Replica- As its generic term means, is all about creating a second copy which can be used when the Original is lost. Replication is a process that is phrased when Data is considered. All these are already known facts but what many do not know or usually what tricks many is the difference between a Replication and a Backup. So this blog will be more inclined towards giving you all a brief aspect of what Replication is and how it differs from Backup in terms of Virtualization.
The entire ideology of Replication revolves around keeping a business always Online. Business Continuity or Always Available Business can be of a better phrase to acknowledge what Replication is actually used for.
Both Replication and Backup involves the process of adding the Host and choosing the VMs whose copies are to be created. When you Backup your data, a copy of that data is made with the help of multiple technologies of creating a snapshot with respect to the Hypervisor used. Once after this process, the copied data is made to get transferred in the form of chunks which are encrypted and compressed. The data reaches the repository whichever chosen and gets stored. With this available data, a new system will be created at the time of recovery which takes your time depending upon the amount of data, network speed and multiple other circumstances. Now talking about Replication, with the backup data a new system is immediately created after the backup process.
In Replication, the source system replica is already created and kept ready to be turned on at the time of Disaster which ensures Zero Downtime and Business Continuity. It is one of the key features looked for when considering a good Backup solution. Check out one of my Blog here, to learn how to find an efficient Backup solution.
Now that we have understood the key difference between Backup and Replication, let’s have a look at how Vembu’s Replication feature works and how can it help you achieve Business Continuity as an always available environment.
Vembu’s VMware Replication
Initially install Vembu BDR Suite to start configuring the Vembu VMware Replication. Check out the installation procedure of Vembu BDR Suite Video tutorial.
VM Replication -> VMware vSphere -> Add VMware vSphere Server
The process of Replication in Vembu BDR Suite can be performed by first adding the VMware host details by navigating to the above tabs. Enter the VMware vSphere hosts IP address with its username and password and save. The added host will be listed in the List VMware Server which is now ready for the Replication steps. Multiple such VMware hosts can be added which be then listed.
Click on the hosts respective VM Replication tab to perform the further steps.
Configure VM(s) -> Guest Processing -> Configure Scheduling
The initial steps include choosing the VMs which you would like to replicate proceeding to enable Application-Aware Processing if you have Microsoft Applications running in the VMs. Then, schedule when you want the source and the target to synchronize ie; The Replication process.
Target Replication Host
The target where the source Virtual machine has to be replicated can be chosen here. Details like target VMware hosts IP address, its DataStore, a Suffix name and the retention count are to be entered in this step. With the details mentioned, the Virtual Machine will be replicated to the target based on the timing scheduled.
Key Replication features from Vembu
Network Mapping
Network mapping in VMware replication refers to the mapping of source and target networks and is useful when you use different networks in a production site or disaster recovery site.
In general, using different networks in production and the replicated DR site will require more time and manual inputs to configure networks and to remap them accordingly to the configurations of a production site when a disaster occurs. Thus, business continuity and RTO is badly affected. Implementing network mapping eliminates the hardships involved in network re-mapping process and automates the process, resulting in reduced complexity and a time saving process.
In Vembu BDR, users can automate the network mapping for VMs, where they can choose networks from the source as well as the target that are required to be mapped. Vembu BDR maintains a table for networks mapped which during every replication update session, cross verifies the network mapping table with the network configuration of replicated VM. This way, the network details are kept up-to-date, so that a failover process will have nil failure rate.
Re-IP Mapping
The IP addressing scheme in the production and DR environment is not necessarily the same. When the user is replicating the VMs to a DR site ie; The VMware ESXi host with a different IP address from that of a production environment then it is important to have enabled this Re-IP Mapping feature. You can create and configure a number of re-IP rules for your Replication job. At the time of Disaster Recovery, when you will perform Failover to turn your replicated VM on in your target host, Vembu VMReplication will check if the configured re-IP rules are applicable for that VM Replica. If it applies, then the VM Replica will get a new IP address based on the Network mask which will help the VM Replica reach the DR site.
Finally, you review the configuration, give a name to your Replication job and save.
Recovery can be done simply by performing the Failover process from the Vembu BDR Server console. As a result of which your critical VMs will be turned on in the target host and help you keep your business up and running.
Check out the detailed configuration procedure of Vembu VMware Replication Video tutorial.
Conclusion:
Vembu VMware Replication process designed for your critical Virtual Machines will thus enable you to always stay Online with your business as Being Online is the new trend and the much demanded aspect from any customer irrespective of what the business field or environment is. Replicate you VMs and synchronize them every 15 minutes. Get access to your critical VMs at times of disaster immediately at ease.
Try Vembu BDR to learn more about Vembu BDR and VMware backups on Vembu BDR:
https://www.bdrsuite.com/vembu-bdr-suite-download/
Go questions? Email vembu-support@vembu.com for answers.
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