Installing Zerto in Clustered Environments
What is Zerto’s Failover Cluster?
Zerto's Failover Cluster is supported in VMware and Hyper-V environments only, and is not supported in public clouds environments.
When you have a Zerto system, you want your system to always be up and running, and to never go down. But, as with all systems, your Zerto system will need maintenance, (like security patches, and operating system updates) and will need to be upgraded with the latest Zerto releases.
In order to perform these maintenance procedures, Zerto has integrated with Microsoft’s Failover Cluster feature and now allows their customers to install Zerto Virtual Manager in a clustered environment.
With a clustered ZVM environment running, you are able to reduce downtime when performing maintenance procedures such as:
| • | Operating System maintenance |
| • | Upgrade your Zerto Virtual Manager |
Clustered Concepts
| TERM OR PHRASE | DEFINITION |
|---|---|
| clustered role | Clustered applications and services |
| node | Clustered nodes (meaning, servers) are connected by physical cables and by software. If one or more of the cluster nodes fail, other nodes begin to provide service continuously. |
| Active/passive node | A resources cluster where only one instance is active at any given time. |
| Zerto Failover Cluster Role Mover | The Zerto Failover Cluster Role Mover tool facilitates an unobtrusive move of the clustered role from one node to the other, with minimal consequences to Zerto Virtual Manager. |
| switch node | |
| Microsoft Failover Clustering | A Windows Server feature that enables you to group multiple servers together into a fault-tolerant cluster (renamed in Windows Server 2008 from Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS)) |
| Minimal downtime | The time it takes for the ZVR to start. |
Workflow: Installing Zerto on Clustered Nodes
| STEP | DESCRIPTION | LINK TO PROCEDURE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Review the prerequisites; this includes what you need to prepare on your virtual machines, before you can install Zerto Virtual Manager on the clustered nodes. |
Prerequisites: Before Installing Zerto Virtual Manager Clusters |
|||
|
Create a Role for the Zerto services. |
||||
|
Install the first Zerto Virtual Manager clustered node. |
||||
|
Install the second Zerto Virtual Manager clustered node. |
Second Clustered Node - Installing Zerto Virtual Replication |
|||
|
Add Zerto services to the role, and configure the role. |
||||
|
Additional Cluster Procedures |
|||||
|
|
Uninstall a cluster. |
||||
| Notes: |
After the ZVM Cluster is installed and running, you can perform any of the following operations:
| • | Operating System maintenance |
| • | Zerto Virtual Manager upgrade |
For the procedures, see Best Practices: Zerto in High Availability , in the section Zerto Virtual Manager Failover Cluster.
Prerequisites: Before Installing Zerto Virtual Manager Clusters
Before preparing for, and installing Zerto Virtual Manager Clusters, ensure the following:
| • | There is an external database. |
| • | There is an existing cluster, created according to Microsoft’s procedure. |
| • | The domain user has the required privileges. |
Continue to Creating a Role for the Zerto Services