New in 2.5
VSS
vReplicator includes an agent that works in conjunction with the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to pause application writes. This feature will enable quiescing of supported databases to provide a “transactionally consistent" replica for High availability (HA) or disaster recovery sites.
Hybrid Replication
Hybrid Replication is a combination of two different replication methods - Differential Replication and Snapshot Rotation. During snapshot rotation, data is written to an open snapshot for a user configured interval. Once that interval is reached, writes are redirected to a secondary snapshot while the original is transmitted to the target server. At the next replication pass, the secondary snapshot is promoted to primary and sent to the Target server. A new secondary snapshot is created, and writes are again redirected to it. This method allows for a very fast process, in part because no scanning is required. This process continues as long as the Source and Target VMs are synchronised. If they become out of synch (because of a D/R test for example), vReplicator will automatically peform a differential scan of the Source VM and send only the required changes to the Target. Once synchronised, the snapshot replication will begin at previously configured intervals. This combination of two technologies is unique in the industry, and as such “Hybrid Replication" is a term unique to vReplicator.
Skipping VMDKs
vReplicator now allows for individual VMDKs to be skipped during configuration of a replication job.
Report Exports
vReplicator now offers the ability to export existing activity reports. The ability to export job information to the following formats: Portable Document Format (PDF), Extensible Markup Language (XML), and MS Excel (XLS), will give the user more flexibility in managing their environment.
Replication of Entire Image
vReplicator enables the entire virtual machine to be replicated, including configuration settings, patches to the OS, the application itself as well as the data, and all other OS level changes. vReplicator can replicate from many hosts to one host, and can replicate to hardware platforms that are dissimilar from the source.
Cost-Effective Solution
vReplicator allows for selective replication of individual mission or business critical virtual machines, eliminating the maintenance, network traffic, hardware and software expenses that come with replicating the entire LUN, SAN or agents. Because vReplicator works from
a centralised server, no installation components are needed on either the source or target virtual machines. vReplicator will also replicate from an open source to a closed target, thus reducing maintenance costs of destination virtual machines. Finally, vReplicator supports replication to dissimilar hardware, saving on the need to maintain redundant systems in case of failure.
Easy Administration
Like all Vizioncore solutions, vReplicator employs a Windows based GUI that is easy to use by all levels of IT administrators. Setup and Job Wizards interact with VirtualCenter to provide a method to create and maintain replication jobs with ease. vReplicator is also VMotion and DRS aware. vReplicator also offers real-time performance statistics and reporting of replication jobs so administrators receive timely information on job status.
Reliable Performance
A database infrastructure in vReplicator records and manages job tasks and messages, so administrators receive a steady flow of information about the job status through the GUI, Windows Event Viewer and in the form of alerts. Exception handling is performed with database engine intelligence to eliminate potential replication interruption.