RECOVERPOINT FOR

VIRTUAL MACHINES
ADMINISTRATION

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administration-SSP

© Copyright 2021 Dell Inc. Page i

Table of Contents

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administration ................................................................ 1

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Overview ......................................................... 2

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines System Architecture....................................................... 3
Tools Used for RecoverPoint for VMs Administration ........................................................... 5

Protecting a Virtual Machine ..................................................................................... 7

Protecting a Virtual Machine in a New Consistency Group................................................... 7

Editing Consistency Group's Properties ............................................................... 14

Adding a VM to an Existing Consistency Group ................................................................. 14
Editing Protection Policies.................................................................................................. 23
Editing Consistency Group Question.................................................................................. 25

Monitoring RecoverPoint for VMs .......................................................................... 26

RecoverPoint for VMs Dashboard ...................................................................................... 26
The RecoverPoint for VMs Protection Screen .................................................................... 28

VM Automation and Orchestration ......................................................................... 29

Creating a Bookmark ......................................................................................................... 29
Orchestrating Virtual Machines and VMDKs ...................................................................... 32
Creating a Group Set ......................................................................................................... 36

Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs ................................... 40

Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs .................................................. 40
Test a Copy ....................................................................................................................... 40
Failover of a Consistency Group ........................................................................................ 44
Failover of a Consistency Group with Multiple Copies ........................................................ 49
Recover Production from a Copy ....................................................................................... 53

Additional Administration Topics for RecoverPoint for VMs ............................... 59

Additional Administration Topics ....................................................................................... 59

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administration-SSP

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 RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administration-SSP

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page iii

 RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Overview

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administration

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administration-SSP

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 RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Overview

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Overview

RecoverPoint for Virtual

Machines (RecoverPoint
for VMs) is a hypervisor-
based, software-only data
protection solution for
Virtual Machines. It
performs the following
functions:
 Provides continuous
data protection for
operational and
disaster recovery
 Enables any-point-in-
time recovery for
diversified storage
environments both
within and across data
centers

The key features that

the RecoverPoint for
VMs provides are:
 100% Software
deployed
 Point-in-time
recovery
 Copies stored in
AWS cloud
 Disaster recovery
testing
 Management with
vCenter client

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 RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Overview

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines System Architecture

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RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Overview

A RecoverPoint for VMs

RecoverPoint for VMs
System System provides
vCenter Web Client vCenter Web Client protection for VMs both
Plug-in Plug-in
locally and remotely. The
RecoverPoint for VMs
vRPA Cluster vRPA Cluster system architecture
consists of:
 vSphere Client plug-in
 RecoverPoint write-
Write splitter1
Splitter

 Virtual Appliance2
Reposi Reposi
tory tory  Consistency Group3

The other key terms that

are used in the
RecoverPoint for VMs
system architectures are:
 RecoverPoint for VMs
System
 vSphere HTML5 plug-
in server
 vRPA Cluster
 Repository VMDK
 Journals
 Snapshots and
Bookmarks

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 RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Overview

These network interfaces are used by the vRPAs to replicate data and manage the
system:

 LAN
 WAN
 Data (IP)

Tools Used for RecoverPoint for VMs Administration

RecoverPoint for VMs use Consistency Groups to protect virtual machines and
replicate virtual machine application data to a consistent point in time.

Depending on the VMware environment, you can use one of the following tools to
manage replications using RecoverPoint for VMs:

Proprietary software that is automatically installed on every ESXi server that

performs replication. This "splitter" copies each write to the Production VMs and
sends the copy to the designated vRPA. This software is installed on any ESXi
server hosting a vRPA, Production, or Copy VM.

The RecoverPoint for VMs virtual data appliance, a vRPA, manages all aspects of
replication. The vRPA is a VM deployed from an OVA template.

A container for virtual machines and all their copies whose application data must be
replicated to a consistent point in time.

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RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Overview

 The RecoverPoint for VMs vSphere HTML5 plug-in4 for vShpere version 6.7 U1
or later.
 The RecoverPoint for VMs vSphere Web Client (Flex) plug-infor vSphere
version 6.5 or earlier.

It is recommended that you use the vCenter Client (HTML5). Only use
the vCenter Web Client (Flex) if you are using a vSphere Client
version earlier than 6.7 U1, or if you require a feature that is not
supported through the vCenter Client (HTML5).

The RecoverPoint for VMs vSphere HTML5 plug-in enables system management
through the vSphere HTML5 interface. The vSphere HTML5 plug-in does not
communicate directly with the vRPA clusters. It communicates with the vRPA
clusters through the HTML5 plug-in server. The plug-in server enables the HTML5
plug-in to provide one-click protection of VMs and multiple VMs on an ESXi cluster,
right through the vSphere Client.

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 Protecting a Virtual Machine

Protecting a Virtual Machine

Protecting a Virtual Machine in a New Consistency Group

Prerequisites

Before protecting your VMs, ensure you have:

 Completed the preliminary tasks

 Powered on the VMS to be protected.
 Registered all linked vCenter Servers

Launching the Protect VMs Dialog

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Protecting a Virtual Machine

If protecting
Virtual Machine
for the first time,
a Consistency
Group is created.
The VM along
with the copy or
Right Click VM copies are placed
in this group.
The following is
the process of
launching the
Protect VMs
dialog:
Select
1. Connect to a
vCenter
Server
hosting
RecoverPoint
for VMs
components.
2. Click
LAUNCH
VSPHERE
CLIENT
(HTML5).
3. Select VMs
and
Templates
view.
4. Right-click
VM to be
protected, and
select
RecoverPoin
t for VMs >
Protect VM.

 Multiple
RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administration-SSP VMs can
be
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selected .
 Protecting a Virtual Machine

One Click Protection

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Protecting a Virtual Machine

The Protect
VMs Wizard
allows for
One Click
Protection
for a VM.
This wizard
provides a
quick and
simple
protection
method for a
VM.
After
launching
the Protect
VMs dialog,
continue the
following
steps for
One Click
Protection:
1. Click
Edit
Settings
to
change
the
default
VM
protectio
n policy.
This is
an
optional
step.
2. Continue
the
optional
settings.
RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administration-SSP
3. Click
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PROTE.
 Protecting a Virtual Machine

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Protecting a Virtual Machine

Verifying VM Protection

Perform the
following
steps to
view the
progress of
the newly
created
Consistenc
y Group:
 Navigat
e to the
Recove
rPoint
for VMs
Plugin.
 Select
Consist
ency
Groups
.
 Expand
the
newly
created
group.
 Monitor
the
initializa
tion
completi
on
percent
age.

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 Protecting a Virtual Machine

The VM is
protected
once
initialization
Initialization Complete
reaches
100%.

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 Editing Consistency Group's Properties

Editing Consistency Group's Properties

Adding a VM to an Existing Consistency Group

When adding a VM to an existing group, the Journal size may must be

adjusted. Adding a VM, and it's applications may increase the amount of
data to be replicated.

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 Editing Consistency Group's Properties

Select a Group

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Editing Consistency Group's Properties

It is
important
to review
the group
settings
prior to
adding the
VM.
Select the
group from
the
RecoverPo
int for VMs
plug-in
using the
following
procedure:
1. Select
Protect
ion >
Consis
tency
Group
from
the left
pane.
2. Select
and
expand
the
group
in the
display
section.

Review the
group
settings
that
present.
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 Editing Consistency Group's Properties

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Editing Consistency Group's Properties

Protect the VM

To add a
VM to an
existing
Consisten
cy Group,
right click
on the VM
and select
Protect
VM in an
Existing
Group.

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 Editing Consistency Group's Properties

Edit the Group

From the dialog, review the default settings. The VM hardware options and the
location of the copy VMs can be edited.

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Editing Consistency Group's Properties

From
the
dialog,
review
the
default
settings.
You can
edit:
 The
VM
hard
ware
optio
ns
 The
locat
ion
of
the
copy
VMs

Click
Edit
settings
to
change
the Disk
and
Hardwa
re
settings
for the
copy
VMs.

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 Editing Consistency Group's Properties

Monitor Progress

Use the following procedure to monitor the progress:

1. From the RecoverPoint for VMs plug-in, select Consistency Groups > Edited
group.
2. Monitor the initialization between the Production and Copies for the added
VMs.

Once the status changes to OK, the point in time images that are created will
include the added VMs.
Adding a VM to a Consistency Group can change the overall throughput (write
I/Os) for the group. A review of the selection of the Primary vRPA 5 and the Journal
Size should take place.

Each Consistency Group is assigned a Primary vRPA to perform all aspects of

replication. Only a vRPA failure causes the group to switch to another vRPA in the
cluster. Manual selection of the Primary vRPA can be used to balance the workload
for the RecoverPoint for VMs system.

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Editing Consistency Group's Properties

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 Editing Consistency Group's Properties

Editing Protection Policies

RecoverPoint for VMs plug-in contains settings for both the Protected VMs and the
Consistency Group.

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Editing Consistency Group's Properties

Editing a Protected VM's Policies

Using
the
following
procedur
e to edit
a
protected
VM's
policy:
1. Selec
t
Prote
ction
>
Prote
cted
VMs,
and
select
a
prote
cted
VM.
2. Click
Prote
ction
Polic
y.
3. Adjus
t the
settin
gs.

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 Editing Consistency Group's Properties

Editing Consistency Group Protection Policies

Use the following procedure to edit a Consistency Group's Protection Policies.

Perform the following steps: Select from the headings at the top.
1. From the RecoverPoint for VMs 1. Select a tab, make the required
Plugin, select Consistency Groups, changes.
and select the specific group.
2. Click Update Policy.
2. Click Protection Policy.

Editing Consistency Group Question

1. When adding a new copy to a Consistency Group, which process takes place
between the new copy and the Production copy?
a. Initialization
b. Disabled replication
c. High Load
d. Cloning

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 Monitoring RecoverPoint for VMs

Monitoring RecoverPoint for VMs

RecoverPoint for VMs Dashboard

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 Monitoring RecoverPoint for VMs

Use the
RecoverPo
int for VMs
Dashboard
to monitor
the status
of your
system6.
In
compariso
n to earlier
versions,
four
widgets
are added
to the
RecoverPo
int for VMs
Dashboard
with
release
5.3.2:
 Limits
 Protect
ed VMs
Size
 License
Usage
 vRPA
Cluster
s

Use the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Dashboard to monitor the status of your

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Monitoring RecoverPoint for VMs

The RecoverPoint for VMs Protection Screen

Use the RecoverPoint for VMs Protection screen to monitor all aspects of
replication.
1. Select Protection > Consistency Groups.
2. Expand a group.
3. Check the Transfer Status, State of each consistency group, and Status of each
copy.

system alerts, protected VMs, Consistency Groups, and Group Sets. Any ongoing
group or group set recovery activities are also displayed. The RecoverPoint for
VMs Dashboard presents a high-level overview of the RecoverPoint for Virtual
Machines system to help you analyze and monitor your RecoverPoint for Virtual
Machines system.

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 VM Automation and Orchestration

VM Automation and Orchestration

Creating a Bookmark

A Bookmark is a labeled snapshot of a Consistency Group or Group Set. The

Bookmark is created for all copies in the group. It is created instantly regardless of
the protection policy.

Select a Group

Go to the RecoverPoint for VMs plug-in. Select Protection > Consistency

Groups, Select the group that requires a Bookmark, then click Bookmark.

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VM Automation and Orchestration

Bookmark Dialogue

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 VM Automation and Orchestration

The Bookmark
Dialogue is used
to enter the
required options
and create the
Bookmark.
The required
options are:
 Bookmark -
Enter a name
for the
Bookmark.
 Snapshot
Type -
Default is
crash-
consistent
. Change this
value to
application-
consistent
only if you
know that
this snapshot
is application
consistent.
 Snapshot
Consolidati
on Policy >
Consolidate
snapshot -
Disabled by
default.
 Snapshot
Consolidati
on Policy >
This
snapshot
must
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weekly, or
VM Automation and Orchestration

Verify Bookmark

To check if a Bookmark was created, select Protection > Consistency Groups,

and select the specific group. Right-click next to Copies status (three dots) and
select Snapshots. View the snapshots.

Orchestrating Virtual Machines and VMDKs

VM Start-up Sequence

The VM Start-up Sequence defines the order in which VMs in a consistency group
will power on during testing and recovery.

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 VM Automation and Orchestration

The VM
Start-up
Sequence
defines the
order7 in
which VMs
in a
consistenc
y group
will power
on during
testing and
recovery.
Use the
following
procedure
to view VM
start-up
sequence
and
update
policy:
1. Select
a
Group
and
click
Protect
ion
Policy.
2. In the
Group
Protect
VM Tools are required for all VMs that are part of the automatic startup sequence.
ion
Policy
dialog,
click
Genera
l > VM
Startu
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VM Automation and Orchestration

VMDK Automation

VM automation can be defined when protecting VMs, or later through the VM

protection policy.

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 VM Automation and Orchestration

Click Protection Policy after selecting a Select the settings and VMDKs to
Protected VM. protect. Click Update Policy when
finished.

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VM Automation and Orchestration

Creating a Group Set

A Group Set8 is a collection of Consistency Groups that you can control together.
The user can bookmark, enable, disable, pause, and resume replication.

Create a Group Set

To create a Group Set, browse Protection>Group Sets. Click Add to open the
Add Group Set dialog.

A Group Set is a collection of Consistency Groups to be placed into one container.

This allows for the management of the Group Set to be the same as a Consistency
Group. For example, Bookmarks can be created for the Group. Also, the normal
Consistency Group functions, such as enable, disable, pause and resume, can be
performed to the Group Set. Recovery functions, such as Test a Copy, Failover,
and Recover Production can be performed as a group. Parallel Bookmarks for the
Group Set, at a frequency that you define, can be configured. Group Sets are
useful for consistency groups that are dependent on one another or that must work
together as a single unit.

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 VM Automation and Orchestration

Add Group Set Dialog

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VM Automation and Orchestration

The following is a
list of settings
that can be
edited when
creating a Group
Set:
 vRPA
Cluster -
Select the
Cluster that
manages the
Consistency
Groups to be
added.
 Group Set
Name - Give
a name of the
Group Set.
 Parallel
Bookmarks -
To create
bookmarks
for all
consistency
groups in the
group set at
the same
interval,
enable
Parallel
Bookmarks,
and set the
desired
bookmark
interval
frequency.
 Consistency
Groups -
Select the
RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administration-SSP groups to be
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 VM Automation and Orchestration

Verify Results

From the RecoverPoint for VMs plug-in, select Protection>Group Sets. The new
Group Set along with the settings are displayed.

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Test a Copy

View each tab and view the video demonstration for a complete procedure of the
Test a Copy function.

Selecting a Consistency Group

Testing a copy of a Consistency Group or Group set requires the selection of the
group. Browse to Protection > Consistency Groups (or Group Sets). Select the
group and click Test a Copy.

Test a Copy Dialog

The Test a Copy Dialog allows a user to configure setting for the testing of a copy
of the Production VMs.

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Select a Copy to test. The vRPA cluster (Ohio) and the copy
type will be displayed

Choose a snapshot to test. The default is the latest.

Select a network for the Copy VMs

Explanation of the settings for Test a Copy:

 Copy to Test: Allows the selection of any non-production copy to use for testing
 Snapshot to Test: The default setting is Latest. Both snapshots and
Bookmarks can be searched to find the correct image to test.
 Testing Networks: To avoid IP conflicts between the production and copy VMs,
the best practice is to use a dedicated testing network. By default, RecoverPoint
for VMs auto-provisions an isolated network for all VMs in the Consistency
Group or Group Set. A pre-configured network can also be selected.

VM Naming Convention

When the Test a Copy function is enabled

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Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

The VM Name prior to Test a Copy, The VM name when Test a Copy is in
notice the .shadow extension to the Progress. The name is the same as the
name. Production VM, but with the .copy
extension.

Recovery Activities

Once the Test a Copy is enabled, go to Recovery Activities. Select the activity
and view the progress.

Ready to test
Percentage of Journal space used to store changes from
copy testing

Percentage of Journal used to store changes

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Verify and Test Image

The copy VMs are now powered on. The VMs will have the selected point-in-time
image mounted and are ready for testing. During testing monitor the Recovery
Activity window to check the Image Access Log Capacity does not reach 100%.

End Testing

Perform the
following steps to
complete the
testing of a copy:
 Shut down any
applications
running of the
testing VMs.
 Go to the
RecoverPoint
for VMs plug-in
and select
Recovery
Activities.
 Select the
activity, then
select Actions
> Stop activity.

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Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Failover of a Consistency Group

Failover to a copy can be done using a Consistency Group or Group Set. An

important consideration is that a Failover will delete all the point in time, snapshots
and Bookmarks, images from the Journals.

The process consists of two stages:

 Testing the copy image (Test a Copy)

 Failover

To perform a Failback, repeat the Failover process.

Starting the Process

To failover a Consistency Group, select Protection > Consistency Groups. For a

Group Set, select Protection > Group Sets. Select the Consistency Group or
Group Set and click Failover.

Snapshot Selection

From the Test a Copy for Failover dialog select a copy to failover to, a Snapshot,
and a network. Click Start to begin testing.

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Here is an example of the dialog box. This is an example of selecting a

Snapshot, point in time image, to mount
to the copies.

Available snapshots from the Journal of the selected copy.

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Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Test a copy

The Test a Copy operation allows the selected snapshot to be tested prior to
Failover.

Copy to be tested

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Start Failover

Once the copies have been tested, navigate to Recovery Activities, select the
group or set, and from the Actions menu select Failover.

Read the warnings, note that the Journal

snapshots will be deleted. Click OK.

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Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Verify Failover

The image shows

that an example of
Failover is
complete:
 A Full Sweep9 is
in the process of
completion.
 The previous
copy is now the
Production.
 The old
Production is
now the Copy.

Failover is complete
when the copy
status is green.
To reverse a
Failover, perform a
Failover again.
See the video
demonstration of
RecoverPoint for
VMs failover.

A full sweep is an initialization that is performed on all of the virtual machines in a

consistency group. A full sweep occurs when a Failover for consistency group or
GroupSet is performed.

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Failover of a Consistency Group with Multiple Copies

When performing a Failover of a Consistency Group with more than one Copy, for
example, a Local and a Remote copy, the process is slightly different.

Here are the steps to perform a Failover of a Consistency Group with more than
one copy.

Group Selection

A Consistency Group with both a Local and Remote Copy prior to Failover.

Test a Copy

Testing on a the Remote Copy, the example shows the latest snapshot to be
tested.

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Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Starting to test the Remote Copy. The Remote Copy is enabled and ready
for testing. Notice the name, Win-
RP1.copy, has changed and the
.shadow extension has been removed.
The Production and the Local copy
remain in the same state.

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Enabling the Remote Copy with the When Testing is complete, Failover can
latest snapshot. begin from the Recovery Activities
menu.

Temporary Failover

Once Failover has been selected, a Temporary Failover begins. Here are the
steps:

Set the new Copy as Production

At this point, there are two choices, Failback to the original production or Set
the copy as the new production. Failback will return to the original state. Here is
the process for Set the copy as the new production:

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Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

From the Recovery Activities menu, Here is the final status of the
select the activity and select Set as Consistency Group. Notice the example
production. shows two Remote copies.
If the original Production Copy has a
Journal size less than 10GB, additional
space must be added.

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

The Set this Copy as the New

Production dialog is displayed. in order
to connect the Standalone copies to the
group, Enable must be selected.
Click Set as Production to begin
Initialization to the Standalone copy
and remove the Temporary status to
Production.

Recover Production from a Copy

Production recovery corrects file or logical corruption by rolling the production back
to a previous point-in-time. RecoverPoint for VMs allows the recovery of
Consistency Groups or Group Sets.

Production recovery consists of two stages:

 Testing the copy image

 Recovering the production from the copy image

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Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Starting a Recovery

To begin to recover production VMs, select Protection > Consistency Groups or

Protection > Group Sets.

Select the group or group set whose production VMs you want to recover and click
Recover Production.

Files from the desktop have been Select Consistency Group and click
deleted. Recover Production. Click to expand.

Files have been deleted from the desktop.

See the video demonstration of the

process of recovering Production from a
copy.

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Selecting a Copy

Select a Copy to recover from, then select an image to test. This example uses a
Bookmark. Click OK when the dialog box appears.

When the recovery to the selected image is complete all snapshots that occurred
before the selected snapshot will be deleted. Any snapshots that were created
after the selection are kept.

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Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Testing a Copy

Select Recovery Log in to a copy VM to The files that are deleted

Activities, when the test. are restored.
progress reaches 100%
the copy is ready to test.

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 Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Recover Production

Once the selected Snapshot is tested, the recovery can begin.

Select the Consistency Group or Group Read the warnings and click OK.
Set. From the Actions dropdown menu,
select Recover Production.

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Recovery of Virtual Machines with RecoverPoint for VMs

Verify Recovery

When recovery is in progress, data transfer from the production to all copies is
paused, and will resume only after production recovery is complete. Access to
Production VMs is blocked until recovery is finished.

Verify that the group has completed Log in to the Production VM and verify
recovery, Status is green for the transfer that the recovery is complete. This
and the copy. example shows that the deleted files are
restored.

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Additional Administration Topics for RecoverPoint for VMs

Additional Administration Topics

Collecting Logs

To collect logs from a RecoverPoint for VMs Cluster, use an SSH Client to connect
to the cluster system management IP address. Use the following steps to download
the log files:
1. Log in using the admin user
2. Select [3] Diagnostics > [3] Collect system information.
3. Enter the values required.

Select option 3. Select option 3 the follow the prompts.

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Adding a License

From the RecoverPoint for VMs plug-in, go to System > Licenses. Click Add and
upload the license file that was received with your product entitlement.

Load-Balancing Consistency Groups

A RecoverPoint for VMs Cluster can be balanced by moving a Consistency Group

to a different Primary vRPA10.

This method can be used to balance the replication workload for the cluster.

A Primary vRPA performs all replication tasks for the Consistency Group. A group
will only switch to a different vRPA in the event of a failure.

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Performance Considerations

There are many parameters that affect the replication performance. Here are some
of the key settings to consider. Always reference the RecoverPoint for VMs 5.3
Scale and Performance Guide.

 vRPA Assignment: It is recommended to spread vRPAs of the same vRPA

cluster on as many ESXi hosts as possible. This allows the required resources,
CPU and RAM, to be better balanced. It also avoids networking congestion on
the ESXi ports. It is best practice to enable VMware HA (high availability) on the
ESX Cluster
hosting the vRPAs.
 vRPA Configuration: The configuration of the vRPAs in a cluster is configured
during deployment. They can be adjusted to meet the requirements as
Consistency Groups or VMs are added. The 4 CPUs, 8 GB RAM (Silver)
configuration is suitable for most situations. This will allow for synchronous
replication. Only the predefined configurations are supported.
 Journal Size: The total size of the Journal Volumes determines the overall size
of the Journal Pool. The size will determine how many snapshots can be stored.
This determines how far back in time a copy can be rolled back. The I/O profile
of the VMs in each Consistency Group will determine the size of each snapshot.
 Journal Performance: Copy, local and remote, Journal Volumes are crucial for
replication performance. Production Journals don’t affect replication
performance. When creating a new Consistency Group using the VM protection
wizard, the system suggests to automatically provision the Journal on the
Datastore with the most available free space. If the performance of this
Consistency Group is critical, manually choose a Datastore that is configured
for performance on the backend storage array.

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