You can install Site Recovery Manager in any of the deployment models that vCenter Server supports.

For information about the deployment models that vCenter Server supports, see Deploying the vCenter Server Appliance in vCenter Server Installation and Setup.

You must take the deployment model of vCenter Server into consideration when you install Site Recovery Manager. During a disaster recovery, Site Recovery Manager and vCenter Server must be up and running on the recovery site.

Configuring the Platform Services Controller and Selecting the Correct vCenter Server Instance in an Enhanced Linked Mode Environment

When you install Site Recovery Manager Server, you provide the address of the Platform Services Controller that is associated with the vCenter Server instance to protect. You then select the vCenter Server instance with which to register Site Recovery Manager from the list of all of the vCenter Server instances that this Platform Services Controller serves. In an Enhanced Linked Mode environment, that list might include vCenter Server instances from other sites. If you select the wrong vCenter Server instance and complete the Site Recovery Manager installation, you cannot subsequently modify the Site Recovery Manager installation to select the correct vCenter Server instance. In this case, you must uninstall and reinstall Site Recovery Manager to select the correct vCenter Server instance.

  • When you install Site Recovery Manager Server on the protected site, make sure that you select the vCenter Server instance that manages the virtual machines to protect.
  • When you install Site Recovery Manager Server on the recovery site, make sure that you select the vCenter Server instance to which to recover virtual machines.
  • Ensure that the vCenter Server and Site Recovery Manager Server are all located on the protected site, or all on the recovery site.
After you have installed Site Recovery Manager, if vCenter Server migrates to a different Platform Services Controller or if the address of the Platform Services Controller changes, you can reconfigure Site Recovery Manager with the new Platform Services Controller address. For example, you can change from an external Platform Services Controller to an embedded Platform Services Controller. For information about changing Platform Services Controller, see Converging vCenter Server with an External Platform Services Controller to a vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller in vCenter Server Installation and Setup. If you plan on converging an external Platform Services Controller to an embedded Platform Services Controller, you must perform the steps in the correct order to ensure the proper operation of Site Recovery Manager.
  1. Converge the external Platform Services Controller on the protected site to an embedded Platform Services Controller.
  2. Reconfigure Site Recovery Manager and vSphere Replication at the protected site to use the new embedded Platform Services Controller. Verify through the Site Recovery user interface that Site Recovery Manager and vSphere Replication are connected to the new Platform Services Controller.
  3. Converge the external Platform Services Controller on the recovery site to an embedded Platform Services Controller.
  4. Reconfigure Site Recovery Manager and vSphere Replication at the recovery site to use the new embedded Platform Services Controller. Verify through the Site Recovery user interface that Site Recovery Manager and vSphere Replication are connected to the new Platform Services Controller.
  5. If necessary, reconnect the protected and the recovery sites.
Note: If you are in an Enhanced Linked Mode environment, you must first converge the Platform Services Controller of all federated partners before reconfiguring Site Recovery Manager and vSphere Replication.

You change the Platform Services Controller address by reconfiguring the Site Recovery Manager appliance. If you are unable to connect Site Recovery Manager or vSphere Replication to the new Platform Services Controller, see KB 85970.

Concurrent Installations of Site Recovery Manager in an Enhanced Linked Mode Environment

In an Enhanced Linked Mode environment, do not install Site Recovery Manager under more than one vCenter Server at the same time. A conflict can arise in the creation of the solution user that vCenter Server creates at the domain level for Site Recovery Manager authentication with vCenter Server if the following conditions exist:

  • If the installation of one Site Recovery Manager Server instance overlaps with the installation of another Site Recovery Manager Server instance under two different vCenter Server instances.
  • Those vCenter Server instances are in Enhanced Linked Mode.

The conflict does not prevent installation, but it does cause one of the Site Recovery Manager Server instances to fail to start, with the error message Failed to start service. The message Failed to start Authorization Manager appears in the event log for that Site Recovery Manager Server instance.