Vcenter HA

[QuestionAnswerU]

Hi All,

I am setting up a lab, which has two UCS C Series servers. ESXi 5.1 is installed on them. On both the UCS, one of the VM is a Vcenter machine. I am trying to achieve HA for the VMs installed on both the UCS servers, including the VCenter.

From what i have known, HA cannot be achived without a common datastore? could any one confirm this.

Can we have two datastores on one UCS server and use that for a common datastore?

Thanks.

[aravinds3107]

Welcome to the Communities..

From what i have known, HA cannot be achived without a common datastore? could any one confirm this.

Thats correct need a shared storage on both host for the HA to work and common network

For your question not sure what you are planning to perform. Could you please explain that

[QuestionAnswerU]

Hi Aravind,

Thank you for your quick reply.

I am setting up some CUCM and windows 7 as Guest OS on these two Host for lab testing purpose.

Objetive is to acheive HA among VMs. And i do not have common datastore.

Question: If i create a new datastore on one of the 2 UCS servers.. can that new datastore be made as a shared datastore?

Awaiting reply.

[depping · Accepted solution]

QuestionAnswerUser wrote:

Hi Aravind,

Thank you for your quick reply.

I am setting up some CUCM and windows 7 as Guest OS on these two Host for lab testing purpose.

Objetive is to acheive HA among VMs. And i do not have common datastore.

Question: If i create a new datastore on one of the 2 UCS servers.. can that new datastore be made as a shared datastore?

Awaiting reply.

If you would use the VMware vSphere Virtual Storage Appliance then you can use HA.

[QuestionAnswerU]

Hi Deeping,

Thank you for you reply.

Does this come in the free license version..?

And is there any way by which we can split the existing datastore without effecting the existing data..?

[aravinds3107]

Does this come in the free license version..?

To use any of the advanced feature you would need the license version of the ESXi host and you would need vCenter in place which is licesned seperately.

Which license are you currently using?

Check for the license comparison

http://www.vmware.com/in/products/datacenter-virtualization/vsphere/compare-kits.html

[Sreejesh_D]

Its not part free license, but its part of the vSphere Essential Plus package.

Please find the Storage Appliance licensing details here.

http://www.vmware.com/uk/products/datacenter-virtualization/vsphere/vsphere-storage-appliance/faqs.h...

How is the vSphere Storage Appliance (VSA) licensed?

When purchased on a standalone basis, vSphere Storage Appliance is licensed per instance (similar to vCenter Server). Each license supports the creation of one VSA cluster, with up to three nodes.

How can I buy VSA?

VSA is included in vSphere Essentials Plus. Larger customers interested in deploying VSA for a network of branch offices can purchase vSphere Essentials Plus with VSA for ROBO. VSA is also available for purchase on a standalone basis.

Is there an evaluation key for VSA?

Yes, VSA is part of the vSphere evaluation, which is valid for 60 days.

Can a customer buy more than one VSA?

Yes, a customer can buy more than one license for VSA. One license for VSA supports the creation of one VSA cluster (up to three nodes).

And is there any way by which we can split the existing datastore without effecting the existing data..?

there is no way to split the existing datastore.

The only way to resize the VMFS is removing and recreating a new LUN. See this KB for more info.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=100451...