5.5

Table Of Contents
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You can run a cluster of MSCS virtual machines in the following possible configurations.
Cluster-in-a-box
The MSCS virtual machines in the cluster run on a single ESXi Server.
You can have a maximum of five MSCS nodes on one ESXi Server.
Cluster-across-boxes
You can spread the MSCS cluster across a maximum of five ESXi Server
instances. You can protect only one virtual machine node of any MSCS
cluster on a single ESXi Server instance. You can have multiple MSCS
node virtual machines running on an ESXi host, as long as they do not
participate in the same MSCS cluster. This configuration requires shared
storage on a Fibre Channel SAN for the quorum disk.
DRS Requirements for Protection of MSCS Virtual Machines
To use DRS on sites that contain MSCS virtual machines, you must configure the DRS rules to allow SRM to
protect the virtual machines. By following the guidelines, you can protect MSCS virtual machines on sites
that run DRS if the placeholder virtual machines are in either a cluster-across-boxes MSCS deployment or in
a cluster-in-a-box MSCS deployment.
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Because vSphere does not support vSphere vMotion for MSCS virtual machines, you must set the VM to
Host DRS rule so that DRS does not perform vMotion on MSCS nodes. Set the VM to Host rule for the
virtual machines on the protected site and for the shadow virtual machines on the recovery site.
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Set the DRS rules on the virtual machines on the protected site before you configure MSCS in the guest
operating systems. Set the DRS rules immediately after you deploy, configure, or power on the virtual
machines.
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Set the DRS rules on the virtual machines on the recovery site immediately after you create a protection
group of MSCS nodes, as soon as the placeholder virtual machines appear on the recovery site.
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DRS rules that you set on the protected site are not transferred to the recovery site after a recovery. For
this reason, you must set the DRS rules on the placeholder virtual machines on the recovery site.
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Do not run a test recovery or a real recovery before you set the DRS rules on the recovery site.
If you do not follow the guidelines on either the protected site or on the recovery site, vSphere vMotion
might move MSCS virtual machines to a configuration that SRM does not support.
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In a cluster-in-a-box deployment on either the protected or recovery site, vSphere vMotion might move
MSCS virtual machines to different ESXi hosts.
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In a cluster-in-a-box deployment on either the protected or recovery site, vSphere vMotion might move
some or all of the MSCS virtual machines to a single ESXi host.
Create, Test, and Run a Recovery Plan
You perform several sets of tasks to create, test, and run a recovery plan.
Procedure
1 Create a Recovery Plan on page 43
You create a recovery plan to establish how SRM recovers virtual machines.
2 Edit a Recovery Plan on page 43
You can edit a recovery plan to change the properties that you specified when you created it. You can
edit recovery plans from the protected site or from the recovery site.
3 Suspend Virtual Machines When a Recovery Plan Runs on page 44
SRM can suspend virtual machines on the recovery site during a recovery and a test recovery.
Site Recovery Manager Administration
42 VMware, Inc.