Cloud Connect: Undo Failover, Permanent Failover, Failback

[Vejete]

Greetings, learned community. I'm looking for a better understanding of Undo Failover, Permanent Failover, and Failback as it relates to Cloud Connect and finalizing a cloud failover.

This is my (quite possibly flawed) understanding at present:

• Undo Failover - Discard all changes that were made to the replica while it was running and return operation to the original VM.
• Permanent Failover - Abandon the original VM and switch to a VM replica on the cloud host and use this replica as the original VM.
• Failback - Return operation to the original VM or a replacement VM. Finalize (commit) to fix the original replication job if necessary.

I'm trying to draw a clear distinction between Undo Failover and Failback. With failback, are changes made to the replica discarded as with undo failover? It looks like Failback can come back to a "new" replacement VM or the original VM whereas Undo Failover implies a return to the original VM only. Is that the only real difference - that Failback can return operations to a replacement VM where Undo Failover cannot?

Is there no option to go from a replica VM back to the original VM and bring changes back with the switch?

I think I've managed to sufficiently confuse myself (not hard), so I appreciate any clarity that can be offered.

[foggy]

Hi Jim, all the mentioned operations (failover, undo/permanent failover, failback) in case of Cloud Connect are performed similarly to the normal replication, just require additional steps regarding the use of the provider-side network extension appliance. You can read about each of them in more detail in this user guide section.

Basically, the main difference between undoing failover and failing back is the fact that during failback changes occurred while the VM was in a failover stage are not discarded but transferred to the recovered original (or new) VM.

[Vejete]

Hello Alexander,

That's what I suspected, but the failback process was grossly abbreviated in the Cloud Connect Admin Guide. Shame on me for not going back and reviewing the non-cloud failback process.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I hope the community doesn't get too irritated with me whilst I get this all sorted.

Hopefully I can reciprocate some day. I'm a StoreOnce SME, and I'd be delighted to answer questions on the topic.

Cheers,
Jim

[foggy]

You're totally welcome, it's still one of the purposes of the community.