High Availability (HA) in VMware vSphere is an essential feature to ensure service continuity in case of host or VM failures. This article will guide you through the steps to configure HA in vSphere and highlight best practices for maintaining a robust and reliable environment.
Before enabling HA on a cluster, ensure the following requirements are met:
- Proper vSphere licensing.
- A configured cluster in vSphere.
- A stable and redundant management network.
- Shared storage accessible by all hosts in the cluster
Section 3: Step-by-Step Guide to Configure HA in vSphere
- Access the vCenter Server:
- Log in to the vCenter interface.
- Create or Select a Cluster:
- Right-click on the Datacenter, select “New Cluster,” and set up the cluster.
- Enable High Availability:
- In the cluster menu, click “Configure.”
- Under “Availability,” click “Edit.”
- Enable HA, set failover policies, and click “OK.”
- Add Hosts to the Cluster:
- Drag and drop hosts into the cluster or add them manually.
- Test the Configuration:
- Simulate a failure to confirm that VMs automatically restart on another host.
Best Practices for Configuring HA
- Configure multiple paths for management networks.
- Use Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) with HA for load balancing.
- Regularly monitor the cluster to detect issues before failures occur.