6.5

Table Of Contents
3Server Protection
Protection against operating system or hardware failure aecting the active server is facilitated by two instances
of the vCenter Server Heartbeat that monitor one another by sending “I’m alive” messages and reciprocating
with acknowledgments over the VMware Channel. If the passive server detects that this process (the heartbeat)
has failed, an automatic switchover is initiated.
Additionally, vCenter Server Heartbeat proactively monitors the capability of the active and passive servers
to communicate with the rest of the network by polling dened nodes around the network, including by
default, the primary DNS server, default gateway, and the Global Catalog server at regular intervals. If all
three nodes fail to respond, for example, due to a network card or local switch failure, vCenter Server Heartbeat
can initiate an automatic switchover, allowing the passive server to assume the role of the active server.
This chapter includes the following topics:
“Checking the Server Pair Status,” on page 29
“Monitoring the Status of Servers,” on page 31
“Conguring Heartbeat Settings,” on page 31
Checking the Server Pair Status
The Server: Summary page is the default page that opens when administering a pair of servers. The Server:
Summary page allows you to view the roles that the servers are performing (active or passive), the actions that
the servers are currently performing, and summary information on the status of communications and data
replication between servers. The lower pane displays status information for each server in the pair.
Note To change the currently displayed server, click the server graphical representation in the upper pane,
or select the server Identity tab (Primary or Secondary Server) in the bottom pane.
The following table lists the possible system statuses and their meanings.
Table 3- 1. System Status
DescriptionIconStatus
The Heartbeat service is shut down.Heartbeat service
shutdown
The Heartbeat service is starting up.Initializing
(Normal status) File and registry changes on the active server are intercepted and
replicated to the passive server. The protected applications are monitored.
Replicating
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