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Fault Tolerance Implementation with 2 ESXi Servers (No External Storage)

Fault Tolerance Implementation with 2 ESXi Servers (No External Storage)

Introduction

A prominent IT organization heavily depends on its virtualized infrastructure to support vital applications. Concerned about potential downtime and data loss, the organization opts to establish fault tolerance without depending on external storage solutions.

IT organization identifies the following challenges:


Cost Constraints: Organization has budget constraints and cannot invest in an external storage solution for fault tolerance.


High Availability Requirement: The critical applications need to be available without interruptions, even in the case of a server failure.


Limited IT Staff: Organization has a small IT team, and any fault tolerance solution should be easy to manage and maintain.


To address these challenges, Gigahertz Engineering and Industrial Solutions Pvt ltd (GEISPL) proposed to implement 2 ESXi servers without external storage using following steps:


Server Selection: GEISPL deployed two identical servers with sufficient resources to host the critical virtual machines.


Network Configuration: Configured redundant network connections for both ESXi servers to ensure network availability. Implemented network teaming and redundancy protocols for enhanced network reliability.


Shared Nothing Fault Tolerance: Leveraged VMware vSphere's "shared nothing" fault tolerance feature that replicates VMs between the two ESXi servers without the need for external storage.


Virtual Machine Configuration: Identified critical virtual machines that require fault tolerance. Enabled Fault Tolerance for selected VMs, creating a primary VM on one ESXi server and a secondary VM on the other.


Monitoring and Alerting: Implemented monitoring tools to continuously monitor the health of ESXi servers and the status of fault-tolerant VMs. Configured alerts for immediate notification in case of any issues.


Testing and Verification: GEISPL rigorously tested the fault tolerance setup by simulating various failover scenarios. This comprehensive testing aimed to validate the flawless transition of virtual machines (VMs) from the primary ESXi server to the secondary one, ensuring the system's resilience and minimizing any potential disruptions in the event of a server failure.


Documentation and Training: GEISPL documented the fault tolerance implementation process, including configuration settings, for future reference. Trained IT staff on the new fault-tolerant environment and established procedures for handling potential issues.

Cost-Effective Solution: By leveraging shared nothing fault tolerance, organization achieves fault tolerance without the need for additional external storage, staying within budget constraints.


Continuous Operations: The fault tolerance setup ensures continuous operations by providing automatic failover in the event of an ESXi server failure.


Simplified Management: The solution is designed to be easy to manage and maintain, accommodating the limited IT staff.


Enhanced Reliability: The fault-tolerant setup enhances the overall reliability of the virtualized infrastructure, contributing to a more robust and resilient IT environment.

Conclusion

The renowned IT organization with the help of GEISPL, successfully implements fault tolerance without external storage, addressing cost constraints and ensuring high availability for critical applications. As of now, organization can provide uninterrupted services even in the face of server failures, contributing to a more resilient and reliable IT infrastructure.