Overview and Architecture

Module 2

VMware Site Recovery Manager Rev A

Copyright 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

2-1

Course Map
SRM
Foundations

SRM Installation
and Configuration

Introduction to
Disaster Recovery

Array
Managers

SRM Operations
SRM Alarms
and Site Status
Troubleshooting

SRM Overview
and Architecture

Inventory
Mappings

SRM Planning

SRM Installation
and Configuration
SRM Installation

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

Protection
Groups
Recovery
Plans

2-2

VDM
Load-Balancing
SRM
Testing
and Multi-Server

and Failover

Failover Testing
and Failover
Failback

Importance and Module Objectives

Importance
VMware Site Recovery Manager allows customers to quickly restore an
IT infrastructure built on virtual machines.
This module provides an overview of SRM architecture and components.

Objectives for the Learner

Identify the components of SRM
Identify terms used with SRM
Identify the features of SRM

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-3

Lesson Topics
Traditional Disaster Recovery
What Is SRM?
SRM Architecture
SRM Terminology
SRM Prerequisites
SRM Components
Recovery Plan Building Blocks
Datastore Groups
SRM Features

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-4

Traditional Disaster Recovery

Requires a backup server for each physical machine.
Server hardware must be identical or nearly identical.
The most effective way to keep the systems synchronized in OS and
application software is with image software like Ghost.
Data must also be backed up and restored at the recovery site.
Network configurations usually cant be identical, though, so some
kind of network reconfiguration is required.
Primary Site

Recovery Site

Primary SAN

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

Recovery SAN

2-5

What Is VMware Site Recovery Manager?

SRM is an end-to-end disaster
recovery (DR) automation product.
SRM automates the recovery of
virtual machines that reside on
array-based replicated LUNs.
SRM allows you to
Recover from storage array failure
Recover from complete site failure

SRM interfaces with multiple storage

vendors.
LeftHand Networks
EqualLogic/Clariion
EMC DMX (SRDF)

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-6

Protected

Recovery

Comparing SRM to DRS and HA

VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM)
End-to-end disaster recovery automation product
Leverages storage array replication between sites
Automatically customizes virtual machines so that they can run at the recovery
site
Shuts down low-priority virtual machines at the recovery site to free resources
Powers on virtual machines in priority order at the recovery site

VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)

Load-balancing clustering product
Aggregates several hosts resources into larger resource pools
Uses VMware VMotion to migrate virtual machines between hosts while
powered on in order to balance resource usage

VMware High Availability (HA)

High availability clustering product
Automatically powers on virtual machines on surviving local cluster members

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-7

Four-Step Disaster Recovery with SRM

Protected Site

VirtualCenter

Site
Recovery
Manager

Virtual Machines

X X X X X X X

Recovery Site
1.
the
Protected
Site,
3.
SRM
suspends
any
4. On
Finally,
SRM restarts
2.
Recovery
site,
virtualprepares
machines
at
the
SRM
shuts
down
the
the
running
recovery
site
starting
datastore
groups
for
virtual
starting
on the machines
recovery
site
with
the of
virtual
machines
failover
the
with
the
virtual
designated
as protected
nondesignated
as the
virtual
machines.
machines
designated
critical
provide
moreas
highesttopriority.
the
lowest for
priority.
resources
the virtual
machines to be powered
on at the recovery site.

Site
Recovery
Manager

VirtualCenter

Virtual Machines

VMware Infrastructure

VMware Infrastructure

ESX Servers

ESX Servers

Storage

Storage

Array-Based Replication

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-8

Site Recovery Manager Features

Centralized management
Site
Recovery
Manager

VirtualCenter

Virtual Machines

Create, test, update, and execute recovery

plans from a single point of management.
Tight integration with VMware
VirtualCenter
Monitoring and alerts

Disaster recovery automation

ESX

ESX

ESX

ESX

Servers

Build recovery process in advance.

Automate testing of recovery plans.
Automate execution of recovery process.

Storage

Simplified setup and integration

Allocate and manage recovery resources.
Integration with leading vendors storage
replication systems

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-9

Disaster Recovery Without SRM?

1. Present the latest storage snapshot to the recovery
servers.
2. Register each virtual machine manually, placing it on the
right cluster, resource pool, folder, and network.
3. Power off/suspend unwanted virtual machines.
4. Power on registered virtual machines in the correct
order.
5. Manually correct IP settings.
6. Restart services dependent on that IP configuration.
7. After a test is complete, manually unregister each virtual
machine and (possibly) reset the storage access.

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-10

SRM Architecture
Protected Site
License
Server

SRA

VI Client
w/ SRM Plug-In

Recovery Site
License
Server

SRA

SRM

SRM Server

VC Server

VC Server

VC
DB

VC
DB

SRM
DB

SRM
DB

DB Server

ESX
Servers

DB Server

Storage
Replication

VMFS

SRM Server

VMFS

VMFS

VMFS

Protected Site SAN

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

ESX
Servers

VMFS

VMFS

Recovery Site SAN

2-11

SRM Terminology (1)

Array-based replication
Replication of storage by vendor storage arrays between the protected site
and recovery site

Datastore group
Replicated datastores containing the complete set of virtual machines you
want to protect via SRM

Failover and failback

Failover is the event that occurs when the recovery site takes over operation in
place of the protected site after the declaration of a disaster. Failback is the
process of restoring a system to its original site.

Inventory mapping
Mapping between resource pools, networks, and virtual machine folders on
the protection site and their destination counterparts on the recovery site

Protected site and recovery site

The protected site is the primary datacenter. The recovery site is the backup
that is used when the primary site is incapacitated by a disaster.
VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-12

SRM Terminology (2)

Protection group
A group of virtual machines that are failed over together during test and
recovery

Recovery plan
The necessary steps to recover protected virtual machines in their assigned
protection groups according to an order of priority defined in the plan

Placeholder virtual machine

A placeholder for a protected virtual machine representing the virtual
machines replicated from the protected site

Storage replication adapter (SRA)

Software provided by storage vendors that ensures integration of storage
devices with SRM

Storage array
A storage system that contains multiple disk drives. Part of a storage array
network (SAN)

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-13

SRM Prerequisites
SRM has the following prerequisites:
VMware ESX Server 3.02, ESX 3.5, or ESXi
VirtualCenter Server 2.5 (Update 1) installed at the protected
site and at the recovery site
Preconfigured array-based replication between the protected
site and the recovery site
Network configuration that allows TCP connectivity between the
SRM servers, VirtualCenter Servers, and VMware Virtual
Infrastructure Clients
Oracle or SQL Server database on the protected site and the
recovery site that uses ODBC for connectivity with a dedicated
datastore for SRM
SRM license installed in the VirtualCenter License Server at the
protected site and at the recovery site
VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-14

SRM Components
SRM VI Client plug-in
SRM server
Storage array with replication
Storage replication adapter (SRA)
VirtualCenter Server
Database server

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-15

SRM VI Client Plug-In

SRM plug-in
installs into the
VI Client.
Allows complete
management of
SRM.
Management
takes place from
the protected
site.
Plug-in must be
installed on both
the protected
site and the
recovery site.

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-16

SRM Server
SRM software can be installed either on the same
computer as the VirtualCenter Server or on a separate
computer.
Best practice: Install SRM and VirtualCenter Server on separate
computers.

SRA is installed into the same system that hosts SRM.

SRM server must be present at both the protected and
recovery sites.
SRM must have network connectivity to the VirtualCenter
Server.
Database server is required.
Oracle or SQL Server
SQL 2005 Express can be used if it is preinstalled.

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-17

Storage Array with Replication

Storage arrays can be any SRM-supported storage (FC SCSI or
iSCSI) that supports VMware Virtual Machine File System
(VMFS).
Array replication is supplied by the storage vendor.
Replication must be established between the protected site SAN
and the recovery site SAN before installing SRM.
The SRA interfaces the storage array to SRM.

Storage
Replication

VMFS

VMFS

VMFS

VMFS

Protected Site SAN

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

VMFS

VMFS

Recovery Site SAN

2-18

Storage Replication Adapters

SRM Server

Supplied by storage
vendors

Replication
Manager
Array Manager

Array Manager
Vendor-Supplied
Scripts

SRA

Installed on the SRM

server

Vendor
Management Interface

SRA

Discover arrays
Determine which LUNs
are replicated by arrays to
the recovery site
Assist in initiating tests
and failovers

Vendor
Management Interface

Storage Array
SP

LUN

SP

LUN

iSCSI Servers

LUN

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

LUN

LUN
2-19

Recovery Site

LUN

LUN

LUN

VirtualCenter Server
VirtualCenter Server 2.5 (Update 1) must be installed at
the protected site and at the recovery site.
A single VI Client (with the SRM plug-in) can manage both,
or you can use separate clients.
SRM must be licensed in a VMware License Server.
Typically, the license server is running on the VirtualCenter
Server.
The SRM server must have network
License
connectivity to the VirtualCenter Server in
Server
its site.

VirtualCenter Server
VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-20

Database Server

SRM requires a database for storage of DR information.

ODBC connection required
May be either Microsoft SQL or Oracle
Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise SP1 or SP2

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise 64-bit version with SP2
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express

Oracle

Oracle 9i release 2 Standard (10.02.x.x)

Oracle 9i release 2 Enterprise (10.02.x.x)
Oracle 10g Enterprise Release 1 (10.02.x.x)
Oracle 10g Enterprise Release 2 (10.02.x.x)

VC
DB

SRM
DB

SRM requires its own database and cannot share the VirtualCenter
Server database.
Both the SRM database and the VirtualCenter Server database can
reside on the same database server.
VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-21

Datastore Groups
Recovery Site

Protected Site
Datastore Group 1
C-Drive
VMDK

LUN 1

LUN 1

C-Drive
VMDK

D-Drive
VMDK

LUN 2

NOT
REPLICATED

C-Drive
VMDK

Datastore Group 2
C-Drive
VMDK

LUN 3

LUN 3

C-Drive
VMDK

D-Drive
VMDK

LUN 4

C-Drive
VMDK

LUN 4

D-Drive
VMDK

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-22

Recovery Plan Building Blocks

Protected Site

Recovery Site
Recovery Plan 1
(Entire Site)

VMFS 1
LUN 1

Datastore Group 1

Protection Group 1

Protection Group 1
Protection Group 2

LUN 2

Protection Group 3

VMFS 2

LUN 3

Datastore Group 2

Protection Group 2

Recovery Plan 2
(Subset)

VMFS 3
LUN 4

Protection Group 1
VMFS 4
LUN 5

Datastore Group 3

Protection Group 3

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-23

VMkernel Swap Files

Virtual machine swap files (.vswp files) are used by the VMkernel as
a swap area.
These files normally reside in the same location as the other virtual
machine files.
It is possible to set a location for all swap files on an ESX server.
Best practice: Locate the swap file on shared storage but not on
replicated storage.

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-24

SRM Intrasite Communications

SOAP 8095 VC / SRM proxy communications
443 (SSL)

80 or 443
902

8096 SRM Plug-in Download

SRM Server

Var
ie s
Va
rie

VC Server
w it
s

hV
end
or

wi

th

Ve
nd

or

1433 MS-SQL
1521, 1524 Oracle
VC
DB
SRM
DB

Storage Array
SP

LUN

SRM

SP

LUN
Fibre
Channel
3260

iSCSI
Servers
LUN

LUN

DB Server

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

VI Client
w/ SRM Plug-in

Ports shown are defaults.

2-25

902 and 903

ESX Servers

SRM Site-to-Site Communications

Protected Site

Recovery Site

VirtualCenter Server

VirtualCenter
Server

443/8095 to
local VC

443/8095 to
local VC
8095 SRM to
remote VC via
proxy

8095 SRM to
remote VC via
proxy

443 (SSL) SRM

to remote VC

443 (SSL) SRM

to remote VC

SRM Server

SRM Server

SRM talks to local VirtualCenter Server via 443 and 8095.

SRM links to remote VirtualCenter Server via 443.
SRM talks to remote SRM via proxy through the remote
VirtualCenter Server with 8095.
VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-26

Module Summary
Site Recovery Manager allows customers to quickly
restore an IT infrastructure built on virtual machines.
SRM is built on the following components:
SRM VI Client plug-in

Storage replication adapter (SRA)

SRM server

VirtualCenter Server

Storage array with replication

Database server

SRM key terms

Array-based replication

Protection group

Datastore group

Recovery plan

Failover and failback

Placeholder virtual machine

Inventory mapping

Storage replication adapter (SRA)

Protected site and recovery site

Storage array

VMwareSiteRecoveryManagerRevA
Copyright2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

2-27

Questions?

VMware Site Recovery Manager Rev A

Copyright 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

2-28