Virtual Volumes supports replication, test recovery, test cleanup, planned migration, disaster recovery and reprotect. With the array-based replication, you can off-load replication of virtual machines to your storage array and use full replication capabilities of the array. You can group several virtual machines to replicate them as a single unit.
Virtual Volumes replication is policy driven. After you configure your Virtual Volumes storage for replication, information about replication capabilities and replication groups is delivered from the array by the storage provider. This information shows in the VM Storage Policy interface of vCenter Server.
You use the VM storage policy to describe replication requirements for your virtual machines. The parameters that you specify in the storage policy depend on how your array implements replication. For example, your VM storage policy might include such parameters as the replication schedule, replication frequency, or recovery point objective (RPO). The policy might also indicate the replication target, a secondary site where your virtual machines are replicated, or specify whether replicas must be deleted.
By assigning the replication policy during VM provisioning, you request replication services for your virtual machine. After that, the array takes over the management of all replication schedules and processes. For additional information how to create and assign Virtual Volumes replication policies, see Virtual Volumes and Replication in the vSphere Storage guide.
