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VMware, Inc. 7
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This chapter introduces vCenter Server Heartbeat and provides an overview of vCenter Server Heartbeat
concepts. It contains the following sections:
 “vCenter Server Heartbeat Overview” on page 7
 “vCenter Server Heartbeat Protection” on page 7
 “Communications” on page 9
 “Node Configuration” on page 10
vCenter Server Heartbeat Overview
vCenter Server Heartbeat is a Windows based application specifically designed to provide high availability
protection for vCenter Server configurations without requiring specialized hardware and provides a flexible
solution that can be adapted to meet most business requirements for deployment. When discussing vCenter
Server Heartbeat, it is beneficial to use common terminology to describe its configuration and what is
occurring.
VMware describes the organization of servers based upon Pairs and Pair status. VMware refers to two servers
with vCenter Server Heartbeat installed working together as a vCenter Server Heartbeat Pair.
Each server in the Pair is assigned both an Identity (Primary or Secondary) and a Role (active or passive).
Identity is used to describe the physical instance of the server while the Role is used to describe what the server
is doing. When the Identity is assigned to a server it normally will not change over the life of the server
whereas the Role of the server is subject to change as a result of the operations the server is performing.
In its simplest form, vCenter Server Heartbeat operates as a vCenter Server Heartbeat Pair with one server
performing an active role (normally the Primary server) while the other server performs a passive role
(normally the Secondary server). The server in the active role hosts the vCenter Server components that are
monitored. Data from the server performing in the active role is replicated to the passive (standby) server
through a communications channel referred to as the VMware Channel. This communications channel is
typically a standard 100Mb (or greater) LAN connection. In the event of a failure or manual action, the vCenter
Server components that were protected by vCenter Server Heartbeat can be brought online on the Secondary
server by switching roles.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Protection
vCenter Server Heartbeat provides protection on many levels including Server, Network, Application,
Performance, and Data.
vCenter Server Heartbeat
Introduction
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