Learn Editor: Update deploy-zerto-disaster-recovery.md

smanic2 · smanic2 · commit f804a2c351ae · 2026-01-13T14:43:51.000-08:00
diff --git a/articles/azure-vmware/deploy-zerto-disaster-recovery.md b/articles/azure-vmware/deploy-zerto-disaster-recovery.md
@@ -10,45 +10,57 @@ ms.custom: engagement-fy23
 
 # Deploy Zerto disaster recovery on Azure VMware Solution
 
-> [!IMPORTANT]
-> ### Zerto limitations on Azure VMware Solution
-> - AV64 node types are supported in Zerto version 10.0.8 for Azure VMware Solution Gen1. [Deploy Zerto](https://help.zerto.com/bundle/Install.AVS.HTML.10.8/page/deploying_zerto_10_8_on_azure_vmware_solution_avs_.html)
-> - DNS and network configuration changes for Zerto Virtual Machine aren't supported after installation.
-> - Azure resource group modifications aren't supported after Zerto installation.
-
-> [!Note]
-> ### Known Issues with Zerto on Azure VMware Solution
-> - Virtual Machine(s) replications may be disrupted during Azure VMware Solution upgrade maintenance.
-> - Virtual Machine(s) replications may be disrupted during Azure VMware Solution host replacement maintenance.
-> - For other Zerto related know issues [Click here](https://help.zerto.com/bundle/Install.AVS.HTML.10.0_U5/page/known_issues_and_limitations.html)
+## Prerequisites
+**On‑Premises VMware to Azure VMware Solution (AVS) Disaster Recovery**
+- An Azure VMware Solution private cloud deployed in the designated secondary region
+- VPN or ExpressRoute connectivity between the on‑premises datacenter and Azure VMware Solution
 
-In this article, learn how to implement disaster recovery for on-premises VMware or Azure VMware Solution-based virtual machines (VMs). The solution in this article uses [Zerto disaster recovery](https://www.zerto.com/solutions/use-cases/disaster-recovery/). Instances of Zerto are deployed at both the protected and the recovery sites.
+**Azure VMware Solution to Azure VMware Solution Disaster Recovery**
+- AVS private clouds deployed in both primary and secondary regions
+- Connectivity, like ExpressRoute Global Reach, between the source and target Azure VMware Solution private cloud.
 
-Zerto is a disaster recovery solution designed to minimize downtime of VMs should a disaster occur. Zerto's platform is built on the foundation of Continuous Data Protection (CDP) that enables minimal or close to no data loss. The platform provides the level of protection wanted for many business-critical and mission-critical enterprise applications. Zerto also automates and orchestrates failover and failback to ensure minimal downtime in a disaster. Overall, Zerto simplifies management through automation and ensures fast and highly predictable recovery times.
+**Azure VMware Solution IaaS VMs to Cloud Disaster Recovery**
+- Network connectivity, ExpressRoute based, from Azure VMware Solution to the virtual network used for disaster recovery.
+- Follow the [Zerto Virtual Replication Azure Quickstart Guide](https://help.zerto.com/bundle/Install.MA.HTML.10.0_U1/page/Prerequisites_Requirements_Microsoft_Azure_Environments.htm) for all remaining prerequisites and configuration steps.
 
 ## Core components of the Zerto platform
 
 | Component | Description |
 | --- | --- |
-| **Zerto Virtual Manager Appliance (ZVMA)**   | ZVMA is a management appliance that runs on a secure Linux operating system. The ZVMA enables Day 0 and Day 2 disaster recovery configuration. For example, configuring primary and disaster recovery sites, protecting VMs, recovering VMs, and so on. However, it doesn't handle the replication data of the protected customer Virtual Machines.     |
+| **Zerto Virtual Manager Appliance (ZVML)**   | ZVMA is a management appliance that runs on a secure Linux operating system. The ZVMA enables Day 0 and Day 2 disaster recovery configuration. For example, configuring primary and disaster recovery sites, protecting VMs, recovering VMs, and so on. However, it doesn't handle the replication data of the protected customer Virtual Machines.     |
 | **Virtual Replication appliance (vRA)**   | Linux VM to handle data replication from the source to the replication target. One instance of vRA is installed per ESXi host, delivering a true scale architecture that grows and shrinks along with the private cloud's hosts. The vRA manages data replication to and from protected VMs to its local or remote target, storing the data in the journal.    |
 | **Zerto ESXi host driver**   | Installed on each VMware ESXi host configured for Zerto disaster recovery. The host driver intercepts a vSphere VM's IO and sends the replication data to the chosen vRA for that host. The vRA is then responsible for replicating the VM's data to one or more disaster recovery targets.    |
-| **Zerto Cloud Appliance (ZCA)**   | Windows VM only used when Zerto is used to recover vSphere VMs as Azure Native IaaS VMs. The ZCA is composed of:<ul><li>**ZVM:** A Windows service that hosts the UI and integrates with the native APIs of Azure for management and orchestration.</li><li>**VRA:** A Windows service that replicates the data from or to Azure.</li></ul>The ZCA integrates natively with the platform it gets deployed on, allowing you to use Azure Blob storage within a storage account on Microsoft Azure. As a result, it ensures the most cost-efficient deployment on each of these platforms.   |
+| **Zerto Cloud Appliance (ZCA)**   | Windows VM only used when Zerto is used to recover vSphere VMs as Azure Native IaaS VMs. The ZCA is composed of:<ul><li>**ZVM:** A Windows service that hosts the UI and integrates with the native APIs of Azure for management and orchestration.</li><li>**VRA:** A Windows service that replicates the data from or to Azure.</li></ul> The ZCA integrates natively with the platform it gets deployed on, allowing you to use Azure Blob storage within a storage account on Microsoft Azure. As a result, it ensures the most cost-efficient deployment on each of these platforms.   |
 | **Virtual Protection Group (VPG)**   | Logical group of VMs created on the ZVM. Zerto allows configuring disaster recovery, Backup, and Mobility policies on a VPG. This mechanism enables a consistent set of policies to be applied to a group of VMs.  |
 
-To learn more about Zerto platform architecture, see the [Zerto Platform Architecture Guide](https://www.zerto.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Zerto-Platform-Architecture-Guide.pdf).
+To learn more about Zerto platform architecture, see the [Zerto Platform Architecture Guide](https://help.zerto.com/bundle/Admin.VC.HTML.10.8/page/The_Zerto_Solution_Architecture.htm).
+
+In this article, learn how to implement disaster recovery for on-premises VMware or Azure VMware Solution-based virtual machines (VMs). The solution in this article uses [Zerto disaster recovery](https://www.zerto.com/solutions/use-cases/disaster-recovery/). Instances of Zerto are deployed at both the protected and the recovery sites.
+
+Zerto is a disaster recovery solution designed to minimize downtime of VMs should a disaster occur. Zerto's platform is built on the foundation of Continuous Data Protection (CDP) that enables minimal or close to no data loss. The platform provides the level of protection wanted for many business-critical and mission-critical enterprise applications. Zerto also automates and orchestrates failover and failback to ensure minimal downtime in a disaster. Overall, Zerto simplifies management through automation and ensures fast and highly predictable recovery times.
 
-## Supported Zerto scenarios
+## Disaster recovery limitations, unsupported, and known issues
+https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-vmware/ecosystem-disaster-recovery-vms#disaster-recovery-limitations-unsupported-and-known-issues
+- AV64 node types are supported in Zerto version 10.0.8 only with VAIO in Gen1. [Deploy Zerto](https://help.zerto.com/bundle/Install.AVS.HTML.10.8/page/deploying_zerto_10_8_on_azure_vmware_solution_avs_.html)
+- DNS and network configuration changes for Zerto Virtual Machine aren't supported after installation.
+- Azure resource group modifications aren't supported after Zerto installation.
+- Virtual Machine(s) replications may be disrupted during Azure VMware Solution upgrade maintenance.
+- Virtual Machine(s) replications may be disrupted during Azure VMware Solution host replacement maintenance.
+- For other Zerto related know issues [Click here](https://help.zerto.com/bundle/Install.AVS.HTML.10.0_U5/page/known_issues_and_limitations.html)
 
-You can use Zerto with Azure VMware Solution for the following three scenarios. 
 
-> [!NOTE]
-> For Azure NetApp Files (ANFs) or Azure Elastic SAN, Azure VMware Solution supports Network File System (NFS) datastores and Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) as a persistent storage options. You can create NFS datastores with Azure NetApp Files volumes or VMFS datastores with Azure Elastic SAN volumes and attach them to clusters of your choice. You can also create virtual machines (VMs) for optimal cost and performance. To use ANF or Elastic SAN datastores, select them as a Recovery Datastore in the Zerto VPG wizard when creating or editing a VPG.
+## Zerto‑Supported external Datastores in Azure VMware Solution (AVS)
 
-> [!TIP]
-> Explore more about ANF and Elastic SAN datastores and how to attach [Azure NetApp datastores to Azure VMware Solution hosts](/azure/azure-vmware/attach-azure-netapp-files-to-azure-vmware-solution-hosts?tabs=azure-portal) and [Azure Elastic SAN datastores to Azure VMware Solution hosts](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-vmware/configure-azure-elastic-san)
+Azure VMware Solution fully supports using Azure NetApp Files (ANF) and Azure Elastic SAN as persistent storage through both Network File System (NFS) and Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) datastores.
+You can provision NFS datastores backed by Azure NetApp Files volumes or VMFS datastores backed by Azure Elastic SAN volumes, then attach them to any AVS cluster as needed. This flexibility allows you to deploy virtual machines with the right balance of performance and cost.
+When configuring Zerto, simply choose your ANF or Elastic SAN datastore as the Recovery Datastore within the VPG creation or editing workflow.
 
+Dive deeper into how these storage options integrate with AVS:
+[Azure NetApp datastores to Azure VMware Solution hosts](/azure/azure-vmware/attach-azure-netapp-files-to-azure-vmware-solution-hosts?tabs=azure-portal) and 
+[Azure Elastic SAN datastores to Azure VMware Solution hosts](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-vmware/configure-azure-elastic-san)
 
+
+## Supported Zerto scenarios in Azure Vmware Solution
 ### Scenario 1: On-premises VMware vSphere to Azure VMware Solution disaster recovery
 
 In this scenario, the primary site is an on-premises vSphere-based environment. The disaster recovery site is an Azure VMware Solution private cloud. 
@@ -67,31 +79,12 @@ In this scenario, the primary site is an Azure VMware Solution private cloud in
 
 :::image type="content" source="media/zerto-disaster-recovery/zerto-disaster-recovery-scenario-3-diagram.png" alt-text="Diagram showing Scenario 3 for the Zerto disaster recovery solution on Azure VMware Solution."lightbox="media/zerto-disaster-recovery/zerto-disaster-recovery-scenario-3-diagram.png":::
 
-## Prerequisites
-
-### On-premises VMware to Azure VMware Solution disaster recovery
-
-- Azure VMware Solution private cloud deployed as a secondary region.
-
-- VPN or ExpressRoute connectivity between on-premises and Azure VMware Solution.
-
-### Azure VMware Solution to Azure VMware Solution cloud disaster recovery
-
-- Azure VMware Solution private cloud must be deployed in the primary and secondary regions.
-
-   :::image type="content" source="media/zerto-disaster-recovery/zerto-disaster-recovery-scenario-2a-prerequisite.png" alt-text="Diagram shows the first prerequisite for Scenario 2 of the Zerto disaster recovery solution on Azure VMware Solution.":::
-
-- Connectivity, like ExpressRoute Global Reach, between the source and target Azure VMware Solution private cloud.
-
-### Azure VMware Solution IaaS VMs cloud disaster recovery
-
-- Network connectivity, ExpressRoute based, from Azure VMware Solution to the virtual network used for disaster recovery.
 
 - Follow the [Zerto Virtual Replication Azure Quickstart Guide](https://help.zerto.com/bundle/Install.MA.HTML.10.0_U1/page/Prerequisites_Requirements_Microsoft_Azure_Environments.htm) for the rest of the prerequisites.
 
 ## Install Zerto on Azure VMware Solution
 
-To deploy Zerto on Azure VMware Solution, follow these [instructions](https://help.zerto.com/bundle/Install.AVS.HTML.10.0_U5/page/zerto_deployment_and_configuration.html).
+To deploy Zerto on Azure VMware Solution, follow these [instructions](https://help.zerto.com/category/AVS).
 
 ## Support
 
@@ -111,6 +104,11 @@ No, Zerto customers should reach out Zerto for all supports related issues inclu
 
 Zerto supports on-premises issues, including site pairing, connectivity.
 
+### Does Zerto supports external datastores for VM replication?
+Azure VMware Solution fully supports using Azure NetApp Files (ANF) and Azure Elastic SAN as persistent storage through both Network File System (NFS) and Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) datastores.
+[Azure NetApp datastores to Azure VMware Solution hosts](/azure/azure-vmware/attach-azure-netapp-files-to-azure-vmware-solution-hosts?tabs=azure-portal) and 
+[Azure Elastic SAN datastores to Azure VMware Solution hosts](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-vmware/configure-azure-elastic-san)
+
 ### Does Zerto supports Static IP configuration in VRA installation?
 
 Zerto strongly recommend installing the VRAs at the cluster level and inputting an IP Pool range of dedicated VRA IPs within the “VRA Network Details”. Allowing Zerto to automatically manage installation of VRAs as cluster changes occur in the Azure VMware Solution environment.
