VMware Live Recovery Reviews

Our primary use is for our client. It's a system integrator frame. I have clients for whom we manage their data centers. Or, we do their integration and implementation. Basically, we use it to replicate their virtual machines, their user site, and their company site, and maybe to configure it and schedule their recovery. We use it for doing recovery tests from time to time, quarterly or yearly, for some of our clients. To test for a situation whereby a danger or a disaster could be affecting their data that is being replicated. This is good to do. Periodically, we run those tests and recover those virtual machines, and they try to work from their recovery sites to ascertain that everything is okay.

What I like about VMware is its capability to schedule, write and configure the recovery and scheduled steps, such that you don't have to come in and start manually trying to recover the entire machine. You just push a button to recover the VMware and everything is done.

What I think can be improved is the data replication aspect. For example, I know of another repetition solution called RP for VM. I don't really know how to use it since I've never used it before, but I've read about it. I know its features and I've spoken to some IT practitioners who have experience with RP for VM, who work with Dell EMC, and they gave me the feeling that RP for VM is better than VMware replication technology. The argument is that RP for VM has the ability to get your application going even when there is a loss of connectivity. Whereas in VMware you have to have something like 50% connectivity for the configuration. So in that respect, RP for VM has that feature which makes it better than VMware solutions. I guess VMware should make sure they are on top of their virtualization and data replication solution, more than every other company.

Overall, I can't point to any other thing, apart from whatever feature makes some people think artificial DNE is better than the replication application and SRM. If they can just take care of that then I don't think there's anything else.

I have been using VMware SRM for close to 6 years now.

I would say that it's stable. I think everything depends on how you design and manage your environment. For example, when it comes to data replication on the disaster recovery side, part of the challenge that most of our clients have is the link between the production site and the APR site. Sometimes the link will be having challenges and data replication won't work for a few minutes, or something like that. But I don't really think it's an issue with the VMware solution. So, I don't really have challenges with it. If you properly take care of your environment the virtual machines will not have issues. In your scenario, maybe you didn't configure your cluster very well, or your GRS is not working properly, or some virtual machines are not giving results - then most likely you are going to have challenges.

I have not scaled it before so I am not able to give feedback on that.

The environments we have deployed it on are enterprise environments, like the fashion wear industry, dotcom companies, and some other companies also.

The only time we've contacted VMware support was in a case where we had some virtual machines mistakenly deleted and they needed someone who was very experienced in VMware virtualization, someone who understood working from the command line in the process. They needed to do some troubleshooting from the command line. I was very new to VMware virtualization solutions at that point, so I had to contact support. But anyway, that was a long time ago, about 4 -5 years back, and I have not been in contact with them at support.

The initial setup is not that difficult. I would not say it's difficult because you just experience it when deploying some VMware solutions, especially a replication plan. The first time it's not always easy. But once you get the hang of it and get it right the first time, then you don't really have issues. Such as, do you need to go there and provide a key? I wouldn't say it's that difficult - it's not so straightforward but it's not that difficult. It's not complex for me.

I've done the deployment for different clients. So I would say the first time was not easy. But, for me to do it right now wouldn't take time.

My advice to people considering this solution is that they should just go ahead and get it. I think that is the best virtualization solution out there. Some people say Nutanix is better. I think VMware is the best. 

I would also advise making sure your virtual environment is well taken care of. I don't think there are any other challenges that you're going to have. It's necessary that when you see it side by side, to have an operations manager help you find problematic areas and possible issues you are going to encounter in the future.

On a scale of 1 - 10, I give it a 9.

We use SRM to replicate our important servers to our VR site. We are customers of VMware and I'm a junior manager. 

The replication part of SRM is really good. We once had our production site collapse completely and we were able to recover all the data. The restore level of the application is very good. 

The solution is on the expensive side. 

I've been using this solution for four years. 

We've found the solution to be stable. 

The solution is scalable. 

We used the documentation for our initial setup and had some difficulties. The deployment was carried out in-house and took a day or two. We had some help from colleagues in other companies and had a couple of people from our company involved in the deployment. 

We initially took out a five-year contract and recently extended it for another 12 months. It's quite an expensive solution. 

I think this is a good tool that's easy to manage and worth the cost, so I rate it nine out of 10. 

In my company, we use VMware SRM for virtual machine replication.

The most valuable feature of VMware SRM is RTO, better described as recovery time. In most places, my company uses SRM along with backup software since SRM cannot be used as a backup product as it is just a replication tool.

VMware SRM is not a popular product anymore since all the other backup products can provide the same functions as SRM. With Veritas, Arcserve, or Commvault, you can take care of the replication part. VMware SRM is not a popular choice among users anymore since it is a highly costly product while also being complex to configure. When it comes to backup products, you can use RTO and RPO, so there is no need to have a separate solution like SRM. In general, the drawbacks of VMware SRM, where improvements can be made, stem from the fact that it is an expensive and complex product.

I have been using VMware SRM for six to seven years. My company has a partnership with VMware.

It is a stable solution.

It is a scalable solution.

At the moment, just one of our company's customers uses the solution since we have replaced the native backup software used in our company. We need to take care of the renewal of SRM since, right now, we only take care of the renewal of vSphere in our company.

The solution's technical support is excellent.

The solution's initial setup was easy, but if you try to integrate it with other storage solutions, then it gets complex and difficult.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

For first-time users, VMware SRM can be a very difficult tool to use, especially considering the product's configuration part. The configuration is very difficult.

With VMware SRM, you have to download the separate appliance and think about Windows to build a separate native appliance while also having knowledge about ESXi, making it a difficult process. When it comes to VMware SRM, the technical things are very difficult to start in the first place.

I rate the overall tool a five out of ten.

VMware SRM is deployed with some clusters. However, if the customer uses a three-tier architecture or other configurations, SRM might not be applicable. The expectation is not always to achieve 100% coverage. SRM is used for virtual machines with stringent SLAs or critical business applications. SRM is often sold in packs of 25 virtual machines, and deployment and functionality testing are conducted based on customer needs.

The simplicity of VMware SRM is one of its most important features. SRM console is straightforward to manage. It offers simplicity in monitoring, managing, and deploying, making it a unique value proposition. Additionally, Nutanix solutions also provide a simple GUI, which helps in operational efficiency.

The solution's recovery processes are very simple but not intelligent because one can easily monitor the replication progress and how the application is going. There is a workflow defined for doing their testing.

I have been using VMware SRM as a partner for ten years.

VMware SRM is a scalable solution due to its ease of documenting virtual machines. The process is straightforward if a customer already utilises 25 virtual machine licenses and requires more. They can execute the addition of the following 25 licenses. Then, they can enable those licenses and add the corresponding virtual machines to their application jobs.

It depends. We have customers using both twenty-five virtual machines and those with more than one hundred virtual machines. Therefore, the usage of VMware SRM varies from customer to customer, resulting in a mix-and-match environment.

The initial setup is very straightforward, depending on the kind and number of virtual machines.

A customer is expecting 25 virtual machines to deploy from the SDR. So, it should not take more than two days of work. If fine-tuning is required, it may take additional time, depending on the bandwidth. It's dependent on the infrastructure and varies case by case based on the bandwidth capability. Data will replicate faster with higher bandwidth, whereas lower bandwidth will result in longer replication times. Depending on the scenario, with good bandwidth, it could be a matter of only 24 hours.

Furthermore, the primary site's data size and change rate also play significant roles. If there are frequent changes at the primary site, it will naturally take more time. Additionally, the size of the primary data is another crucial aspect to consider.

The challenge is the licensing has changed from physical software to core-based, from perpetual to subscription-based.

The pricing for VMware SRM can vary significantly based on factors such as the customer segment, brand, and specific requirements.

The solution is straightforward to deploy and easy since it provides all the SRM functionality, such as security manager, with a seamless experience. 

We need to simulate for DLP . We need to freeze the application and do audio testing, and if there is an update on our data site, we need to provide feedback.

Specific solutions are pure-play SRM solutions. This solution acts as a recovery manager because the providers understand the workflow, prepare it, and know the dependencies. For instance, they understand the dependencies between virtual machines and applications, databases, ADA DNS, CSV, etc., and document them in the workflow. This documentation ensures the workflow can be executed properly, leading to a minimal Recovery Time Objective. ADR minimize RTO through automation, improving the workflow within SRM and eliminating the need for third-party solutions for security and other aspects.

Once we receive an order, we initiate thorough planning and documentation. We prepare a comprehensive flow-level design and engage with the customers for confirmation. With a clear understanding of the entire expectation cycle, my team can effectively deploy the solution, ensuring seamless integration.

Maintaining VMware SRM involves setting it up correctly and regularly monitoring it for infrastructure changes. Once appropriately configured and monitored, it operates smoothly unless there are changes at the customer site, such as patch deployments or alterations to authentication or access rights. These changes can potentially lead to application failures. Therefore, ongoing vigilance is necessary to ensure the seamless operation of the solution. Bandwidth issues can also affect performance, so addressing such concerns is essential.

I strongly recommend confirming with the new Broadcom team whether their VMware SRM licensing has changed since the acquisition of Broadcom. They've consolidated their SKUs from over a hundred to ten if there have been significant changes in SRM licensing, features, or functionality.

VMware SRM offers simplicity in disaster recovery solutions. However, it's primarily optimized for VMware environments. If a customer prefers a non-VMware-focused solution at their data centre, SRM may face challenges. Converting virtual machines in such cases can be complex and cumbersome. 

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We use this solution to run our applications and our server functions.

We find the back up feature of this solution to be particularly valuable.

We would like the patching management function of this product to be improved.

We have been using this solution for around 10 years.

We have found this solution to be very stable so far.

We have found that the technical support team are not always competent enough to help with our issues, and often have to escalate them.

Neutral

We found that the initial setup for this product was quite easy.

We implemented this solution using a third-party team.

The level of licensing required for this solution is dependent on the server instances in use.

I would advise organizations who wish to use this solution, to ensure that their threat protection software is in place and up to date, as there isn't any threat protection embedded in this product.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

It was working very well with VMware since it's a VMware product. We didn't have any issues. It was quite smooth when doing drills, when we were trying to recover VMs from other sites.

There's an option where you can test VM, when you can test the drill. That option was very valuable.

It's easy to set up. 

The solution is scalable. 

It is stable. 

Technical support can take some time to respond. We'd like a faster response. 

In the previous year, we were using SRM, and then we shifted to another software called CR2. We're replacing SRM. However, we used SRM for a few years. It's been about four years. 

The solution is stable. Its performance is reliable. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. 

The product can scale well. It's not an issue. 

We have three or four people on the solution right now.  They are mostly infrastructure engineers. 

We don't have plans to increase usage. 

Support is good, although we would like them to be faster. 

Positive

We had a simple vertical setup. We have VMware engineers at our disposal, and their expertise made it easy.

The deployment took one to two days. It was not complicated. We only needed one or two people to handle the deployment and maintenance tasks. They are engineers and junior staff. 

We pay a yearly licensing fee. 

We have some nodes which are still running VMware. We currently do have some nodes still running VMware like ESXi 7.0, however, not for production. It's right for testing purposes.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. 

I'd recommend the solution as it is very stable and does the job. 

We used VMware SRM mainly for the DC-DR configuration.

The most valuable feature of the solution is the integration part, along with the subsequent hardware.

It would be better if we could get more reporting features in VMware SRM.

Wherever we have deployed the solution, we haven't faced any issues with stability.

I rate the solution an eight to nine out of ten for stability.

I have four to five customers for VMware SRM.

The solution’s initial setup is not very complex.

I don't see a challenge concerning the solution's deployment process. The deployment can be done once the design is finished. Two engineers are more than enough to deploy the solution.

VMware SRM is an expensive solution, and users need to pay extra costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.

The implementation of VMware SRM helps with the overall business resiliency perspective. We are still using the virtualization layer for the application, which becomes closely integrated with the solution provided. So, that's a benefit to any organization. Moreover, the solution gives you a single dashboard through which you can look at everything.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven to eight out of ten.

Virtual Machine Recovery during DR situation, with automation and easy to use menus and options.

Earlier, in case of disaster or server failure we had to rebuild the whole server/virtual machine from scratch. This rebuilding process used to take anywhere from close to a day or more, affecting production time.

With VMware vSphere Replication and SRM combined, we were able to cut down outage windows to a maximum of one hour.

We are making good use of replicated VMs for testing of OS/application update, before applying same to the production environment.

In my view, if VMware comes up with an appliance-based solution like vCenter Server (which was also Windows-based), it will be much easier for deployment. It will also save Windows Server Operating System licensing costs, which for most of the organization recur annually.

Around five years (maybe more, I can't recollect exactly).

Not really for use and operation, but a version upgrade is a real problem. When upgrading to the latest version, there are always problems with the upgrade, normal functioning etc. Doing an upgrade is lot of hard work. Always had to rely on next minor upgrade.

VMware needs to do better software testing before release.

No.

Very good. They are very eager to support the customer and, more than just wanting to close the ticket, they strive for customer satisfaction.

Previously we were not using any DR solution, but we are using Veeam along with SRM.

SRM is being used for far-end recovery whereby the DR site is in another city.

Veeam is being used for near-end recovery, whereby the DR server is located in the same datacenter. This is useful for VM level recovery, where only a VM or handful VMs or vDisks are affected.

It was pretty straightforward. We kept the DC and DR servers together in the same datacentre during initial setup and VM syncing. After setup and syncing completion, we moved the DR server to the DR site.

Compare to hardware-based replication, I think software based replication is best and cheap. For a start, one can use vSphere Replication, which is available free of cost if vCenter is purchased for deploying a DR solution. It is very easy to deploy, though the recovery process will be manual. With SRM, the whole replication and recovery process can be automated for fast VM recovery.

No.

It’s a good product from VMware. Just ensure that for each version upgrade, be patient and look for reviews or, if possible, have a test (virtualized) environment for test deployment.