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Table Of Contents
Figure 11. SRM Site Pairing and Recovery Process
apps
OS
apps
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apps
OS
apps
OS
apps
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apps
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Site A
Protected
site goes
offline
Replica
virtual
machines
power on
Virtual machines replicate from site A to site B
Site B
apps
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apps
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apps
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apps
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apps
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apps
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Protection group
Bidirectional Protection
You can use a single set of paired SRM sites to protect virtual machines in both directions. Each site can
simultaneously be a protected site and a recovery site, but for a different set of virtual machines.
You can implement bidirectional protection by using either array-based replication or vSphere Replication.
If you are using array-based replication, each of the array’s LUNs replicates in only one direction. Two
LUNs in paired arrays can replicate in different directions from each other.
For information about the numbers of virtual machines for which you can establish bidirectional protection
between two sites, see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2034768.
Heterogeneous Configurations on the Protected and Recovery Sites
The configurations of the SRM and vCenter Server installations can be different on each of the protected and
recovery sites.
Some components in the SRM and vCenter Server installations must be identical on each site. Because the
protected and recovery sites are often in different physical locations, some components on the protected site
can be of a different type to their counterparts on the recovery site.
Although components can be different on each site, you must use the types and versions of these
components that SRM supports. See the Site Recovery Manager Compatibility Matrixes for information.
Table 11. Heterogeneity of SRM Components Between Sites
Component Heterogeneous or Identical Installations
SRM Server Must be the same version on both sites. The SRM version
must be the same as the vCenter Server version.
vCenter Server Must be the same version on both sites.
vSphere Replication Must be the same version on both sites. The
vSphere Replication version must be the same as the SRM
version and the vCenter Server version.
Authentication method Must be the same on both sites. If you use autogenerated
certificates to authenticate between the SRM Server
instances on each site, you must use autogenerated
certificates on both sites. If you use custom certificates that
are signed by a certificate authentication service, you must
use such certificates on both sites. Similarly, the
authentication method that you use between SRM Server
and vCenter Server must be the same on both sites. If you
use different authentication methods on each site, site
pairing fails.
vCenter Server Appliance or standard vCenter Server
instance
Can be different on each site. You can run a vCenter Server
Appliance on one site and a standard vCenter Server
instance on the other site.
Chapter 1 Overview of VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager
VMware, Inc. 11