6.1

A recovery plan specifies the order in which virtual machines start up on the recovery site. A recovery plan
specifies network parameters, such as IP addresses, and can contain user-specified scripts that
Site Recovery Manager can run to perform custom recovery actions on virtual machines.
Site Recovery Manager lets you test recovery plans. You conduct tests by using a temporary copy of the
replicated data in a way that does not disrupt ongoing operations at either site.
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About Protected Sites and Recovery Sites on page 10
In a typical Site Recovery Manager installation, the protected site provides business-critical datacenter
services. The recovery site is an alternative infrastructure to which Site Recovery Manager can migrate
these services.
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Bidirectional Protection on page 11
You can use a single set of paired Site Recovery Manager 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.
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Heterogeneous Configurations on the Protected and Recovery Sites on page 11
Some components in the Site Recovery Manager 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.
About Protected Sites and Recovery Sites
In a typical Site Recovery Manager installation, the protected site provides business-critical datacenter
services. The recovery site is an alternative infrastructure to which Site Recovery Manager can migrate these
services.
The protected site can be any site where vCenter Server supports a critical business need. The recovery site
can be located thousands of miles away from the protected site. Conversely, the recovery site can be in the
same room as a way of establishing redundancy. The recovery site is usually located in a facility that is
unlikely to be affected by environmental, infrastructure, or other disturbances that affect the protected site.
You can establish bidirectional protection in which each site serves as the recovery site for the other. See
“Bidirectional Protection,” on page 11.
Figure 1‑1. Site Recovery Manager Protected and Recovery Sites
apps
OS
apps
OS
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
The vSphere configurations at each site must meet requirements for Site Recovery Manager.
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You must run the same version of Site Recovery Manager on both sites.
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You must run the same version of vCenter Server on both sites.
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The version of vCenter Server must be compatible with the version of Site Recovery Manager. For
information about compatibility between vCenter Server and Site Recovery Manager versions, see
vCenter Server Requirements in the Compatibility Matrixes for Site Recovery Manager 6.1 at
https://www.vmware.com/support/srm/srm-compat-matrix-6-1.html.
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Each site must have at least one datacenter.
Site Recovery Manager Installation and Configuration
10 VMware, Inc.