Protecting vCenter Server with vCenter High Availability

vCenter High Availability (vCenter HA) protects not only against host and hardware failures but also against vCenter Server application failures. Using automated failover from active to passive, vCenter HA supports high availability with minimal downtime.

You configure vCenter HA from the vSphere Client. The configuration wizard provides these options.

Option	Description
Automatic	The automatic option clones the Active node to the Passive node and witness node, and configures the nodes for you. If your environment meets the following requirements, you can use this option. The vCenter Server that becomes the Active node is managing its own ESXi host and its own virtual machine. This configuration is sometimes called a self-managed vCenter Server.
Manual	The manual option offers more flexibility. You can use this option provided that your environment meets hardware and software requirements. If you select this option, you are responsible for cloning the Active node to the Passive node and the Witness node. You must also perform some networking configuration.

Option

Description

Automatic

The automatic option clones the Active node to the Passive node and witness node, and configures the nodes for you.

If your environment meets the following requirements, you can use this option.

The vCenter Server that becomes the Active node is managing its own ESXi host and its own virtual machine. This configuration is sometimes called a self-managed vCenter Server.

Manual

The manual option offers more flexibility. You can use this option provided that your environment meets hardware and software requirements.

If you select this option, you are responsible for cloning the Active node to the Passive node and the Witness node. You must also perform some networking configuration.