Setting up HA

[TommyFCP]

I have 3 ESX 3.5 host and trying to setup HA. I have a VM i want to run mostly on one of the ESX servers host. Now if that goes down HA would bring it up on any of the other two servers. But if the ESX host running that VM comes back up, I would like that VM to automatically migrate back to that ESX Host. Can I setup something like that? And How?

[weinstein5]

There is nothing in VI 3 that will allow you to do thatother than scripting something -

[TommyFCP]

Under Cluster Settings and VMWare HA there is Advanced Options. What is that?

[Troy_Clavell]

I was told by a VMware Instructor awhile back that the Advanced Options buttons is for future release and is not usable in the current version. She could be right or wrong, I don't know?

I don't know of anyone who uses the advanced option, but someone may be able to help shed more light.

Now you can always pin a VM to a particular host, if that is something you are looking to do

[TommyFCP]

With Pinning, if that host goes down will it migrate automaticlly to another host? and back on its own when that host comes back up?

[Troy_Clavell]

pinning the VM to a host is a DRS rule. It will keep the VM on a particular HOST. If an HA even kicks in, that VM will be powered up on a different HOST, but will not move back to it's original, because of the DRS rule.

[TommyFCP]

What if I have two VM that I always want to be on seprate Host. Can I setup something to do that?

[Troy_Clavell · Accepted solution]

sure.. You can initially migrate them to seperate hosts, if they are not already, then using the DRS rule, disable DRS for those VM's, that will keep the two VM's seperate.

[TommyFCP]

And if HA kicks in, they will always be separate?

[Troy_Clavell]

not necessarily... HA does not use DRS rules. It just puts the VM's where resources are available.