Replication is an additional feature available in Vembu VMBackup that provides a higher level of business continuity reducing the service downtime.
VM replication allows to replicate VMs from a source host to a target ESXi in DR location without affecting the performance and the routine tasks of the primary server.
Blog series
Vembu BDR Suite 3.7 overview and setup – pt.1
Vembu VMBackup 3.7 backup and restore – pt.2
Vembu VMBackup 3.7 replication and offsite copy – pt.3
Configure VM replication
VM replication is recommended for business critical VMs where the replication occurs on a regular basis.
From the Dashboard's menu select VM Replication > VMware vSphere item.
In the source ESXi/vCenter click VM Replication.
Select the VMs to replicate and click Next.
Configure the Scheduling for replication based on requirement and click Next.
To make application-consistent replication (SQL Server and Exchange servers), enable Application Aware Process option and click Next.
Specify the Target Replication Host then click Next.
Enable Configure Networks if different networks are used in the production site and DR site. Specify Source Network and Target Network then click Next.
Enable Network Re-IP Mapping option if the IP addressing scheme in the production site differs from that in the DR site scheme. Re-IP Mapping rule will be applied during Failover. Click Add Rule to create a new rule.
Specify the required details then click Save.
Once the new rule has been created, the name is displayed in the configuration area. Click Next to continue.
Enter the Job Name and review the configuration then click Next.
Click OK to confirm.
The Replication job is executed displaying the Replication Progress Details.
The replication has been completed successfully.
Manage replications
From the Dashboard's menu select VM Replication > VMware vSphere.
Choose the Replication job to process and click the Restore icon.
Proceeding with Restore option, three types of restores are available to choose from:
- Failover
- Finalize Failover
- Finalize Failback
Failover
Failover allows the administrators to switch the functionality from the original VM to its replica on the target host.
Select Failover option as restore type and click Next.
Specify the Restore version and click Next.
Choose the VM replica to restore and click Next.
Click Next to perform Failover.
Click OK to confirm.
Failover of the selected VM is being executed.
When the operation completes successfully, the replicated VM in target host is active and running.
Finalize failover
When a VM has been failovered, administrators can decide the finalizing Failover operation to perform by choosing between following operations:
- Undo Failover
- Permanent Failover or Failback
Select Finalize Failover option as restore type and click Next.
Select the VM replica to process and click Next.
Three finalize types are available:
- Undo Failover - changes done in replicated VM during Failover are deleted and reverts back to its original state before Failover.
- Permanent Failover - the replicated VM is made as the source VM permanently.
- Failback - the replicated VM along with Failover data is restored to the source host as a production machine.
Select Undo Failover and click Next.
In the review page click Next to proceed with the selected operation.
Changes occurred in the replicated VM are discarded and the VM is reverted to its pre-failover state.
Permanent Failover
Selecting Permanent Failover option, the system makes the replica VM as the source VM permanently. Click Next to proceed.
Failback
Select Failback option as Finalize Type to recover the VM to the source host or another host as production VM. This option is enabled only when Failback as Finalize type in Finalize Failover (Restore type). Click Next.
Specify the Failback Options and click Next to proceed with recover.
Check the configuration in the Review page and click Next to start the Failback process.
Click OK to confirm.
The Restore Progress page shows the details of the VM processed.
The Failback operation has been completed successfully.
From the VMware vSphere Web Client you can see the processed VM up and running in the specified host.
Store backups offsite
VMBackup provides also options of sending the backup data offsite (data center or Vembu Cloud) for data redundancy and disaster recovery increasing security and data integrity.
From the Dashboard's main menu select Management > Offsite Copy Management.
To store backups offsite, you need to enable the Offsite Copy option from the management page. Before enabling Offsite copy, user need to register Vembu BDR server, from Management > Server Management menu, to their Vembu Portal account.
Offsite Copy mode allows the administrators to specify if a personal data center or Vembu cloud will be used to store backups.
Vembu Cloud
Vembu CloudDR is a cloud based disaster recovery server that maintains an offsite copy of backup server data.
Select Vembu Cloud option and specify Window, Retention and Bandwidth settings. Click Save Replication Settings button to save the configuration.
My Own Datacenter
This option allows the administrators to replicate backup data to personal data center.
Select My Own Datacenter option and specify Window, Retention and Bandwidth settings. Specify the OffsiteDR Server and click Save Replication Settings button to save the configuration.
Vembu VMBackup is available as 30-day trial for testing purposes. Check out Vembu website for additional info.
