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Table Of Contents
4 When you run a recovery plan, Site Recovery Manager shuts down the virtual machines on the
protected site, and activates the virtual machines on the recovery site according to the type of
replication that you use.
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For datastore-based replication, Site Recovery Manager surfaces the raw storage on the recovery
site that contains the replicated virtual machines as a vCenter Server datastore.
Site Recovery Manager registers the recovered datastore with the ESXi host or cluster with which
the placeholder datastore is registered.
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vSphere Replication powers on the copies of the virtual machines on the recovery site.
5 Site Recovery Manager sends a request to vCenter Server to swap the identity of the placeholder virtual
machines for the replicated virtual machines that have surfaced on the recovery site.
Select a Placeholder Datastore
If you use array-based protection groups or vSphere Replication protection groups, you must specify a
placeholder datastore on the recovery site for Site Recovery Manager to use to store placeholder virtual
machines.
You must configure a placeholder datastore on both sites in the pair to establish bidirectional protection and
to perform reprotect.
NOTE Site Recovery Manager does not create placeholder virtual machines for storage policy protection
groups. You do not need to select a placeholder datastore if you only use storage policy protection groups.
Prerequisites
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Verify that you connected and paired the protected and recovery sites.
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Placeholder datastores must meet certain criteria.
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For clusters, the placeholder datastores must be visible to all of the hosts in the cluster.
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You cannot select as placeholder datastores any datastores that are replicated by using array-based
replication.
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Do not select as placeholder datastores any datastores that you use as the replication target
datastore for vSphere Replication.
Procedure
1 In the vSphere Web Client, click Site Recovery > Sites, and select a site.
2 On the Manage tab, click Placeholder Datastores.
3 Click the icon to configure a placeholder datastore.
4 Select a datastore to designate as the location for placeholder virtual machines on the local site, and
click OK.
Previously configured datastores appear but you cannot select them. If a datastore is replicated, but
Site Recovery Manager does not have an array manager for that datastore, the option to select the
replicated datastore might be available. Do not select replicated datastores that Site Recovery Manager
does not manage.
IMPORTANT If you use vSphere Replication, do not select a placeholder datastore that you already use
as the target datastore for replications. Selecting the same datastore for placeholder virtual machines as
you use to contain the replica virtual machines that vSphere Replication creates can cause problems
when you run reprotect.
Make sure placeholder datastores are not in the same Storage DRS cluster as the vSphere Replication
replica target datastores.
Chapter 4 About Placeholder Virtual Machines
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