VMware SRM installation with essentials plus 5.1

[Buddhi01]

hi,

I am going to buy vmware vsphere essentials plus for my datacentre. i have two servers in one location, each has 2 cpus.And another one in a different location (2 CPUs). now i need to buid a DR site with this server. those 2 servers are going to replicate data to this sigle server. SRM product is now bundled with vsphere essentials plus 5.1. so can i install SRM in both locations and complete the DR requirement using a sigle pack of essentials plus kit? Please kindly update me.

thanks

[MarekZdrojewski]

Hi,

You don't get the full SRM with the Essentials Plus license, only vSphere Replication. This means that you will be able to replicate your VMs from one datacenter to another but you will have to recover them manually through vCenter Server.

More info can be found in this whitepaper.

Cheers!

[Buddhi01]

Ok...Now i understand that. but if i am using only the replication will that be possible to do the task with a sigle pack of vsphere essentials plus kit? can i do that using the way i mentioned in the above post? please kindly reply....

thanks

[MarekZdrojewski]

Hi,

If you only want to replicate the VMs from you primary site to the secondary (failover) site than yes. Otherwise you will have to buy additional licenses.

Regards.

[Buddhi01]

Do i need 2 seperate vcenter servers for replication or can i do that using one vcenter?

[MarekZdrojewski]

Well, in your situation, you've got a single host on the secondary site right? You could use a second vCenter for management and recovery but you can also recover the VMs that are replicated through the ESXi host itself with vSphere Client. Replication itself is done by the vSphere Replication appliance deployed at the primary (protected) and secondary (recovery) site.

The whitepaper I posted above gives you a good description how it works

Cheers!

[Mikky83]

Hi,

Do you manage to implement SRM 5.1 with vSphere 5.1 Essentials Plus Kit. My question is: Is SRM 5.1 compatible wirth vCenter Essentials ?

[MarekZdrojewski]

Hi,

Yes, it is supported from vSphere Essentials Plus.

From the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager FAQ.

Q: Which editions of vCenter Server are compatible with Site Recovery Manager?

A: Site Recovery Manager is supported with vCenter Server for Essentials, vCenter Server Standard and vCenter Server Foundation only. Site Recovery Manager 5.1 is designed for compatibility with vCenter Server 5.1. Site Recovery Manager 5.1 is incompatible with vCenter Server 5.0 and earlier releases.

hth

Cheers!

[Mikky83]

Many thanks for your answer Marek,

Regards,