System information

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How Site Recovery Manager Handles Custom Recovery Step Failures on page 58
Site Recovery Manager handles custom recovery step failures differently based on the type of recovery
step.
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Create Top-Level Message Prompts or Command Steps on page 58
You can add top-level recovery steps anywhere in the recovery plan. Top-level command steps are
commands or scripts that you run on Site Recovery Manager Server during a recovery. You can also
add steps that display message prompts that a user must acknowledge during a recovery.
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Create Message Prompts or Command Steps for Individual Virtual Machines on page 59
You can create custom recovery steps to prompt users to perform tasks or for Site Recovery Manager
to perform tasks on a virtual machine before or after Site Recovery Manager powers it on.
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Guidelines for Writing Command Steps on page 60
All batch files or commands for custom recovery steps that you add to a recovery plan must meet
certain requirements.
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Environment Variables for Command Steps on page 60
Site Recovery Manager makes environment variables available that you can use in commands for
custom recovery steps.
Types of Custom Recovery Steps
You can create different types of custom recovery steps to include in recovery plans.
Custom recovery steps are either command recovery steps or message prompt steps.
Command Recovery Steps
Command recovery steps contain either top-level commands or per-virtual machine commands.
Top-Level Commands
Run on the Site Recovery Manager Server. For example, you might use these
commands to power on physical devices or to redirect network traffic.
Per-Virtual Machine
Commands
Site Recovery Manager associates per-virtual machine commands with
newly recovered virtual machines during the recovery process. You can use
these commands to complete configuration tasks after powering on a virtual
machine. You can run the commands either before or after powering on a
virtual machine. Commands that you configure to run after the virtual
machine is powered on can run either on the Site Recovery Manager Server
or in the newly recovered virtual machine. Commands that run on the newly
recovered virtual machine are run in the context of the user account that
VMware Tools uses on the recovered virtual machine. Depending on the
function of the command that you write, you might need to change the user
account that VMware Tools uses on the recovered virtual machine.
Message Prompt Recovery Steps
Present a message in the Site Recovery Manager user interface during the recovery. You can use this
message to pause the recovery and provide information to the user running the recovery plan. For example,
the message can instruct users to perform a manual recovery task or to verify steps. The only action users
can take in direct response to a prompt is to dismiss the message, which allows the recovery to continue.
Chapter 5 Configuring a Recovery Plan
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