> Documentation > Backup and Restore Agents > Virtualization > Virtual Server Agent > Supported Hypervisors and Common Information for Virtual Server Agent > Replication for Virtual Machines > Configuring Replication for Any Supported Hypervisor

Replication Requirements and Options for VMware

Requirements

  • Replication is supported for virtual machines using hardware version 7 or higher.

  • The hardware version of the source VM must be supported by the destination server.

  • The vCenter user account that is used for replication operations must have the required permissions that are listed in Permissions for Custom User Accounts.

  • You can replicate virtual machines from a streaming backup, auxiliary copy, or backup copy.

  • To validate destination virtual machines, verify the following requirements:

    • The source virtual machine must have VMware tools installed.

    • The boot disk for the source VM must be a local disk (on an ESX datastore that is accessible without a network connection). If the VM uses an iSCSI virtual disk to boot or requires a network connection to access the boot disk, validation fails because the network connection is disabled for validation.

    • Select the Validate Destination VM (Power ON & OFF) option when configuring the replication operation.

  • If a virtual machine has encrypted disks, validation fails because the VM requires entry of a password before it can start.

  • If virtual machines have an alternate snapshot path configured in the VMX file and the destination ESX server has access to the specified alternate path, restore and replication jobs use the alternate path to create snapshots. If the alternate path is unavailable, the default snapshot location on the destination datastore is used to create snapshots.

    Create the snapshotWorkingDir additional setting on the VSA proxy to enable restore and replication jobs to use an alternate DR path if the path configured in the VMX file is not accessible. If the alternate path configured in the VMX file and the alternate DR path are both available, the default snapshot location on the destination datastore is used.

    Enter the value in the following format: 

     
    datastore_name/folder_path

    For example: Datastore1/TestSnapshotPath

  • For replication to vCloud:

    • You cannot replicate source virtual machines from vCloud.

    • vCloud credentials must be entered at the instance level for the virtualization client.

    • Configure separate replication schedules for a) virtual machines to be replicated to vCloud and b) virtual machines to be replicated to a vCenter without vCloud.

Note

Do not create snapshots of destination virtual machines after replication operations. If a snapshot exists, subsequent replication operations will fail.

Options

The following sections provide information about the options on each page of the Live Sync Options for Subclient wizard.

Destination

  • Restore To:

    • vCenter Client: Displays the name of the vCenter where the virtual machine is to be replicated. To create a replicated VM on a different vCenter, select the destination vCenter from the drop-down list.

      To replicate to a different vCenter, the destination vCenter must already be added as a virtualization client.

    • Instance Details: Displays the vCenter (host name) and User (vCenter user account) for the source virtual machine.

  • Proxy Client: Displays the name of the proxy computer that will be used to perform the replication operation. By default, the proxy computer that was specified at the instance level is used to replicate changes to the destination VM.

    To use a different proxy, select the name of the proxy from the list.

Virtual Machines

  • Add VMs: Click to browse for backed up virtual machines that can be replicated.

    VMs that are already selected for the same schedule are grayed out.

    In the Select VMs for Live Sync dialog box, select virtual machines that have been backed up, and then click OK.

  • Remove VMs: Click to remove selected VMs from the replication schedule.

  • Refresh Disks: Update disk information for virtual machines.

  • Source VM and Disk: This column displays the list of all the virtual machines and disks selected for replication. Expand each virtual machine to view the disks in that virtual machine.

  • Destination VM: This column displays the existing name of each destination virtual machine. To change the name of any virtual machine, click in the corresponding row and enter the new name. If the VM display name of the source VM is retained for the replicated VM, select a different destination from the vCenter Client list.

    If you are replicating the VM to the same vCenter, specify a different name for the destination VM. If the destination VM name matches the name of an existing virtual machine in the target location, the destination VM is not replaced unless a) it was created in a previous replication operation or b) you use the Unconditionally overwrite VM with the same name option.

  • ESX Server: This column displays the ESX server of each destination virtual machine. To change the ESX server of any virtual machine, click in the corresponding row; then click ... and select the ESX server or cluster where you want to replicate the virtual machine.

  • Datastore: This column displays the datastore of each disk for the destination VM. To change the datastore of any disk, click in the corresponding row; then select a datastore from the list. By default, virtual machine disks (VMDKs) for the replicated VM are added to the same datastore where the source VM disks resided; but you can specify a different datastore.

  • vCenter Options: Select one or more rows, click Configure, and then provide information for the selected virtual machines.

    Depending on whether the destination vCenter client is configured as a vCenter or for a vCloud Director, the options vary.

VMware vCenter Options

  • Edit Destination VM Name (only displayed when multiple VMs are selected):

    • Prefix: Enter a prefix to be added to the destination VM names for all selected virtual machines.

    • Suffix: Enter a suffix to be added to the destination VM names for all selected virtual machines.

  • Destination VM (only displayed when a single VM is selected): You can change the name of the destination VM in this box.

  • ESX Server: Click ... to select a new destination ESX server or cluster for all selected virtual machines.

  • Datastore: Select a destination datastore for all selected virtual machines.

  • Resource Pool: Click ... to select a destination resource pool for all selected virtual machines.

  • VM Folder: Click ... to select a destination folder for all selected virtual machines.

  • Network Settings: Click Add to change the network configuration for restored VMs.

    • In the Network Settings dialog box, you can map each network in the Source Network list to a network in the Destination Network list. These mappings enable restored VMs to connect to appropriate networks in the location where they are restored.

      Select a network from the Source Network list or type the network name as it is displayed in the vSphere client. Select Any Network to create a default rule for network adapters that are not covered by another rule.

      If you select Not Connected for the Destination Network value, virtual machines are restored with network interfaces in disconnected state.

    • IP Address settings: If a Windows or Linux source VM uses a static IP address, you can configure an IP address for the destination VM.

      Note

      You can configure IP address mapping for static IP addresses for source VMs that run the following operating systems:

      • Windows 2000 and later

      • CentOS or RHEL: 5.x, 6x, and 7.x

      • Ubuntu: 12.x, 14.x, and 16.x

      • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server: 10.x, 11.x, and 12.x

    • Click Add to display the IP Address settings dialog box.

    • Enter the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway for the source VM.

    • Use one of the following methods to specify settings for the destination VM:

      Select Use DHCP to enable an available IP address for the specified network connection to be assigned automatically.

      Enter values for the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway to identify the desired IP address mappings for the destination VM. You can also specify preferred and alternate DNS servers and WINS servers.

      For more information, see IP Address settings.

  • Change Host Name for Destination VM: To use a different host name for the destination VM, select this option, and then type the name in the Host Name for Destination VM box.

    Note

    If you change the host name for a destination VM, ensure that the new host name follows Microsoft standards for DNS host names as described in Naming conventions in Active Directory for computers, domains, sites, and OUs. Names should be 15 characters or less, and should not include special characters.

VMware vCloud Director Options

If you have configured vCloud credentials on the VMware instance properties, you can replicate virtual machines to vCloud. Virtual machines can only be replicated to vCloud if the source VMs do not reside in vCloud.

  • VM Display Name: Displays the display name for the destination VM.

  • ESX Server - Click ... to select a new destination ESX server or cluster.

  • Datastore - Select a datastore to be used for virtual disks.

  • Organization - Enter the name of the organization.

  • Org vDC - Click ... to select the organization vDC to be used for the destination VM.

  • vApp Name - Select the vApp to which the VM should be restored.

  • vApp Owner - Select the user who owns the destination vApp.

  • Network Adapter Configuration: From the Network Adapter lists, select any adapters that should be connected to replicated VMs at the destination site.

Restore Options

  • Disk Provisioning: Select the disk provisioning type for the destination VM: Original, Thick Lazy Zero, Thin, or Thick Eager Zero.

    When configuring a domain controller VM for replication, select Thick Lazy Zero.

  • Transport Mode: Use Auto to have the transport mode selected automatically based on the environment, or select a different value from this list: SAN, Hot Add, NBD, NBD SSL, or NAS.

  • Validate Destination VM (Power ON & OFF): Verify that the destination VM is bootable by powering it on and then powering off. Changes resulting from the power on are not preserved. If VMware tools are not installed on the source VM, validation is skipped even when this option is selected.

    If validation fails, the destination virtual machine reverts back to its last valid (bootable) state. See Validation Failure for troubleshooting information.

  • Unconditionally overwrite VM with the same name: When this option is selected, the first replication operation replaces an existing virtual machine with the same name in the target location, even if the destination VM is running.

    Replication operations from incremental backups are not affected by this setting:

    • Subsequent incremental backups and replication updates are applied to the destination VM without overwriting the VM.

    • If the destination VM is currently running, the replication operation fails.

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