VMware vCenter 7 Enhanced Linked Mode

[CrashFL]

Greetings, I have a customer who is interested in configuring Enhanced Linked Mode between 2 vCenter 7 instanced, located in separate locations. If we deploy the initial vCenter at Site A, and join the vCenter at Site B, will the customer still be able to login to Site B if Site A becomes unavailable? Are there any issues with this type of failure

[8islas]

Hi;

The primary benefit of Enhanced Linked Mode is simplicity of administration and usability but Enhanced Linked Mode is not for reliability.

It only offers the possibility to have different fault domains and keep a single pane of glass for management infrastructure where administrators have a single view of all inventory objects in the environment; managing policies, permissions, and backups once instead of multiple times.

You have multiple vCenter and multiple ESXi clusters across different sites.

But each of these clusters in every site is connected to only one vCenter.

If case you lost one site, the cluster(s) connected to that vCenter will no longer be managed.

In the case of vcenter you will be able to continue accessing the other site vCenter.

Maybe I didn't quite understand your question.

Regards.

[CrashFL]

Thanks, 8islas....

The customer is a medical institution and they are concerned that they will be unable to access the "surviving" vCenter instance if the initial location fails for any reason. I have not heard of any authentication issues, but wanted to publish it to the community for any feedback. Certainly, the convenience of a "single pane of glass" to manage multiple sites is attractive for them.

[ComputingDon]

I may be misunderstanding what they mean by access the other vCenter, but access would be available to the surviving vCenter.  They would be able to connect to that site but would not have access to the site with the downed vCenter.

Sharing the SSO domain is helpful for authentication but doesn't help in a downed vCenter/Site scenario.

[navina]

You can have VCHA configured 

https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2018/04/vcenter-high-availability-deep-dive-part-1.html

This would protect you from vCenter service failures but do remember its an HA Solution amd not a DR solution.

https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2148003

[Vernex]

Great Question. It is possible to do it on OVHcloud VMware hosted private cloud. From your manager/interface you can get both environments to communicate. Do you want to set up a technical call to discuss it?

[nathnael]

well, vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode allows you to log in to any single instance of vCenter Server and view and manage the inventories of all the vCenter Server systems in the group and you can join up to 15 vCenter appliances within the group. hence there wont be any issues after joining them and using the enhanced linked mode

[virtual-sith]

vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode allows you to log in to any single instance of vCenter Server and view and manage the inventories of all the vCenter Server systems in the group.

Only one login nedded.

You see everything in one view

backup is easier