. In the Actions pane, select Shut Down.
    The Dimension VM is shut down.
  2. Right-click your Dimension VM and select Settings.
    The Settings page for your Dimension VM opens.
  3. From the Hardware tree, select IDE Controller > Hard Drive or SCSI Controller > Hard Drive.
  4. In the Media section, select Virtual hard disk and click Edit.
    The Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard opens.
  5. Click Next on each page of the wizard until the Choose Action page appears.
  6. Select Expand. Click Next.
    The Expand Virtual Hard Disk page opens.
  7. In the New size text box, type a new size for the hard disk. Click Next.
    The Summary page opens.
  8. Verify that the settings you specified are correct. Click Finish.
    The Settings dialog box opens.
  9. Click OK.
    The Settings dialog box closes.

Increase the Memory for Your Dimension VM

You can increase the memory size allocated to your Dimension VM.

From the Virtual Machines list:

  1. Right-click your Dimension VM and select Settings.
    The Settings page for your Dimension VM opens.
  2. From the Hardware tree, select Memory.
    The Memory page opens.
  3. Modify the settings for the VM memory.
  4. Click OK.

Safely Shut Down Your Dimension VM

To safely shut down your Dimension VM and avoid the risk of data corruption, you must select the Shut Down option. Do not select the Reset or Turn Off options.

To shut down your Dimension VM:

  1. From the Virtual Machines list, select your Dimension VM.
  2. Select Action > Shut Down.
    Hyper-V Manager completes the correct shut down procedure.

You can also shut down your Dimension VM from the Dimension web UI System Settings > Status page. For more information, go to Complete System Maintenance Tasks.

Related Topics

Install WatchGuard Dimension

Set Up & Administer Dimension

Manage Dimension System Settings