Hyper-V Replication failover issue with extended replica

Question

Good day

I have 2 hyper-v servers on-site and an extended at a remote site running 2019 Datacenter
To try to fix an issue on 1 of the VM's I made a planned failover from Hyper-V 1 to Hyper-V 2 that are on both on the same site.

Now that the issue was fixed, I wanted to move it back to Hyper-V server 1 but saw things I didn't like and not too sure how to bring back the VM to server 1

When I look at server 1 the machine is off and the Replication shows critical (replication health is telling me that replication is paused) and my only options are resume replication, view replication health and remove replication.
Server 2 shows replication OK but to my extended replication at an external site and my options are planned failover, pause replication, view replication health, remove replication.

Since the VM has been moved for close to a week and has crucial data on it, i'm not too sure if i choose resume replication from server 1 is the good option to bring it back and would delete the live data running from the server 2 for a week.
Other option I was thinking is to cancel replication between all servers take the vhdx files from server 2 to 1, then redo the failover from 1 to 2 and extended off-site

Thanks for the help

Answer 1

Hello:

Thank you for your letter!

According to your descriptions, I guess that the two servers of your replica may be currently out of sync. At this time, you may experience data loss when you perform resume replication. Therefore, it is suggested that you use the method you mentioned to deal with your issue:

Remove the original replication, take the vhdx files from server 2 to 1 and redo the failover from 1 to 2 and extended off-site. Besides, you can use live migration to take your vhdx files from server 1 to 2 if you want to move your VMs without perceived downtime. More information about live migration:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/manage/live-migration-overview

In addition, in view of your Relica "critical" issue, you can also query the error information related to replica pause in the Event viewer: Event Viewer>> Application and Services Logs >>Microsoft >>Windows >>Hyper-V-VMMS, and click on Admin.

After you check the error message, you can troubleshoot your problem according to the following article:
https://www.altaro.com/hyper-v/how-to-check-hyper-v-replica-health-part-2/
(Note: Information posted in the given link is hosted by a third party. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy and effectiveness of information.)

Thank you for your time!

Best regards
Joann

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