You can attempt to power on multiple virtual machines at the same time (group power-on).
Virtual machines selected for a group power-on attempt do not have to be in the same DRS cluster. They can be selected across clusters but must be within the same data center. It is also possible to include virtual machines located in non-DRS clusters or on standalone hosts. These virtual machines are powered on automatically and not included in any initial placement recommendation.
The initial placement recommendations for group power-on attempts are provided on a per-cluster basis. If all the placement-related actions for a group power-on attempt are in automatic mode, the virtual machines are powered on with no initial placement recommendation given. If placement-related actions for any of the virtual machines are in manual mode, the powering on of all the virtual machines (including the virtual machines that are in automatic mode) is manual. These actions are included in an initial placement recommendation.
For each DRS cluster that the virtual machines being powered on belong to, there is a single recommendation, which contains all the prerequisites (or no recommendation). All such cluster-specific recommendations are presented together under the Power On Recommendations tab.
When a nonautomatic group power-on attempt is made, and virtual machines not subject to an initial placement recommendation (that is, the virtual machines on standalone hosts or in non-DRS clusters) are included, vCenter Server attempts to power them on automatically. If these power-ons are successful, they are listed under the Started Power-Ons tab. Any virtual machines that fail to power-on are listed under the Failed Power-Ons tab.
Group Power-on
The user selects three virtual machines in the same data center for a group power-on attempt. The first two virtual machines (VM1 and VM2) are in the same DRS cluster (Cluster1), while the third virtual machine (VM3) is on a standalone host. VM1 is in automatic mode and VM2 is in manual mode. For this scenario, the user is presented with an initial placement recommendation for Cluster1 (under the Power On Recommendations tab) which consists of actions for powering on VM1 and VM2. An attempt is made to power on VM3 automatically and, if successful, it is listed under the Started Power-Ons tab. If this attempt fails, it is listed under the Failed Power-Ons tab.
