vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud vSphere Replication 8.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at: https://docs.vmware.com/ If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to docfeedback@vmware.com VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com Copyright © 2018 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information. VMware, Inc.
Contents 1 About Disaster Recovery to Cloud 4 2 Disaster Recovery to Cloud System Requirements and Compatibility 5 Roles and Permissions That Disaster Recovery to Cloud Requires 5 3 Installing and Configuring vSphere Replication to Cloud 7 Installing vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 7 Upgrading vSphere Replication from Earlier Product Versions 8 Configure the NTP Synchronization in Your Environment How vSphere Replication Connects to Cloud Configuring the Connection to the Cloud 8
About Disaster Recovery to Cloud 1 You can subscribe to a Disaster Recovery service to protect your vSphere workloads. With Disaster Recovery to Cloud, administrators of small sites can protect their vSphere virtual workloads from a wide class of disasters by replicating those workloads into the cloud. Disaster Recovery to Cloud uses the host-based replication feature of vSphere Replication to copy the protected source virtual machines into the infrastructure of the cloud provider.
Disaster Recovery to Cloud System Requirements and Compatibility 2 To enable replications to the cloud, your environment must meet certain requirements in terms of additional configuration and specific versions of the VMware products that you use. System Requirements Disaster Recovery to Cloud has the same requirements to the environment as vSphere Replication. In addition, Disaster Recovery to Cloud requires that ports 10000–10010 of ESXi hosts are open for outgoing traffic .
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud vSphere Web Client On the source vSphere side, you need the same credentials as the ones required for vSphere Replication. See the topic vSphere Replication Roles Reference in the VMware vSphere Replication Administration document. vCloud User Credentials When you create a connection to the target virtual data center, you provide two pairs of credentials.
Installing and Configuring vSphere Replication to Cloud 3 Before you configure replications to the cloud, you must deploy the vSphere Replication appliance on the source site and set up your environment to enable connections to the cloud.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud Table 3‑1. vSphere Replication Deployment Procedures (Continued) vCenter Server Version vSphere Replication Deployment Procedure vCenter Server 6.5 See the topic Deploy the vSphere Replication Virtual Appliance in the vSphere Replication 6.5 Administration document. vCenter Server 6.7 See the topic Deploy the vSphere Replication Virtual Appliance in the vSphere Replication 8.1 Administration document.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud d In the virtual appliance console, run the command chkconfig ntp on to run NTP synchronization every time the vSphere Replication appliance starts. e To configure the vSphere Replication appliance to synchronize with an NTP server, edit the /etc/ntp.conf file to enter the address of an NTP server. Add the following line in the ntp.conf file: server f 2 Run the service ntp start command.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud You can change the default ports that are used to transfer replication data from ESXi hosts to the vCloud Tunneling Agent. To change the default ports, you must configure each ESXi instance that hosts a replication source virtual machine, and the vCloud Tunneling Agent. Procedure 1 Disable the default Replication-to-cloud Traffic rule that the vSphere Replication appliance creates. For a detailed procedure, see Manage ESXi Firewall Settings.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud Procedure 1 Use an SSH client to connect to the vSphere Replication appliance and log in as the root user. 2 Run the following command to configure the ports for tunnel connections. /opt/vmware/vcta/bin/cell-management-tool configure-vcta-server -prl LOW -prh HIGH Where LOW and HIGH define the range of ports to be used for tunnel connections. To use only one port, type the port number as the value for LOW and HIGH.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 3 Click the New Site Pair button. The New Site Pair wizard starts. 4 Select the first site from the list. 5 Select the Cloud provider radio button. 6 To authenticate with the cloud, enter the address of your cloud provider, the organization name, and credentials . By default, vSphere Replication uses these credentials to establish a user session to the cloud and for system monitoring purposes.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud Select Recovery Networks on the Target Virtual Data Center To finalize the configuration of a connection to the target site, you must specify the networks that the Disaster Recovery to Cloud service can use for tests and recovery operations. When you subscribe to the Disaster Recovery to Cloud service, VMware automatically creates two default networks for your service - an isolated network and an external routed network.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 7 Click Edit to select a test network and save your selection. The list displays only the networks that are configured for a vCloud Director based cloud. What to do next When you test a replication or perform a recovery operation, the vCloud Director based cloud automatically attaches the virtual machine to the test or recovery network respectively.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud Disable the Automatic Export of MAC Addresses During Replication By default, when you configure a virtual machine for replication to cloud, its NICs and MAC addresses are copied automatically to the target site as part of the provisioning of the placeholder virtual machine.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud Table 3‑2. Cloud Connection States Icon Status Description Remediation Connected The connection between the local vSphere Replication management servers and the cloud is working properly. Not needed. Not Connected n The SSL certificate on the local vSphere Replication Management Server or the cloud endpoint certificate has been changed.
Replicating Virtual Machines to Cloud 4 You can configure replications from vSphere environments to cloud for a single virtual machine or for multiple virtual machines. To replicate virtual machines to cloud, you must deploy the vSphere Replication 8.1 appliance at the source site, and your cloud provider must enable replications to the cloud in your cloud organization. The source and target sites must be connected so that you can configure replications. See Connect to a Cloud Provider Site.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud When you configure a replication, you set a recovery point objective (RPO) to determine the maximum data loss that you can tolerate. For example, an RPO of 1 hour seeks to ensure that a virtual machine loses the data for no more than 1 hour during the recovery. For smaller RPO values, less data is lost in a recovery, but more network bandwidth is consumed keeping the replica up to date.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 5 On the Virtual machines page, select the virtual machines you want to replicate and click Next. 6 Select a cloud provider site as a target site and click Next. 7 On the Target location page, select the location for the target vApp and click Next. You can use a storage policy or a previously imported vApp on the target site as a replication seed.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud What to do next On the Replications tab, under Forward replications and Reverse replications, you can view the status of each replication. For more information on the replication status, see Monitoring the Status of Replications. Using Replication Seeds for Replications to Cloud For each new replication that you configure, an initial full synchronization operation is performed.
Reconfiguring Replications to the Cloud 5 You can reconfigure cloud replications to change the quiescing method for the guest operating system, the RPO, the network compression, and the retention of point in time instances. Reconfigure a Replication to Cloud You reconfigure a replication to change the RPO settings, the number of replication instances to keep, or the quiescing method that is applied when synchronizing the replication source virtual machine to your cloud organization.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud The number of replication instances that vSphere Replication keeps depends on the configured retention policy, but also requires that the RPO period is short enough for these instances to be created.
Recovering Virtual Machines to Cloud 6 You can check if virtual machines are properly replicated in the cloud, and migrate replicated virtual machines to your cloud organization. This chapter includes the following topics: n Test Recovering Virtual Machines to Cloud n Planned Migration to Cloud Test Recovering Virtual Machines to Cloud You can use test recoveries to verify that source data is replicated correctly on the cloud site.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud Test recoveries are allowed for the following replication statuses: OK, OK (RPO Violation), Error, Error (RPO Violation), Full Sync, Full Sync (RPO Violation), Not Active, Not Active (RPO Violation), Paused, Sync, and Sync (RPO Violation). n If you have run test recoveries for the replication that you want to test, verify that you have cleared the test results.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud You can clean up test recovery results for replication tasks that appear in the list of replications on the Replications tab. Procedure 1 Log in to the vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client. 2 On the home page, click Site Recovery and click Open Site Recovery. 3 On the Site Recovery home page, select the site pair to the cloud provider site and click View Details. 4 Click the Replications tab and click Forward replications.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 5 Select the replication that you want to migrate and click the Planned Migration icon. The Planned Migration wizard opens. If the user session to the target cloud organization is expired, the wizard prompts you to enter user credentials. 6 On the Recovery options page, select a data synchronization option.
Configuring Replications from Cloud 7 If a virtual machine was recovered in the cloud, you can replicate the virtual machine from your cloud environment to a vCenter Server. You select whether to configure a new replication from cloud or a reverse replication from cloud depending on the condition of your local environment.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud You can configure a reverse replication to update a replicated virtual machine on your local site with the changes that occurred on its restored copy in the cloud. For example, you replicated a virtual machine from the local site to the cloud and recovered the virtual machine to the cloud to use it while your local site is being maintained. While the local site was offline, changes occurred in the recovered virtual machine in the cloud.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 7 On the Target datastore page, select a datastore on which to replicate files. When replicating multiple virtual machines, you can configure a different target datastore for each virtual machine. 8 (Optional) Select the Select seeds check box. Replication seeds can reduce the network traffic during the initial full synchronization, but unintended use of replication seeds might lead to data loss. 9 Click Next.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud A virtual machine configuration task appears in the Recent Tasks list. A progress bar indicates that the source virtual machine is being configured for replication. If the configuration operation completes successfully, the replication task appears in the list of reverse replications on the Replications tab. Note If a replication source virtual machine is powered off, the replication starts after you power on the virtual machine.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 3 On the Site Recovery home page, select the site pair to the cloud provider site and click View Details. 4 Click the Replications tab and click Forward replications. 5 Select the replication that you want to reverse and click Reverse. Note The replication status must be Recovered. vSphere Replication validates the source and target virtual machine, and the Reverse Replication dialog box opens.
Recovering Virtual Machines from Cloud 8 You can check if virtual machines are properly replicated in the local site, and migrate replicated virtual machines to your local environment. This chapter includes the following topics: n Test Recovering Virtual Machines from Cloud n Recover a Virtual Machine from Cloud Test Recovering Virtual Machines from Cloud You can use test recoveries to verify that source data is replicated correctly on the local site.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud Prerequisites n Configure at least one replication task from the cloud provider site to your local site. n Verify that the status of the replication task allows running test recoveries. Test recoveries are allowed for the following replication statuses: OK, OK (RPO Violation), Error, Error (RPO Violation), Full Sync, Full Sync (RPO Violation), Not Active, Not Active (RPO Violation), Paused, Sync, and Sync (RPO Violation).
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud What to do next After you verify that data appears as expected in the test virtual machine, clean up the test results. See, Clean up a Test Recovery from Cloud. Clean up a Test Recovery from Cloud You can run a test recovery of a replication only after you clean up the results of its previous test recovery. You can clean up test recovery results for replication tasks that appear in the list of replications on the Replications tab.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 5 Select the replication that you want to recover and click the Recover icon. The Recover virtual machine wizard opens. 6 On the Recovery options page, select a data synchronization option. Option Description Synchronize recent changes vSphere Replication runs a synchronization task before it configures the placeholder virtual machine on the local site. This option requires you to log in to the cloud provider site. A dialog box appears for the login.
Monitoring and Managing Replications in vSphere Replication 9 You can monitor the state of replications to the cloud, control their running state, or stop them if you no longer need them from the Replications tab of Site Recovery.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud Table 9‑1. Replication Statuses (Continued) Status Description Remediation Error The replication is not running at the moment. n Reconfigure the replication. n Verify whether some problem occurred on the virtual machine by clicking the Site Pair tab and clicking Issues. n Improve the network connection between the source and target site. n Increase the RPO period.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 5 Click the Pause or Resume icon. You can pause and resume multiple replications simultaneously only if they are replicated to the same virtual data center. 6 Confirm the action. Stop a Replication to Cloud If you no longer want to replicate a virtual machine to the cloud, you can stop the replication permanently. When you stop a replication, data is removed from both the local site and the cloud site.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud If both sites are online, Disaster Recovery to Cloud applies the following changes. n On the local site, removes the replication entry from the list of forward replications, and removes the replication-related configurations from the source virtual machine. n On the cloud site, removes the task from the list of reverse replications, and deletes the replication data from the storage.
vSphere Replication for Disaster Recovery to Cloud 7 Click Remove to confirm. If both sites are online, Disaster Recovery to Cloud applies the following changes. n On the cloud site, removes the replication entry, and removes the replication-related configurations from the source virtual machine. n On the local site, removes the task from the list of reverse replications, and deletes the replication data from the storage.
