vRanger 7.8.3 - User Guide

Enabling network-enabled Test Failover

Enabling network-enabled Test Failover

This feature is enabled by way of the configuration file for the vRanger client, Vizioncore.vRanger.Client.Shell.exe.config. This file is located in the vRanger installation directory. The default is C:\Program Files\Quest\vRanger.

To enable network-enabled test failover:

1	Open the Vizioncore.vRanger.Client.Shell.exe.config file with your text editor of choice.

2	Make the required changes carefully, using the following information as guidance.

 

NOTE: Not all text editors include line numbers. If you do not see the following line numbers in your text editor, this absence is not an indication of a problem.

3	Scroll to line 42 or search for Test Failover.

4	Change the value for ShowTestFailoverDialog from “false” to “true”, ensuring the quotation marks remain.

5	Save and exit the file.

6	Restart the Quest vRanger Service for the configuration change to take effect.

Performing a network-enabled Test Failover

Performing a network-enabled Test Failover

After it is enabled, you are prompted to perform a test failover; you can do so with or without networking enabled during the test.

To perform a test failover:

1	Click the Test Failover icon.

2	When the Test Failover dialog box appears, select the preferred option:

▪

Continue with networking on the replica disabled: When performing a test failover with networking disabled, the replica VM is powered on with the network adapter disconnected. This option protects the production environment, but eliminates the ability of testing your replica VM as part of a larger environment.

▪	Continue with networking on the replica enabled: When performing a network enabled test failover, your replica VM is powered on with the network adaptor connected.

 

CAUTION: This option has the potential to impact your production environment; exercise caution when using this option.

3

Click OK.

4	When testing is complete, select the Test Failover task in the Current Jobs node, and click Resume.

▪	The snapshots made are reverted.

▪	The network card is set to “Connect at power on,” which prepares the replica VM for failover.

▪	The VM returns to its dormant state.

5	When the confirmation prompt appears, click Yes.

Performing a failover

Performing a failover

If the production site becomes unavailable, or you need to move the workload to the disaster recovery (DR) site, you can perform a failover operation from the vRanger UI.

A failover operation consists of the following actions:

•	Turning on the production VM.

•	[Optional] Performing a final synchronization between sites. This action ensures that no data is lost during a failover. If you do not want to synchronize changes — in the event of a virus, perhaps — or cannot (if a hardware failure occurred), data changed since the last replication pass is lost.

•	Turn on the DR VM.

•	Reverse the replication job, with the DR VM now acting as the source.

 

NOTE: The first replication pass after failing over sends the entire image, not just the changed data.

To perform a failover:

1	In the My Jobs view, select a replication job.

2	Click the Failover icon.

3	When the confirmation message appears, click Yes.

4	When the Confirm Synchronization dialog box appears, select one of the following:

▪	Yes: This option shuts down the production VM and perform a final synchronization to the DR site. This option ensures that no data is lost, but also transfers any virus or corruption to the replica VM. View the replication progress in the Running Tasks section of the vRanger UI.

 

NOTE: If you are using differential replication, this option causes vRanger to perform a complete scan of the VM disks, as it does for every replication pass, but only changed data is sent to the replica VM.

▪	No: The production VM is turned off, but no changes are sent to the DR replica.

After the failover completes, the Destination of the original replication job is now the Source, and the original Source is now the Destination. In other words, the job is now set to replicate from the DR site to the Production site. This change is not reflected in the vRanger UI. Jobs that have been failed over are indicated by a failover icon and tool-tip message.

5	If the production site is unavailable, or you do not want to replicate changes, disable the replication job.

Performing failback

Performing failback

When the production server has been returned to proper operation, you usually need to failback the replicated VM to the production site. A failback is simply a failover back to the production site.

A failback operation involves the following events:

•	Turning off the disaster recovery (DR) VM.

•	[Optional] Performing a final synchronization between sites. This action ensures that any data changed on the DR VM is replicated back to the production site. If you do not synchronize changes, data changed since the last replication pass is lost.

•	Turn on the production VM.

•	Reverse the replication job — return to the jobs original configuration — with the DR VM now acting as the target.

•	If the job is enabled, replication continues, sending changes from the source production VM to the DR target.

 

NOTE: The first replication pass after failing back re-scans the entire image to identify changed blocks. Only changed data is sent.

To perform a failback:

1	In the My Jobs view, select a replication job.

2	Click the Failback icon.

3	When the confirmation message appears, click Yes.

4	When the Confirm Synchronization dialog box appear, select one of the following:

▪	Yes: This option ensures that any data changed on the DR VM is replicated back to the production site. If you do not want to synchronize, data changed since the last replication pass is lost. View the replication progress in the Running Tasks section of the vRanger UI.

▪	No: The DR VM turned off, but no changes are sent to the Production site.

After the failback completes, the direction of replication reverses again, this time returning to the original configuration. The Failover icon is no longer shown.