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First Run

This page gets you from zero to a finished Ranger output package in the shortest possible path.

No options. No branching. Follow these steps in order.

Before You Start

You need three things:

  • A Windows machine with PowerShell 7.x (your workstation or a jump box — not a cluster node)
  • Network access to the Azure Local cluster's management network
  • An account that can authenticate to the cluster over WinRM

Step 1 — Install the Module

Open PowerShell 7 and run:

Install-Module AzureLocalRanger -Scope CurrentUser -Force
Import-Module AzureLocalRanger

Step 2 — Configure WinRM

If your machine is not domain-joined to the same domain as the cluster, add the cluster node IPs and cluster VIP to your WinRM TrustedHosts list. Run this once from an elevated PowerShell session:

Start-Service WinRM
Set-Item WSMan:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts `
  -Value "node01-ip,node02-ip,node03-ip,cluster-vip" -Force

Replace the IP addresses with the actual IPs for your environment.

Step 3 — Check Prerequisites

Test-AzureLocalRangerPrerequisites

Every row should show Pass or Warn. A FAIL on a required check must be resolved before running.

To auto-install missing modules (elevated session required):

Test-AzureLocalRangerPrerequisites -InstallPrerequisites

Step 4 — Connect to Azure

Connect-AzAccount
Set-AzContext -SubscriptionId "your-subscription-id"

If you are running in a disconnected environment or do not have Azure access, Ranger will still collect on-premises data — Azure-dependent collectors will be skipped gracefully.

Step 5 — Run the Setup Wizard

Invoke-AzureLocalRanger -Wizard

The -Wizard switch is the recommended first-run path — it dispatches to the same interactive flow as the standalone Invoke-RangerWizard command but keeps you in the main command surface so every subsequent run uses the same entry point.

The wizard asks seven short sections of questions:

  1. Environment — a short name for this cluster (used in output filenames)
  2. Cluster Nodes — the FQDN of the cluster and/or individual node FQDNs (leave blank to auto-discover from Arc)
  3. Azure — subscription ID, tenant ID, and resource group (GUIDs validated inline)
  4. Credentials — one of six strategies: current session context, runtime prompt, service principal, managed identity, device code, or Azure CLI
  5. BMC / iDRAC — optional: add BMC endpoints for hardware / OEM collection
  6. Output — run mode (current-state or as-built), root path, and report formats
  7. Scope — which data domains to collect (press Enter to collect everything)

Before anything runs, the wizard prints a review screen with the full YAML config. Press Enter to continue, or type N to cancel without saving. At the end, choose [B] Both to save the config file and run immediately.

Tip

Press Enter to accept the default shown in [brackets] for any prompt.

See Wizard Guide for a complete walkthrough with example answers.

Already comfortable? Two alternatives

If you've run Ranger before and want a faster path than the wizard:

  • Config file + run — New-AzureLocalRangerConfig -Path .\ranger.yml, edit the file, then Invoke-AzureLocalRanger -ConfigPath .\ranger.yml. Best for version-controlled configs and CI runs.
  • 2-field zero-config — Invoke-AzureLocalRanger -TenantId <guid> -SubscriptionId <guid>. Ranger enumerates the HCI clusters in the subscription, prompts you to pick one if there are multiple, then auto-discovers the rest from Azure Arc. Fastest for ad-hoc runs.

See the Quickstart for full details on all three paths.

Step 6 — Open the Output

When the run completes, Ranger prints the output path. Navigate there and open the HTML report:

C:\AzureLocalRanger\
  <environment>-current-state-<timestamp>\
    reports\
      technical-deep-dive.html   ← start here
      management-summary.html
      executive-summary.html
    diagrams\
      cluster-topology.svg
      ...
    manifest\
      audit-manifest.json
    ranger.log

Open technical-deep-dive.html in a browser for the full picture. Use executive-summary.html for a shareable summary.

See Understanding Output for a full guide to the output package.

That's It

You've completed your first Ranger run.

For everything beyond the basics: