Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Ensuring High Availability and
Business Continuity
Ensuring high availability and business continuity is a key part of virtualization that is often
overlooked or considered after the fact. It is equally as important as coni guring storage devices
and setting up virtual networking. Virtualization and VMware vSphere in particular enable
new ways to provide high availability and business continuity. There are multiple layers where
vSphere administrators can help provide high availability in a variety of ways depending on
the needs of the business and the unique requirements of the organization. This chapter dis-
cusses some of the tools and techniques available for ensuring high availability and business
continuity.
In this chapter, you will learn to
Understand Windows clustering and the different types of clusters
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Use vSphere's built-in high-availability functionality
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Recognize differences between different high-availability solutions
Understand additional components of business continuity
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Understanding the Layers of High Availability
Even in nonvirtualized environments, there are multiple ways to achieve high availability for OS
instances and applications. When you introduce virtualization into the mix with vSphere, you
gain additional methods of providing high availability. Figure 7.1 shows these different layers.
