--- title: "Connecting Storage Systems" description: "The following NetApp storage systems must be connected to Orchestrator: Any active storage virtual machine (SVM) that will be the source of the datastore disaster recovery relationship." canonical: "https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vro/userguide/connecting_storage_systems.html" breadcrumb: "User Guide > Configuring Veeam Recovery Orchestrator > Connecting Infrastructure > Connecting Storage Systems" dateModified: "2026-08-26" --- # Connecting Storage Systems The following NetApp storage systems must be connected to Orchestrator: - Any active storage virtual machine (SVM) that will be the source of the datastore disaster recovery relationship. - Any active SVM that will be the destination of the SVM disaster recovery relationship. The following HPE storage systems must be connected to Orchestrator: - Any active storage system that will be the primary system of the remote copy configuration. - Any active storage system that will be the secondary system of the remote copy configuration. ## Before You Begin Before you start connecting a storage system, consider the following limitations: - Make sure that you have NetApp volumes and virtual volumes protected by storage replication. - Make sure that you have configured export settings for the replicated storage volumes to allow them to connect to the disaster recovery infrastructure. For more information on export settings, see the [Hewlett Packard Enterprise Support Center](https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=a00059923en_us&docLocale=en_US) and [NetApp ONTAP Documentation Center](https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap/nfs-config/add-rule-export-policy-task.html). - If you use authentication configured to control access to iSCSI targets, make sure that you define a list of initiators and their authentication methods for all hosts managed by the target vCenter Server. For more information on iSCSI initiator security management, see the [NetApp ONTAP Documentation Center](https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap/data-protection/snapmirror-replication-concept.html)[.]{.Notes} For more information on configuring CHAP parameters for iSCSI adapters, see [VMware Docs](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/vsphere-storage/GUID-AC65D747-728F-4109-96DD-49B433E2F266.html). - To connect an HPE storage system, you must [enable the HPE 3PAR Web Services API (WSAPI)](enabling_web_server.md); to connect a NetApp storage system, you must [enable the ONTAP REST API (ZAPI)](enabling_netapp_web_server.md). - Connecting HPE storage systems paired in synchronous long distance (SLD) Remote Copy configurations is not supported. For more information on SLD configurations, see the [Hewlett Packard Enterprise Support Center](https://support.hpe.com/). ## How to Connect Storage Systems To configure a connection to a storage system: 1. Switch to the **Administration** page. 2. Navigate to **Storage**. 3. Click **Add**. 4. Complete the **Connect Storage System** wizard: 1. At the **Storage Vendor** step of the wizard, choose whether you want to connect a NetApp or an HPE storage system. [![Connecting Storage System](images/connect_storage_vendor.png "Connecting Storage System")](images/connect_storage_vendor.png){.toggle scale=65} 2. At the **Settings** step of the wizard, specify the following connection settings: 1. Enter the DNS name or IPv4 address of the storage system that will be connected to the Orchestrator server. The maximum length of the DNS name is 128 characters; the following characters are not supported: * : / \\ ? " < > | . If you want to add a storage system that is part of a [backup infrastructure already connected](connecting_backup_servers.md) to Orchestrator, you must add the storage system using the same DNS name or IPv4 address as in the backup infrastructure to avoid synchronization issues. ::: note If the IPv4 address of the connected storage system changes, you will not be able to update the address of the system in the Orchestrator infrastructure — you will need to remove the system and add it again with the new IP address. For this reason, it is recommended that you specify a DNS name instead of an IPv4 address. ::: 2. From the **Credentials** drop-down list, choose the necessary account for connecting to the storage system. For an account to be displayed in the **Credentials** list, it must be added to the configuration database as described in section [Adding Credentials](adding_credentials_manually.md). If you have not set up an account beforehand, click **Add** and follow the steps of the **Add Credential** wizard. For more information on the required account permissions, see [Permissions](permissions.md). 3. If required, change the port number used for communication with the system. If an untrusted security certificate is installed on the storage system, you will get a security warning. You can view the certificate and click **Remember and continue** — in this case, Orchestrator will remember the certificate thumbprint and will further trust the certificate when connecting to the storage system. Otherwise, you will not be able to proceed with the wizard. [![Connecting Storage System](images/connect_storage_settings.png "Connecting Storage System")](images/connect_storage_settings.png){.toggle scale=65} 3. At the **Summary** step of the wizard, review the connection details and click **Finish**. [![Connecting Storage System](images/connect_storage_finish.png "Connecting Storage System")](images/connect_storage_finish.png){.toggle scale=65} Note that after you configure a connection to a storage system or perform any infrastructure configuration changes, the changes may not appear in the Orchestrator UI immediately — the data synchronization process between Orchestrator and the storage infrastructure may take up to 15 minutes to complete. ::: important After you connect a storage system to Orchestrator, you must include the system in a [storage recovery location](managing_recovery_locations.md#storage) (either new or already existing) so that Orchestrator can use this storage system when executing and testing [storage plans](working_with_storage_plans.md). To learn how to include target storage systems in storage recovery locations, see [Adding Storage Recovery Locations](storage_location_compute_resources.md). ::: ## Related Topics [Enabling HPE 3PAR Web Services API Server](enabling_web_server.md)