Using Fault Tolerance with DRS

You can use vSphere Fault Tolerance with vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) only when the Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) feature is activated. This process allows fault tolerant virtual machines to benefit from better initial placement.

When a cluster has EVC activated, DRS makes the initial placement recommendations for fault tolerant virtual machines and allows you to assign a DRS automation level to Primary VMs (the Secondary VM always assumes the same setting as its associated Primary VM.)

When vSphere Fault Tolerance is used for virtual machines in a cluster that has EVC deactivated, the fault tolerant virtual machines are given DRS automation levels of "disabled". In such a cluster, each Primary VM is powered on only on its registered host and its Secondary VM is automatically placed.

If you use affinity rules with a pair of fault tolerant virtual machines, a VM-VM affinity rule applies to the Primary VM only, while a VM-Host affinity rule applies to both the Primary VM and its Secondary VM. If a VM-VM affinity rule is set for a Primary VM, DRS attempts to correct any violations that occur after a failover (that is, after the Primary VM effectively moves to a new host).