Disaster Recovery on Thoughts and Ramblings by Mike

Nutanix Instant Restore: A Big Win for MST

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Over the past couple of posts, I have covered what MST is and how to choose between Zero Compute and Pilot Light deployment models. Throughout that series, I mentioned that a new capability in Prism Central 7.5.1 was what prompted me to revisit MST in the first place. This is that post.

If you're new to MST, check out my earlier posts. If you have spent any time evaluating or working with MST for disaster recovery, you know the value proposition: replicate VM and Volume Group snapshots to object storage, keep costs down, and recover workloads when you need them. The architecture is sound, the durability is there, and the cost profile makes it easy to justify. But there has always been one conversation that got uncomfortable: "How long until my VMs are actually running again?"

MST Deployment Models: Zero Compute vs. Pilot Light

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0400

In my previous post, I covered what Multicloud Snapshot Technology (MST) is, the object stores it supports, and where it fits in your DR strategy. Now I want to dig into the decision that shapes most of your MST architecture: which deployment model to use.

Nutanix offers two distinct approaches, Zero Compute and Pilot Light, and they trade off cost against recovery speed in ways that matter a lot depending on the workloads you are protecting. Getting this decision right can mean the difference between a recovery that takes minutes and one that takes hours, with very different cost profiles along the way.

A Practical Look at Nutanix MST for Disaster Recovery

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0400

I have been recently revisiting Nutanix Multicloud Snapshot Technology, aka MST. What prompted the fresh look was the Instant Restore capability that shipped with Prism Central 7.5.1. When a feature fundamentally changes the recovery time story for an entire DR approach, it is worth going back and re-evaluating the technology as a whole. I will get to what started all this - Instant Restore - in a follow-up post, but first I want to walk through what MST actually is, what it supports, and why it deserves a closer look if you have not evaluated it recently.

Nutanix Disaster Recovery Guide 2025: Series Conclusion

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 08:15:00 -0500

Over the past nine posts, I've journeyed from the fundamental question of "why disaster recovery matters" through the technical details of implementing comprehensive business continuity with Nutanix. We've covered the risks, the solutions, the configuration, the testing, the operational procedures, advanced automation, and proactive monitoring that transform theoretical DR plans into proven, reliable capabilities. This conclusion brings it all together with a practical roadmap for action.

Monitoring Nutanix DR: Proactive Protection Health

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 08:50:00 -0500

Even the best-designed DR strategy only works if your replication is healthy, protection policies execute successfully, and recovery points are current. This post focuses on monitoring replication health, tracking protection policy status, and catching issues proactively using Prism Central dashboards, NCC health checks, and nCLI troubleshooting commands to ensure your DR capabilities are ready when disaster strikes.

Automating with Guest Scripts in Nutanix DR

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

Advanced automation through in-guest scripts takes disaster recovery from good to great. While Recovery Plans handle infrastructure orchestration, there are application-specific configurations that require execution inside the guest operating system; DNS reconfiguration, IP changes, and service initialization as a few examples. This post explores how to implement in-guest scripts with Nutanix Guest Tools to eliminate manual intervention during failover operations.

Nutanix DR: Planned vs. Unplanned Failovers

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 13:42:28 -0400

Not all failovers are created equal. Planned failover enables zero data loss migrations for maintenance windows, while unplanned failover optimizes for speed when disaster strikes. This post explores how Nutanix handles both scenarios, recovery point selection strategies, cross-cluster live migration for zero-downtime requirements, and how replication type impacts data loss expectations during recovery operations.

DR Testing Best Practices with Nutanix: Build Confidence

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

A disaster recovery plan that hasn't been tested is just expensive fiction. This post explores non-disruptive testing methodologies with Nutanix, including test failover on isolated networks, validation strategies for RTOs and application functionality, compliance reporting, and building organizational confidence through regular testing—ensuring your DR capabilities work when they're needed most.

Nutanix Recovery Plans: Orchestrating DR Failover

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 09:42:28 -0400

Recovery Plans are your automated DR runbooks, orchestrating the complex choreography of failover to bring applications back online in the right order with proper network configuration. This post explores power-on sequencing, network mapping, VM selection strategies, and non-disruptive testing—transforming disaster recovery from manual procedures into predictable, repeatable automation.

Nutanix Protection Policies: Async, Near-Sync & Sync DR

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Protection Policies are the foundation of Nutanix DR, defining how recovery points are created, replicated, and retained. This post explores the three replication types—Asynchronous (1-24 hour RPO), Near-Synchronous (1-15 minute RPO), and Synchronous (zero RPO)—covering configuration, performance impacts, distance limitations, and how to align technical capabilities with business requirements across different workload tiers.

Nutanix Disaster Recovery: Modern Policy-Driven Protection

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 10:44:43 -0400

Nutanix offers two distinct approaches to disaster recovery: Protection Domains (the battle-tested foundation) and Nutanix DR (the policy-driven evolution). This post explores both methods, their capabilities, when to use each approach, and how they complement each other. Understanding the difference is crucial for building DR strategies that match your operational model and scale requirements.

Modern Disaster Recovery: Simplifying Business Continuity

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Modern DR platforms have fundamentally transformed business continuity from complex, manual procedures into policy-driven automation. This post explores how platforms like Nutanix Disaster Recovery deliver hybrid cloud-native protection, non-disruptive testing, application-aware recovery, and simplified management—making enterprise-grade DR accessible to organizations of all sizes while eliminating the PhD-level complexity of traditional approaches.

Disaster Recovery in 2025: A Comprehensive Guide

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:42:28 -0400

Welcome to the Disaster Recovery Series

I've been sitting on writing a series about Disaster recovery (DR) for a while, but maybe the writing bug has caught me - more after some recent conversations with customers. DR has evolved from a nice-to-have backup plan to an absolute business necessity. In 2025, organizations face an unprecedented array of threats: sophisticated cyberattacks, climate-driven natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, and infrastructure failures that can cripple operations within minutes.

Disaster Recovery in 2025: Why It Matters

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:42:28 -0400

The question isn't whether your organization will face a disruptive event—it's when. In 2025, the threat landscape has fundamentally shifted, creating risks that can cripple businesses within minutes. From ransomware attacks to climate-driven disasters, downtime costs average $300,000 per hour. This post explores why disaster recovery has become non-negotiable and what's at stake when infrastructure fails.

Understanding DNS Changes in Nutanix DR Recovery Plans

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Updated 10.31.24! I modified the script from using the vm_recovery.bat to do everything, to calling a powershell script since that gave some extra flexibility in validating the current IP and DNS settings.

One of the best features of the Nutanix DR Recovery Plan is the ability to automate IP address changes based on failover criteria. Whether using Async, Near Sync or Sync rep, you have the ability to create a recovery plan that will automate the failover of specific VM(s), or by using a category to capture a group of VMs. I always try to use a Category when possible, to remove any possibilities of missing VMs that I do want to failover. The recovery plan allows me to set a power on sequence to the VMs that are part of the recovery plan, as well as modifying the network association and IP address to match the recovery site.

Zerto Virtual Replication Deployments

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

With the first post in the Zerto series, I ran through the history of Zerto and some features that Zerto Virtual Replication provides. Continuing the series on Zerto, with the second post, we'll cover the typical Zerto Virtual Replication deployment requirements and compare a Windows-based deployment versus the newer Linux-based deployment. While the post will focus more specifically on VMware deployments, the terminology, and concepts will mostly hold true across the different environments Zerto may be deployed within. At the core, the functionality of the Zerto product is not that much different between the Windows-based and Linux-based installations, however the direction for Zerto to move to the Linux-based appliance allowed them to accelerate features while also enhancing security within the product.

Enhancing Disaster Recovery with Nutanix Hybrid Cloud and Nutanix Cloud Clusters on Azure

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In today's digital landscape, where downtime can translate to significant financial loss and damage, having a robust disaster recovery (DR) strategy is no longer optional—it's essential. Organizations have many DR options at their disposal, each with its own advantages and considerations.

Traditionally, on-premises DR has been a go-to for many, offering full control over data and infrastructure, providing a sense of security. However, it often requires significant investment in hardware, software, and maintenance. Colo-based DR, where organizations utilize a colocation facility to house their backup infrastructure, presents a middle ground. It alleviates some of the overhead of on-premises solutions while offering a high degree of control and customization.

Zerto Virtual Replication - History and Capabilities

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This is the first part of a series about Zerto Virtual Replication, starting with some history and capabilities of Zerto. Additional posts will follow and dive deeper into the full Zerto suite.

A Deep Dive into Zerto Virtual Replication: History, vSphere, Hyper-V, and Cloud Capabilities

In the world of disaster recovery and data protection, Zerto Virtual Replication (ZVR) has established itself as a leading solution, providing seamless business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) for businesses of all sizes.

Navigating the Post-Xi Leap Landscape: Top Alternatives for Disaster Recovery

Wed, 15 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

2024 has been a struggle for many organizations with the Broadcom acquisition of VMware, from increased costs for renewals to uncertainty in the EUC world with Horizon View. The concern from customers as to what their alternatives are is defintely keeping me busy throughout the week helping our customers navigate the waters and the journey of what comes next.

Another unexpected, borderline disappointing discussion we're having now is the decision by Nutanix to discontinue Xi Leap in April of 2025. While maybe not surprising in the wake of the capabilities and extensability of Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) for initially AWS and now Azure, many businesses are left wondering about their next steps for Disaster Recovery (DR) with Nutanix - and specifically with AHV.

Zerto v10 - Update 2 - Excitement Continues!

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Zerto just dropped Update 2 for version 10, and they continue to really drive some great features into the product, extending what started with v10 as some game-changing features. See my past post on this one.

Starting with v10, Zerto made the ZVM role only available on a Linux appliance, even though it was available starting with 9.5 and 9.7 - but you had options for both Windows or Linux roles for the ZVM. With the v10 release, the Windows ZVM role is fully deprecated and Zerto no longer releases software for v10 on Windows.

Zerto v10: Unleashing Ransomware Resilience

Wed, 24 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, ensuring the availability, protection, and recovery of data and applications is paramount. Organizations need robust solutions to address the challenges of multi-cloud environments, cyber threats, and data loss incidents. Enter Zerto, and specifically Virtual Replication v10, a leading data protection and disaster recovery platform. In this blog, we will delve into the numerous benefits that Zerto offers, empowering businesses to achieve data resilience and peace of mind.

Zerto Linux ZVM - Finally Available!

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Finally, Zerto has released a Linux based appliance for the Zerto Virtual Manager role. Finally!

Now to be clear, I don't mean to use the term finally in a negative sense with Zerto, more of a sense of happiness that it's now available with the latest release of Zerto 9.5.

Since there's still some limitations around the Linux version of the ZVM, I went ahead and deployed into a greenfield deployment that will have a limited scope of replication to begin with, giving us some time to see the evolution of the appliance over the next few quarters.

Zerto Replication SQL Server Tuning: Lessons Learned

Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

3.5 hours down to 6.5 minutes…

Recently I went thru a project to get Zerto Replication up and running for a Emergency Dispatch Customer who was moving away from RecoverPoint and SRM in an effort to simplify and consolidate their DR runbooks.

As part of this project, we created multiple VPGs to match up with their software solutions, protection around 5TB of total VM space. The smaller VPGs consisted of small groupings of VMs, most of which ranged between 250 and 500GB of provisioned storage. The 5th VPG was a large VPG, consisted of a heavily utilized Production SQL Server and Report SQL Server and had around 3.2TB of provisioned storage.