| Array-Based Replication | vSphere Replication | |
| Type | Replication using the storage layer | Replication using the host/vSphere layer |
| RPO min/max | 0 up to max supported by the vendor | 5 minutes to 24 hours (5 min RPO was introduced in version 6.0 for vSAN-to-vSAN and all datastores in 6.5) |
| Scale | Scales up to 5,000 VMs protected/2,000 simultaneously recoverable per vCenter/SRM pair | Scales up to 2,000 VMs (protected & recoverable) per vCenter/SRM pair |
| Write order fidelity | Supports write order fidelity within and across multiple VMs in the same consistency group | Supports write order fidelity on the disks/VMDKs that make up a VM, consistency cannot be guaranteed across multiple VMs |
| Replication level | Replicates at the LUN/VMFS or NFS volume level | Replicates at the VM level |
| Replication configuration | Replication is configured and managed on the storage array | Replication is configured and managed in the vSphere Web Client |
| Array/ vendor types | Requires same storage replication solution at both sites (eg. EMC RecoverPoint, NetApp vFiler, IBM SVC, etc) | Can support any storage solution at either end including local storage as long as it is covered by the vSphere HCL |
| Storage supported | Replication supported on FC, iSCSI, or NFS storage only | Supports replicating VMs on local, attached, vSAN, FC, iSCSI, or NFS storage |
| Cost | Replication and snapshot licensing is required | vSphere Replication is included in vSphere Essentials Plus license levels and higher of vCenter version 5.1 and higher |
| Deployment | Deployment is fairly involved and must include storage administration and possibly networking | Deployment requirements are minimal. Deploy an OVF at each site and start configuring replications |
| Application consistency | Depending on the array, application consistency may be supported with the addition of agents to the VM | Supports VSS & Linux file system application consistency |
| FT VMs | Can replicate UP FT protected VMs (once recovered VM is no longer FT enabled). Does not support SMP FT VMs. | Cannot replicate FT protected VMs |
| Powered off VMs/Templates/Linked clones/ISO’s | Able to replicate powered off VMs, Templates, Linked Clones (as long as all nodes in the snapshot tree are replicated as well), and ISOs | Can only replicate powered on VMs. Cannot replicate powered off VMs, Templates, Linked Clones, ISOs, or any non-VM files |
| RDM support | Physical and Virtual mode RDMs can be replicated | Only Virtual mode RDMs can be replicated |
| MSCS support | VMs that are part of an MSCS cluster can be replicated | Cannot replicate VMs that are part of an MSCS cluster. VR cannot replicate disks in multi-writer mode. |
| vApp support | Replicating vApps is supported | Replicating vApps is not possible. However, it is possible to replicate VMs that are part of a vApp and to create a vApp at the recovery site that they are recovered into |
| vSphere versions supported | Hosts running vSphere 3.5-6.5 are supported | Hosts must be running vSphere 5.0 or higher |
| MPIT | Multiple point-in-time snapshots or rollback is supported by some supported array vendors (eg. EMC RecoverPoint) | Supports up to 24 recovery points |
| Snapshots | Supports replicating VMs with snapshots and maintaining the snapshot tree | Supports replicating VMs with snapshots however the tree is collapsed at the target site |
| Response to Host failure | Replication is not impacted | Host Failure and the VM restarting on another host triggers a full sync. For details about what a full sync involves see the vSphere Replication FAQ |
| vVols integration | SRM does not currently support vVols with array-based replication | vVols are supported by vSphere Replication with SRM |
| Interop with vRA | VMs that are managed/deployed by vRA and are using array-based replication can be easily protected either with Storage Policy-Based Protection Groups or using the vRO SRM plug-in | vRA managed VMs that need to use vSphere Replication can be protected using the vRO plug-ins for SRM and VR |
| Policy-based protection | Policy-based protection is possible through the use of SPPGs (Storage Policy Based Protection Groups) | vSphere Replication doesn’t support policy-based protection |
For detailed information on Site Recovery Manager and vSphere Replication including answers to commonly asked questions check out core.vmware.com and the vSphere Replication FAQ
