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With vmware and virtualisation it seems common to have both a cluster setup (high availability) and then also replicate all systems from a production SAN to a DR SAN. As I am not a network tech I am a bit confused how and what each is protecting against. <br />
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Is the cluster setup in your production SAN to protect against certain types of failure, and the DR SAN to protect against different types of failure? Can you give a laymans guide to what kind of disasters the local cluster setup saves you from - and what the DR SAN replicated setup saves you from?<br />
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I wasnt sure if you can have an overly complex setup, whereby if production host XYZ goes down, does another host in the cluster kick in to save the day - or does the repliated server on the DR SAN kick in to save the day? I assume the cluster and replicated copy are designed for specific types of failure - but I wasnt sure what.
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With vmware and virtualisation it seems common to have both a cluster setup (high availability) and then also replicate all systems from a production SAN to a DR SAN. As I am not a network tech I am a bit confused how and what each is protecting against. 

Is the cluster setup in your production SAN to protect against certain types of failure, and the DR SAN to protect against different types of failure? Can you give a laymans guide to what kind of disasters the local cluster setup saves you from - and what the DR SAN replicated setup saves you from?

I wasnt sure if you can have an overly complex setup, whereby if production host XYZ goes down, does another host in the cluster kick in to save the day - or does the repliated server on the DR SAN kick in to save the day? I assume the cluster and replicated copy are designed for specific types of failure - but I wasnt sure what.

clustering and replication

VMware, a software company founded in 1998,  was one of the first commercially successful companies to offer x86 virtualization. The storage company EMC purchased VMware in 1994. Dell Technologies acquired EMC in 2016. VMware’s parent company is now Dell Technologies.

VMware has many software products that run on desktops, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, which allows the virtualizing of the x86 architecture.  Its enterprise software hypervisor for servers, VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), is a bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on the server hardware and does not require an additional underlying operating system.

VMware

Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including (but not limited to) a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources. Virtualization is usually the creation of a system that executes separate from the underlying hardware resources, or the creation of an entire desktop for systems located elsewhere, similar to thin clients.

Virtualization

Disaster Recovery is the planning for and creation of policies and procedures related to the resumption or continuation of an organization's functions following a catastrophic event. The term is most frequently used in relation to failure of networks, but DR preparations also include other business systems and personnel considerations.