For performing maintenance operations on a local datastore in the cloud site evacuate all incoming replications and replication data placed on that datastore. To evacuate the replications from the datastore at once, apply an alternative storage policy for all incoming replications that reside on the datastore.

Note:
  • Evacuating a datastore invalidates all VMware Cloud Director Availability backups created priorly and they cannot restore the replications.

    To ensure restoring from a backup is successful, create a backup every time the replications are moved from one datastore to another. For information about restoring, see Restore the appliances in the cloud.

  • Evacuating a datastore might take several hours until completed and depends on the amount of data for transferring.
  • Since VMware Cloud Director Availability 4.4 evacuating replicas from individual members of datastore clusters is supported. Replications on a member datastore can move only to a different (for example, temporary) storage policy, they cannot be rebalanced within the other member datastores within the same cluster. After maintenance completes, the replications can be moved back from the temporary location to the original datastore cluster.

Prerequisites

Verify that VMware Cloud Director Availability 4.4 or later is deployed in the cloud site for evacuating datastore clusters.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the management interface of the Cloud Director Replication Management Appliance.
    1. In a Web browser, go to https://Appliance-IP-Address/ui/admin.
    2. Select Appliance login or SSO login and enter the root or the single sign-on user credentials.
    3. Click Login.
  2. In the left pane under System, click Datastores.
  3. (Optional) To show the replications that are placed on a datastore that displays replications counters, click Preview.
    For datastore clusters, expand to show the cluster members.
  4. Select a local datastore or a cluster member that displays replications counters and click Evacuate.
  5. In the Evacuate datastore window, select the destination storage policy for all incoming replications residing on the datastore and click Evacuate.
    • Reset current storage policy applies the current storage policy to each matching replication. After removing or adding datastores to the storage policy, to make the matching replications compliant with their storage policy this option can move the replication replica files.
    • Any stores all the replications to all the shared datastores that have Any storage policy applied.
    • pVDC Storage policy applies the selected storage policy to all matching replications. If the pVDC Storage policy is not exposed to a tenant data center, the replications of this tenant remain placed on the datastore.

Results

VMware Cloud Director Availability applies the selected storage policy and starts evacuating the incoming replications and replica files from the selected local datastore in the cloud site.

What to do next

You can track the progress of the Change storage profiles task by clicking System Tasks in the left pane.