Hello- this is part 3 in the series of blogs on ActiveDR + NFS datastores. In part 2, I covered how to connect ActiveDR to an NFS file system that’s backing an NFS datastore. In this blog, I’ll be covering how to connect the target NFS export in vSphere and how to run a test failover. The reason for covering test failovers before production failovers and failbacks is that I strongly recommend performing or scheduling a test failover immediately after configuring any disaster recovery solution. It is possible to not have the necessary requirements for a failover when it is critical that the failover happens quickly; testing failing over your environment before needing it in a production down scenario will reduce or eliminate this possible pain.
For the purposes of this blog, I am using Pure Storage’s remote vSphere plugin. In general, I strongly recommend installing and using this plugin to manage your FlashArray(s) more easily from the vSphere GUI. Additionally, I’ve made a demo video that covers the steps covered here. Here’s a table of articles in this series:
| ActiveDR with NFS Datastores Topic | Specific Topics (NFSD = NFS Datastores) |
| Overview | What’s ActiveDR? What are NFSD? |
| FlashArray Configuration | FlashArray NFSD and ActiveDR config |
| vSphere Configuration and Test Failover | vSphere configuration for ActiveDR; test failover |
| Production Failover and Failback | ActiveDR failover and failback in vSphere |
This environment already has a mounted NFS file system from the source FlashArray. The steps to mount the NFS file system from the source array are the same as the steps for the target array except you won’t have to promote the pod on the source array.
When you perform failovers, do test failovers or are cleaning up your objects from these operations you’ll want to ensure that you follow the steps outlined here.
Continue reading “ActiveDR with NFS Datastores – vSphere Configuration and Test Failover (Part 3)”