Managing Zerto: Setup, Protection, and Recovery

This course prepares beginner to intermediate Zerto users to deploy, configure, and manage the solution in VMware vSphere® environments. It is ideal for hands-on practitioners, and the training focuses on core concepts and components with Zerto, including material on the major recovery operations such as failovers, tests, and restores. Hands-on labs are included to give learners firsthand experience with setup and protection, plus instant recovery from ransomware after a simulated infection.

Course objectives
After completing this course, you should be able to:

• Articulate the top use cases Zerto supports and what architectures are needed for each use case
• Describe the major Zerto components and how they interoperate
• Install, set up, and configure Zerto in a vSphere environment
• Protect virtual machines replicating locally and to a secondary peer site
• Perform the most common recovery operations, including file restores, failover tests, live failover, and moves 

Module 1: Zerto Overview 

• Define Zerto platform
• Explain Zerto platform functionalities
• Zerto components
• Zerto use cases
• Complete data protection with Zerto and HPE

Module 2: Zerto Virtual Manager Appliance (ZVMA)

• Define Zerto Virtual Manager Appliance (ZVMA)
• Requirements
• Resources

Module 3: Virtual Replication Appliances (VRAs)

• Virtual Replication Appliance (VRA) overview
• What Is a Virtual Replication Appliance? (VRA)
• VRA deployment
• VRA: source versus target summary
• VRA helpers overview
• VRA setup and load balancing

Module 4: Architectures

• Basic on-premises architecture
• Operational recovery architecture – Local, same-site replication with optional offsite copy
• Disaster recovery architecture – Replication to remote site for classic DR
• DR with extended journal copy architecture – Remote DR with additional copy on the DR site or sent so to the cloud
• Operational recovery and DR architecture – Local replication plus DR site and additional copy from

Module 5: Journal

• Journal overview
• Journal-based recovery
• Journal technology
• Journal Settings and Sizing
  • Journal history
  • Journal size hard limit
  • I/O considerations
  • Estimating journal sizing

Module 6: Zerto Replication

• Zerto replication overview
• What Is a Checkpoint?
• What is write-order fidelity?
• Replication types
• Replication: Initial Sync
• Replication: Bitmap Sync
• Replication: Delta Sync

Module 7: Virtual Protection Groups (VPG)

• Virtual Protection Group (VPG) overview
• Consistent protection and recovery
• Creating VPG: Four main options
• Three Types of VPGs 
  • Remote DR and continuous backup VPG
  • Local continuous backup VPG
  • Data mobility and migration VPG
• VM Auto-Protect
• VPG replication prioritization overview
• VPG replication prioritization in GUI
• One-to-many overview
• Exclude disks
• VPG considerations

Module 8: Real-time Encryption Detection

• Anatomy of an Attack
• Backup-based Detection is Inadequate
• Earliest warning when an attack is occurring
• Replicate and Detect
• Zerto Resilience Observation Console
• Encryption Analyzer
  • Collection phase
  • Inspection phase
  • Reaction phase
    • Alerting
    • Tagging
    • User Response
• Considerations

Module 9: File and VM Restores

• Instant Restores of Files, Folders, and VMs
• Instant File/Folder Restores
• Recovery Operations: File Restore
• Restore Limitations
• File Restore Process
• Instant VM Restores

Module 10: Recovery Concepts

• Recovery Operations: Key Concepts
• Scratch disk size and location
• Commit Overview
• Commit Policies
  • None
  • Auto-Commit
  • Auto-Rollback
• Commit Policy Considerations
• Reverse Protection Overview
• VM Shutdown Options

Module 11: Recovery Operations: Failover Test

• Failover test overview
• Failover test Process
• Recovery report
• Alternative uses for the failover test

Module 12: Recovery Operations: Live Failover

• Failover live: Pre-commit
  • Source VMs power down
  • Failed over VMs power up
  • VMs read from journal and replicas
  • VMs write to scratch journals
• Failover live: Commit
  • Data promoted to VM disks from scratch disks
  • Scratch disks and journals removed
  • With reverse protection, replicate back to original so source
  • Could instead fail back if so desired
• Before Your First Live Failover

Module 13: Recovery Operations: Move

• Move Operation
  • User or script initiates move
  • Production VMs are shut down; uses last checkpoint so so RPO = zero.
  • Pre-commit VMs are created and powered on.
  • User or script commits operation; data promotes
• Move Parameters: Keep Source VMs

Module 14: Recovery Operations: Clone

•  Creating an Offsite Clone
  • Select the VMs to clone
  • Select the journal checkpoint to use
  • Select which site and datastore to clone to
  • Clones come up as powered off VMs with a checkpoint
•  

Module 15: Extended Journal Copy

• Zerto Extended Journal Copy Overview
• Extended Journal Copy
  • Architecture
  • Repository
  • Disk Objects Map
  • Scale-Out -Write
• Continuous Data Protection with Extended Journal Copy
• Extended Journal Copy Scale - Out - Read
• Index and Search Architecture
• Recovering Across the Short and Long Term

Module 16: Zerto Analytics

• Zerto Analytics Full Reporting Suite
• Enabling Zerto Analytics
• Zerto Analytics Secure Architecture
• Resource Planner
• Resource Planner Process
• Resource Planner Requirements
• Zerto Analytics API
• Lab Exercises
• Recovery Operations Recap
• Course Summary
• Certification 

This course is ideal for Zerto customers and Zerto Partners.

No prior Zerto experience is required. However, before attending this course, you should have an understanding of VMware vSphere and virtualization technologies.