vmware network outage

[usr345]

Hello,

We are expecting a scheduled network outage on our vmware network where core routers serving vmware will be rebboted and we will loose network connectivity on vmware infrastructure for an hour.

I have 2 clusters with different configuration and was wondering how I can make sure things keep on running smoothly during the network outage.

First cluster

HA, DRS is enabled

Enable Host monitoring checked

admission control disbaled

virtual machine resatrt policy medium

host isolation respopnse leave powered on

vm monitoring only

monitoring sensitivity high

DRS fully automated

Second cluster

HA, DRS is enabled

Enable Host monitoring checked

admission control enabled

virtual machine resatrt policy medium

host isolation respopnse shutdown

vm monitoring disbaled

monitoring senstivity high

DRS fully automated

In the past I have disabled HA and put DRS in manual mode and after netwok outage is over, I will enable HA and chenage DRS to fully automated.

Is there another way to disable HA and make sure virtual machine and hosts keep running. Also I have some virtual machines which either do not have vmware tools installed or they need to be updated.Hopefully that does not affect HA.

Thanks

[Troy_Clavell]

disabling HA would be the right choice. With that said, if your entire virtual infrastructure is being affected, the VM's will stay powered on, but will lose network connectivity during your planned maintenance, which in just as disruptive as having the guests in a powered off state.

If it were my infrastructure, I would plan on powering down everything during the maintenance window.  When complete, start the process of powering back on your infrastructure.

[usr345]

Thank you for the answer.I have 500 machines, so powering all of them down and powering them back up might not be feasible.

Would unchecking "host monitoring" do the same task of actually unchecking "Turn on vmware HA" in cluster-Edit settings. Please keep in mind the different setups of both clusters.

Thanks

[Troy_Clavell · Accepted solution]

just my opinion, but I wouldn't rely on unchecking the box "enable Host Monitoring". Although, this is exactly what this feature is for, for me, I would still feel more comfortable by disabling HA all together during a planned network maintenance event.

[eeg3]

I agree with Troy, both should work but I'd feel more comfortable disabling it. To extend on the last part of your original post, VMware Tools will not affect HA.

[usr345]

Thank you all for your help!