---
title: "Configuring Lab Groups"
description: "If required, you can customize lab group settings in much the same way as editing a recovery plan. Navigate to DataLabs. In the DataLabs column, click the name of a DataLab whose groups you want to configure."
canonical: "https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vro/userguide/configuring_lab_groups.html"
breadcrumb: "User Guide > Working with Recovery Plans > Testing Recovery Plans > Creating Lab Groups > Configuring Lab Groups"
dateModified: "2026-08-26"
---

# Configuring Lab Groups

If required, you can customize lab group settings in much the same way as [editing a recovery plan](editing_recovery_plans.md).

1. Navigate to **DataLabs**.
2. In the **DataLabs** column, click the name of a DataLab whose groups you want to configure.

   For a DataLab to be displayed in the **DataLabs** list, it must be added to the scope as described in section [Managing Inventory Items](managing_inventory_items.md).

3. On the **DataLab Details** page, in the **Recovery plan** column, select the necessary DataLab and click **DataLab editor**.
4. On the **Edit DataLab** page, select the newly created lab group and do the following:

   - To customize the configured VM recovery options, click **DataLab options**. In the **Group Options** window, specify the required settings following the instructions provided in section [Configuring Group Settings](configuring_group_settings.md), and click **Apply**.
   - To define the order in which machines will be started, use the **Move Up** and **Move Down** arrows.
   - To select steps performed when processing each machine, expand the lab group, choose the necessary machine, click **Step editor**, and follow the instructions provided in section [Configuring Steps](configuring_steps.md).
   - To modify parameter settings for each step, expand the lab group, choose the necessary machine, select the step whose parameters you want to modify, click **Step editor**, and follow the instructions provided in section [Configuring Step Parameters](configuring_step_parameters.md).
   - To delete the lab group, click **Remove**. 

5. To save changes made to the lab group settings, click **Save Lab**. 

By default, Orchestrator skips a number of steps during the plan testing process — **Generate Event**, **Send Email**, **Shutdown Source VM** and **VM Power Actions**. That is why when you create or edit a DataLab, you cannot add these steps. If you still want to add these steps, set the **During DataLab Tests** parameter value to *Execute* for each step as described in section [Configuring Step Parameters](configuring_step_parameters.md).

::: important

A common use case for lab groups is to provide domain controllers for the test environment. If there are domain controllers in a lab group, it is essential to add the **Prepare VM as Domain Controller** step. By design, it will automatically become the first step in the step execution order.

You may also optionally add domain controller-specific checks, such as **Verify Domain Controller Port** and **Verify Global Catalog Port**. These steps must be performed after the **Check Networks** step.

:::

[![Configuring a Lab Group](images/configuring_lab_group.png "Configuring a Lab Group")](images/configuring_lab_group.png){.toggle scale=55}

::: note

There is no clear use case for replicating a domain controller. Failing over to a domain controller that contains an old version of the Active Directory database is not recommended by Microsoft. The only real use case for replicating a domain controller is to use it in an isolated lab group, and you may need to create a replication job specifically for that purpose.

To learn how to restore a domain controller from an image-aware backup, see [this Veeam KB article](https://www.veeam.com/kb2119). To learn how to back up a domain controller, see [this Veeam KB article](https://www.veeam.com/blog/backing-up-domain-controller-best-practices-for-ad-protection.html).

:::