Using VCHA (vCenter High Availability) in vSphere 6.5

A vCenter HA cluster consists of three vCenter Server Appliance instances. The first instance, initially used as the Active node, is cloned twice to a Passive node and to a Witness node. Together, the three nodes provide an active-passive failover solution.

Deploying each of the nodes on a different ESXi instance protects against hardware failure. Adding the three ESXi hosts to a DRS cluster can further protect your environment.

When vCenter HA configuration is complete, only the Active node has an active management interface (public IP). The three nodes communicate over a private network called vCenter HA network that is set up as part of configuration. The Active node and the Passive node are continuously replicating data.

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vCenter HA Nodes

Node	Description
Active	■ Runs the active vCenter Server Appliance instance ■ Uses a public IP address for the management interface ■ Uses the vCenter HA network for replication of data to the Passive node. ■ Uses the vCenter HA network to communicate with the Witness node.
Passive	■ Is initially a clone of the Active node ■ Constantly receives updates from and synchronizes state with the Active node over the vCenter HA network ■ Automatically takes over the role of the Active node if a failure occurs
Witness	■ Is a lightweight clone of the Active node ■ Provides a quorum to protect against a split-brain situations

Configuring vCenter HA Steps
1. Select vCenter > Configure Tab > vCenter HA > Configure 

2. Choose either Basic or Advanced Option

3. Configure IP details

4. Configure Deployment Configuration for Passive and witness node

5. Review your Configuration and Click on Finish

6. Once Enabled you can check the status under Configure Tab

If you want to test the failover, click on Initiate Failover.

For more Info refer vCenter HA Performance and Best Practices Whitepaper