The release of SRM 8.3.1 and vSphere Replication 8.3.1 is the first time I’ve seen a double dot release for either SRM or vSphere Replication that had any new features, let alone three! Let’s get into what’s included in this unexpectedly significant update to SRM and vSphere Replication.
Site Recovery Manager 8.3.1
Replication of VM tags and categories
When SRM recovers a VM, there is a lot of information that the VM brings with it. Until now, one thing that wasn’t was any tags that were associated with the VM. In SRM 8.3.1, when a recovery plan that contains a VM that has tags is either tested or failed over, the tags and categories for that VM will automatically be created at the recovery site and associated with the VM. When the recovery plan test is cleaned up, or the recovery plan is failed back, the tags and categories will remain at the recovery site. This capability allows customers to make use of tags to manage their VMs better while protecting them with SRM.
A few notes and things to keep in mind with this feature:
- Tags and categories aren’t deleted when a VM with tags is unprotected or the test finishes.
- If the placeholder VM has tags, they will be removed before it is converted to the recovered VM
- This capability is for tags only, not attributes
- Only the tag name, category, and cardinality option (many or one) is preserved. The tag type is not preserved
- This capability is not applicable for Storage Policy-Based Protection Groups (SPPGs)
Ability to Protect Empty Datastores
When managing a large number of datastores, the flexibility to use empty ones has come up frequently. In SRM 8.3.1, customers can now both create protection groups with empty datastores as well as add empty datastores to existing protection groups. There is no change to how workflows operate. Note that it does require resource mappings to be in place.
Release Notes
VMware Site Recovery Manager 8.3.1
VMware vRealize Operations Management Pack for Site Recovery Manager 8.3.1
VMware vRealize Orchestrator Plug-in for Site Recovery Manager 8.3.1
Download Page
VMware Site Recovery Manager 8.3.1
vSphere Replication 8.3.1
Automatic replication of disks added to replicated VMs
In vSphere Replication 8.3, we took care of the number one customer complaint about vSphere Replication by automatically handling VM disk resizing. In vSphere Replication 8.3.1, we’ve taken care of the next most frequently cited issue by now automatically replicating disks that are added to a replicated VM. This feature can be deactivated if desired. The new disk replica is configured with the same disk format as the source disk and will be located in the same location and with the same storage policy.
I think you’ll have to agree that this is a lot for a small release. I hope you enjoy these features and they make your life easier and more productive. Enjoy!
Release Notes
VMware vSphere Replication 8.3.1
VMware vRealize Operations Management Pack for VMware vSphere Replication 8.3.1
VMware vRealize Orchestrator Plug-In for vSphere Replication 8.3.1
Download Page
VMware vSphere Replication 8.3.1
