VCDR Concepts

VCDR Architecture

Service Components

Component	Main Capabilities
Cloud File System	Stores VM backups. Can be mounted as an NFS datastore and recover VMs quickly (Live Mount).
SaaS Orchestrator	Provides UI for VCDR Service. Coordinates with SDDC to failover VMs. Coordinates with DRaaS Connector to failback VMs.
DRaaS Connector	Takes snapshots of protected VMs and sends the data to the Cloud file system. Coordinates with SaaS Orchestrator to failback VMs.
Protection Groups
Recovery Plans	Recovery Plans are like an automated run book, controlling all the steps in the recovery process.

Live Mount

1. When to use Live Mount?

Cloud file system

1. Backups: Backups are encrypted and stored in the native vSphere VM format in Scale-out Cloud File System (SCFS)
2. Live mount: ESX hosts in VMC can boot VMs directly from snapshots stored in the Cloud File System. It acts as an NFS Datastore.

DRaaS Connector

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Protection Groups

• Protected site
• VMs
• Policies for snapshots ( Protection Schedules)
  • Snapshot frequency
  • Snapshot retention period
• Cloud file system

Reference:

• vMusketeers blog

Recovery Plans

• Recovery Site
• Resource Mappings
  • vCenter
  • Folders
  • Compute Resources
  • Virtual Networks
• Recovery Steps
  • Recover what VMs / Protection groups
  • Power action
  • IP Customization
  • Pre-Recover action for each VM
  • Post-Recover action for each VM

References

1. https://vmc.techzone.vmware.com/resource/introduction-vmware-cloud-disaster-recovery-vcdr
2. https://core.vmware.com/resource/vmware-cloud-disaster-recovery-technical-overview#sec18005-sub2