VMware VCENTER SERVER 4.0 - GETTING STARTED UPDATE 1 Installation Guide download pdf (Page 10)

Installation Guide

10 VMware, Inc.

 Server Protection – vCenter Server Heartbeat provides continuous availability to end users through a

hardware failure scenario or operating system crash. Additionally, vCenter Server Heartbeat protects the

network identity of the production server, ensuring users are provided with a replica server on the failure

of the production server.

 Network Protection – vCenter Server Heartbeat proactively monitors the network by polling up to three

nodes to ensure that the active server is visible on the network.

 Application Protection – vCenter Server Heartbeat maintains the application environment ensuring that

applications and services stay alive on the network.

 Performance Protection – vCenter Server Heartbeat proactively monitors system performance attributes

to ensure that the system administrator is notified of problems and can take pre-emptive action to prevent

an outage.

 Data Protection – vCenter Server Heartbeat intercepts all data written by users and applications, and

maintains a copy of this data on the passive server that can be used in the event of a failure.

vCenter Server Heartbeat provides all five protection levels continuously, ensuring all facets of the user

environment are maintained at all times, and that the network (Principal (Public) network) continues to

operate through as many failure scenarios as possible.

Server Protection

vCenter Server Heartbeat provides continuous availability to end users through a hardware failure scenario

or operating system crash. Additionally, vCenter Server Heartbeat ensures users are provided with a replica

server on the failure of the production server.

Two instances of vCenter Server Heartbeat regularly send “I’m alive” messages and message

acknowledgments to one another over a network connection referred to as the VMware Channel to detect

interruptions in responsiveness. If the passive server detects that this monitoring process (referred to as the

heartbeat) has failed, it initiates a failover as illustrated in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1. Failover

A failover is similar to a switchover but is used in more urgent situations, such as when the passive server

detects that the active server is no longer responding. This can occur when the active server hardware fails,

loses its network connections, or otherwise becomes unavailable. Rather than the active server gracefully

closing, the passive server determines that the active server has failed and requires no further operations. In a

failover, the passive server immediately assumes the active server role. The failover process is discussed later

in this guide.

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VMware VCENTER SERVER 4.0 - GETTING STARTED UPDATE 1 Installation Guide Page 10