6.1

Configuring a Recovery Plan 7
You can configure a recovery plan to run commands on Site Recovery Manager Server or on a virtual
machine, display messages that require a response when the plan runs on the Site Recovery Manager Server
or in the guest OS, suspend non-essential virtual machines during recovery, configure dependencies
between virtual machines, customize virtual machine network settings, and change the recovery priority of
protected virtual machines.
A simple recovery plan that specifies only a test network to which the recovered virtual machines connect
and timeout values for waiting for virtual machines to power on and be customized can provide an effective
way to test a Site Recovery Manager configuration. Most recovery plans require configuration for use in
production. For example, a recovery plan for an emergency at the protected site might be different from a
recovery plan for the planned migration of services from one site to another.
NOTE A recovery plan always reflects the current state of the protection groups that it recovers. If any
members of a protection group show a status other than OK, you must correct the problems before you can
make any changes to the recovery plan. When a recovery plan is running, its state reflects the state of the
recovery plan run, rather than the state of the protection groups that it contains.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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“Recovery Plan Steps,” on page 81
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“Creating Custom Recovery Steps,” on page 82
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“Suspend Virtual Machines When a Recovery Plan Runs,” on page 87
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“Specify the Recovery Priority of a Virtual Machine,” on page 88
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“Configure Virtual Machine Dependencies,” on page 88
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“Enable vSphere vMotion for Planned Migration,” on page 89
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“Configure Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown Options,” on page 90
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“Limitations to Protection and Recovery of Virtual Machines,” on page 91
Recovery Plan Steps
A recovery plan runs a series of steps that must be performed in a specific order for a given workflow such
as a planned migration or reprotect. You cannot change the order or purpose of the steps, but you can insert
your own steps that display messages and run commands.
Site Recovery Manager runs different recovery plan steps in different ways.
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Some steps run during all recoveries.
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Some steps run only during test recoveries.
VMware, Inc.
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