Punching Clouds

Alright Folks, here is the official update on the previously reported issue with the NetApp SRA 1.4.3 and VMware SRM post. Here are actual facts as of why VMware took down the SRA bits down from their download site. Again thanks to LarryT from NetApp for replaying to the original post from last week, and shedding some light on the situation, and also thanks to Michael White from VMware for the update.
The NetApp SRM SRA 1.4.3 is now available again. It turns out VMware pulled the SRA bits from the download site due to an install / configuration issue, and NOT an operational one.  The NetApp SRM SRA 1.4.3 back and it is available for download.  It is a small issue for NFS users.  If you are a NetApp partner, and need more info, you should be able to search the knowledgebase for KB article KB58002.  You’ll need your NetApp partner login to gain access to the information provided on listed link. There will be an update in the near future to avoid the issue completely, but the KB article has an easy workaround.

Error: Network device needed by recovered virtual machine could not be found at recovery or test time

This issue is also impacts IBM N Series SRA. The error listed above is what you will experience if you protect virtual machines that are using distributed virtual switches and try to recovery them.  This issue will be fixed in the next patch, and the next release of SRM. You can talk to VMware GSS for a patch if you need one.  It will only be provided by request, and is available now.  I should mention that there is a small  cosmetic issue connected with this problem that is in vCenter Server, and it will only be fixed in Update 2 of vCenter Server, but will not stop a successful failover.

Head’s up Folks, here is a bit of useful information for all VMware SRM, and NetApp customers. I’ve been informed about a very serious issue that was detected with the NetApp SRA 1.4.3. As a result of this issue VMware has pulled that version of the SRA from their download site so that customers are not able to download that version of the NetApp SRA in order to protect them from possible failures with BC/DR scenarios. At the current time it’s recommended not to use that version of the NetApp SRA until the issue is corrected, and given a green light for usage by VMware, and NetApp.  At the current I don’t have any details on what the actual issues is, so if any you guys know of anything please post some feed back.

In the mean time it is recommended to use the previous version of the SAN or NFS SRA. I will post updates when things change. Thanks to Michael White from VMware for the heads up on this issue.

While working on a multi-site deployment of vCenter Site Recovery Manager 4, I came across an error that seems to be caused by the Storage Replication Adapter (SRA). I encountered this error while installing both the SRA and the vCenter 4 onto a HP that was running Windows Server 2008 32bit operating system.

The issue seems to arise when you launch the installation for this particular vendor’s SRA.  The application starts to install and then halts with an error that reads “The $PRODUCT_NAME$ is not supported on this platform.” as shown in the below screen shot.

SRA Error Message under Windows Server 2008

A note about the environment: The vCenter Server was also installed on that version of the operating system. If you’re operating in an environment that requires the use of the latest versions of Microsoft’s operating systems, such as Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, and you’re attempting to configure SRM, then this problem will happen.

That message is problematic, since nearly all of the VMware vSphere applications are supported and compatible with the latest version of Windows.  When you get the message, you may be forced to use an older version of Windows Server, which would then require you to rebuild, re-install, and configure the vCenter server onto a new system.

After researching the issue, I came across a useful work around.  Cormac Hogan, one of VMware’s finest, provided this particularly helpful approach:  He instructed me to run the HP LeftHand SRA application in Windows Server 2003 SP1 comparability mode.  After doing so the SRA was installed successful.  To setup the HP LeftHand SRA to run in the Windows Server 2003 SP1 do the following:

• Right click on the application package
• Go to Properties
• Select the comparability tab
• Select the Run this program in comparability mode for, in the comparability mode window
• From the list of modes  choose (Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1)

Windows Server 2003 SP1 Comparability Mode

So, if you ever come across this issue, don’t rush to change or reinstall vCenter and SRM on an older version of Windows.  Instead, just follow the instructions mentioned above. Hopefully these issues will be addressed and resolved by the respective companies in the near future.  Keep me posted if you run into an other issues. Enjoy : )