vsphere replication implementation.

[jvm2016]

Hi all,

we are In process of implementing replication (vsphere replication) for two sites so that VMware can replicate from site1 to site2.

below is the what I am planning .

1.install vsphere replication appliances to both site1 and site2.

2.regislter them to respective centre’s.

3.creating vmkernel port on each esxi in site1 and enable it for vsphere replication.

4.pair sites .

5.and right click vm and follow wizard for replication.

can someone add anything which is needed.

[daphnissov]

I think, in order to answer that, we need you to state your goals with using vSphere Replication. Obviously it's to have data replicated, but what are you expecting to get out of it? What type of outcome do you need to have happen, specifically when it comes to actually using those replicas for something?

[jvm2016]

Thanks for your response.

well overall goal is to implement SRM so that it can failover a group of vms in protected group to DR site.

and we want to achive this  using vsphere replication.

right now I m not sure what rpo and what rto. I m also in process of finding the nature of vms to be protected.

so overall main goal is to implement distaster recovery solution using srm and vsphere replication.

i m  also thinking lots of points as below.

1.rtt between protected site and DR site as distance between them matters .

2.wan Link between protected and dr site.

3.traffic isolation by creating additional vmkernel port on esxi for vsphere replication.

4.what issues we can get if we don’t create dns entries for both appliances.

there might be other things to consider but main goal is to have DR soution.

[Dee006]

Hi JVM,

1.Initial replication you can set the RPO for 4 hours untill the replicated to the DR site and later you can reduce to 15 or 30 minutes depends on your business requirement.

2.Few online tools are available to calculate the bandwidth required based on the disk size.Initial seed you definetly go with bandwidth bursting 10+ of link speed and later you can reduce it.

3.For Isolation network you can refer the following documentation,in both source and destination you need to add static routes to work the isolated network.

Create a VM Network Adapter to Use for Incoming Replication Traffic on the Combined vSphere Replication Appliance

4.DNS and time sync is must for vR implementation,it will break the pair and you can add the host entry if you are having small environment.

[jvm2016]

Thanks for yur response.

Do we need to configure additional vmkernel ports on esxis and enable vsphere replication.does datapath include vmkernel port or directly goes from vm to appliance.

[daphnissov]

That is going to depend on your site architecture and networking. We can't really answer that since we don't know your environment. I'd recommend you really read the documentation thoroughly on how vSphere Replication works.

[daphnissov]

well overall goal is to implement SRM so that it can failover a group of vms in protected group to DR site.

and we want to achive this  using vsphere replication.

Well, vSphere Replication by itself is not going to give you much of this. You need SRM + vR because SRM is what handles all the orchestration and automation of such tasks. vR is just the data mover engine, and it is very very basic outside of SRM.

[vmkfix-SSA]

it will help how to configure second NIC for replication traffic.

https://vmkfix.blogspot.com/2023/05/create-vm-network-adapter-to-use-for.html