📝 Note
The availability of this feature may be limited based on the license type, region, and other criteria. To access this feature, contact support.
The Isolated Recovery Environment (IRE) is a dedicated vCenter instance for Cyber Recovery restores and Live Recovery validation. It provides a secure environment to test and recover workloads without impacting your production systems. For more information, see Cyber Resiliency Plans documentation.
License Requirements
This feature is only available for VMware environments. Your available recovery plans depend on your specific SKU:
Advanced Ransomware Recovery SKU: Includes the Live Incident Recovery Plan.
Premium Security SKU: Includes both the Scheduled Cyber Recovery Testing (SCRT) Plan and the Live Incident Recovery Plan.
Recovery operations are managed via plans. These are automated instruction sets that handle VM restoration. Recovery types include:
Scheduled Recovery: Periodic, automated restores for compliance and readiness testing.
Live Recovery: On-demand restores for immediate validation or active recovery scenarios.
Key benefits
Provides a dedicated, separate space to run recovery plans during a security incident.
Supports a secure, air-gapped setup to minimize the risk of reinfection.
Allows teams to verify that the recovered data and systems are clean before reintroducing them into production.
❗ Important
It is mandatory to select an isolated vCenter (IRE) when performing a Live Recovery using Recovery Plans.
How to mark a vCenter as an Isolated Recovery Environment
Log in to the Management Console.
From the top menu bar, select your organization if organizations are enabled.
Click Protect > VMware.
The All vCenter/ESXi Hosts page appears that lists all the registered vCenter/hypervisors.
Locate the vCenter you wish to isolate.
Click the actions menu (three dots) next to the vCenter and select Set as Isolated Recovery Environment.
Review the information in the confirmation modal and click Save.
Once marked, a label, Isolated Recovery Environment, will be displayed next to the vCenter in both the table and detail views.
How to revert an isolated vCenter to Production
Log in to the Management Console.
From the top menu bar, select your organization if organizations are enabled.
Click Protect > VMware.
The All vCenter/ESXi Hosts page appears that lists all the registered vCenter/hypervisors.
Click the actions menu (three dots) next to the vCenter and select Remove as Isolated Recovery Environment.
Review the information in the confirmation modal and click Save.
📝 Notes
Ensure all cyber recovery processes are complete before removing isolation.
Once isolation is removed, the vCenter returns to standard operations.
Backup schedules and auto-configuration rules can be re-enabled for all VMs within this vCenter.