Activate the data engines for replicating workloads

As a provider, to replicate workloads between two sites, activate the supported data engines for starting new replications, depending on the source and the destination sites.

Important: For information about the supported data engines, depending on the source and the destination site, see Replications use cases.

At a replication start, VMware Cloud Director Availability checks whether the currently active data engines match between the source and the destination site:

• If both data engines are activated in both sites, then the Classic data engine takes precedence.
• If no available data engine matches between both sites, then the replication fails. In the following example diagram, only Classic data engine is active in the source site (Cloud site C) and only VMC is active in the destination site (Cloud site D) as is the only supported data engine for this site.

For example, in the following diagram the arrows indicate the replication direction and the used data engine:

Figure 1. Activated data engines for replications between supported sites

Note: Already started replications remain operational regardless of the active data engines. Activating a data engine affects only the start of new replications.

Deactivating a data engine that is used for replications which are already started, has no effect on them.

Prerequisites

• Verify that for activating the VMC data engine, VMware Cloud Director Availability 4.2 or later is successfully deployed in the site, as earlier versions only support the Classic data engine.
• Verify that all the required network ports are open in the firewalls. For information about the required open ports, see: VMware Ports and Protocols, or Deployment Requirements On-Premises and Network Requirements.

Procedure

1. Log in to the management interface of the Cloud Director Replication Management Appliance.
   1. In a Web browser, go to https://Cloud-Director-Replication-Management-Appliance-IP-Address/ui/admin.
   2. Select Appliance login and enter the root user password.
   3. Click Login.
2. In the left pane under Configuration, click Settings.
3. Under Site settings, next to Data engine click Edit.
   1. In the Data engine window, activate one or both data engines for replications:
      • Classic - supports both migrations and protections.
      • VMC - supports only migrations.
   2. Click Apply.
   The activated data engine in this site becomes available for handling new replications.

What to do next

Once activated in both sites, you can create new replications that use this data engine between the two sites.