5.6

n
A scheduled batch file that copies key vCenter Operations Manager files to the backup server. For
information about the vCenter Operations Manager files that are required on the backup server, see
“Backing Up System Files,” on page 124.
When the primary server or cluster that hosts vCenter Operations Manager becomes unavailable, the
vCenter Operations Manager database should failover to the backup database by using the appropriate vendor
software. Users who were logged in to vCenter Operations Manager are logged out. The
vCenter Operations Manager system is unavailable until you configure the backup server to be the primary
server and all services are turned back on. See “Switch the Primary and Backup Servers,” on page 128.
The typical critical path timing item is the restoration of the RDB. All alerts in the new
vCenter Operations Manager system at the time of the most recent RDB backup are active, but
vCenter Operations Manager analytics should reset all alerts to the appropriate state after 15 minutes.
Switch the Primary and Backup Servers
If the primary server or cluster is unavailable, you must manually switch the vCenter Operations Manager
software to use the backup server or cluster as the primary server or cluster.
Prerequisites
Implement disaster recovery. See “Implementing Disaster Recovery for the Server,” on page 127.
Procedure
1 From the Start menu, select All Programs > VMware > vCenter Operations Enterprise > Configure
VMware vCenter Operations to start the Configure VMware vCenter Operations utility on the backup
server.
2 On the Full Configuration page, change the Server Configuration setting from Backup to Primary.
This setting converts the vCenter Operations Manager system on the backup server to serve as the new
primary server.
3 Update the server IP address, or the virtual IP address that represents the cluster, to the correct IP address
for the new primary server or cluster.
End users and remote collectors that point to the vCenter Operations Manager server must use the new
IP address.
4 Click Finish to save the configuration.
NOTE Because the vCenter Operations Manager services are reinstalled and restarted when you click
Finish, click Exit, not Finish, to close the utility if you do not make any changes.
What to do next
If you need to switch a vCenter Operations Manager replication server to the primary server, you might need
to make additional changes. See “Switch the Primary and Backup Replication Servers,” on page 123.
Backing Up and Recovering the RDB Server
vCenter Operations Manager uses commercially available relational databases. If the
vCenter Operations Manager RDB is unavailable, vCenter Operations Manager becomes unavailable. If you
require a high availability or remote failover capability, configure the RDB server to use clustering or a remote
warm backup.
Instances that are configured against a single database are unavailable if that database becomes unavailable.
If this situation occurs, a high availability strategy that includes a clustered database environment enables the
cluster to immediately switch the shared disks and the vCenter Operations Manager instance to the backup
server if one database becomes unavailable.
VMware vCenter Operations Manager Administration Guide
128 VMware, Inc.