• This topic has 3 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated July 5, 2024 by Diane S.

Failure Scenario – Whole VMware cluster unavailabl

  • June 26, 2024 08:34:41 AM

    Hi, we have just implemented 2 new ESXi clusters and have been doing some power failure tests. Our concern is when we tested a complete cluster failure ( loss of power to site) Zerto did everything it was meant to, failed over to the still active site and started the protected VMs on the only cluster available, all good so far!
    When power was restored to the failed cluster (what was protected site) the protected VMs on the failed site all powered on which then meant we had 2 of each VM running on different clusters and IP conflicts etc. Is there a function within Zerto or VMware that would stop the restored power cluster from not powering on what was the protected VMs on wat is now the secondary cluster?

    Thanks

    Diane S
    July 2, 2024 01:39:56 AM

    Hi Neil,

    Are you saying that when power was restored to the failed cluster, all the VMs powered themselves on automatically? If so, I think there’s a setting at the cluster level where “automatic VM power-on” can be disabled.

    July 4, 2024 01:56:15 PM

    Thanks for getting back to me George.

    Yes, when the power comes back on to the failed cluster, the VMs automatically power on as part of the HA recovery config, this as you can image will cause IP conflicts with the failed over protected VMs on the other cluster. In the Zerto world the ZRAs are configured to not restart automatically with the vSphere HA  Restart Priority.
    I’ve check the HA options and if I disable the “Host failure” “Restart VMs” “Restart VMs using VM restart priority ordering.” That would prevent the VMs from coming back online for the failed cluster but it would also prevent the the VMs being restarted in the case of a single host failure.
    Messaged VMware support and they couldn’t suggest anything at cluster level.
    Our only option we can think of is to disconnect all the guest traffic from the powered off hosts, power the hosts back on and using the vCenter powered off the VMs that have been protected to the other cluster. Then finally reconnect the guest traffic NICs.

    Diane S
    July 5, 2024 12:47:14 AM

    Hi Neil,

    Here’s the process that’ll automatically power on the Zerto VRAs when an ESXi host restarts. Perhaps you can use this process to configure the VMs to not power on when the host starts:-

     

    • Access the vSphere Client:
      • Log in to the vSphere Client.
    • Navigate to the Host:
      • Select the host where the VRA is installed.
    • Configure VM Startup/Shutdown:
      • Go to Configure > VM Startup/Shutdown.
    • Set the VRA to Auto Start:
      • Find the VRA in the list of VMs.
      • Set the startup policy to Automatic.

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