--- canonical: "https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/vm-ha-vs-application-ha/" llms_index: "https://safekit.eviden.com/llms.txt" llms_section: "Key Concepts & Educational Content" topics: "VM HA vs. Application HA: Choose Your Redundancy Level with SafeKit, SafeKit Proposes Both SANless VM-Level and Application-Level High Availability, 🔍 SafeKit High Availability Navigation Hub" --- # VM HA vs. Application HA: Choose Your Redundancy Level with SafeKit ## SafeKit Proposes Both SANless VM-Level and Application-Level High Availability [🧑 Contact us](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/contact-us-for-safekit/) [🎁 SafeKit free trial](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/safekit-free-trial/) [🏅 Free certification](https://training.my.evidian.com/mod/page/view.php?id=712) [💰 Perpetual license cost](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/get-a-quote-safekit-en/) ### VM HA vs Application HA | | | | --- | --- | | **VM HA with the SafeKit Hyper-V or KVM module** | **Application HA with SafeKit application modules** | | SafeKit inside 2 hypervisors VM HAVM HA SafeKit replication and failover of full VM | SafeKit inside 2 virtual or physical machines Application HAApplication HA SafeKit replication and failover at application level | | Replicates more data (App+OS) | Replicates only application data | | Reboot of VM on hypervisor 2 if hypervisor 1 crashes Recovery time = time to reboot the VM Failover if a VM crashes | Quick recovery time with restart of App on OS2 if crash of server 1 Around 1 mn or less ([see RTO/RPO here](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/what-is-rpo-and-rto-with-examples/)) Advanced application checker and software failover | | Define the location of the VM files folder where the application is installed. Generic solution for any application / OS | Define services to restart, application folders to replicate, a virtual IP address for failover inside an [application module](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/cluster-configuration/) | | The solution works with [Hyper-V](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/hyper-v-replication-automatic-failover-load-balancing/) and [KVM](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/linux-kvm-high-availability-replication-automatic-failover-load-balancing/) but not with VMware (except by nesting Hyper-V or KVM inside VMware) | The solution works in any infrastructure (physical servers, VMware Hyper-V KVM virtual machines, cloud...) | ### SafeKit vs Microsoft Hyper-V Cluster & VMware HA | | | | --- | --- | | **SafeKit with the Hyper-V module or the KVM module** | **Microsoft Hyper-V Cluster & VMware HA** | | SafeKit with Hyper-VSafeKit with Hyper-V | VMware HA and Hyper-V clusterVMware HA and Hyper-V cluster | | * No shared disk - [synchronous real-time replication instead with no data loss](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/synchronous-replication-vs-asynchronous-replication/) | * Shared disk and specific extenal bay of disk | | * Remote sites = no SAN for replication | * Remote sites = replicated bays of disk across a SAN or vSAN | | * No specific IT skill to configure the system * Failover if the VM crashes | * Specific IT skills to configure the system | Note that SafeKit solutions are the simplest to implement but are **limited to replication of [a few Tera-bytes](#usage) and failover of [32 VMs](#usage)**. ## 🔍 SafeKit High Availability Navigation Hub Explore SafeKit: Features, technical videos, documentation, and free trial | Resource Type | Description | Direct Link | | --- | --- | --- | | **Key Features** | Why Choose SafeKit for Simple and Cost-Effective High Availability? | [See Why Choose SafeKit for High Availability](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#why-choose-safekit-for-ha "Discover SafeKit features for simple and cost-effective high availability") | | **Use Cases** | Explore How SafeKit Ensures the High Availability of Critical Infrastructure | [See All Use Cases (OEM Software, Edge Servers, SCADA, and more)](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-use-cases "Explore SafeKit high availability use cases") | | **Deployment Model** | All-in-One SANless HA: Shared-Nothing Software Clustering | [See SafeKit All-in-One SANless HA](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#all-in-one-sanless-ha "Learn about all-in-one SANless high availability with shared-nothing software clustering") | | **HA Strategies** | SafeKit: Infrastructure (VM) vs. Application-Level High Availability | [See SafeKit HA & Redundancy: VM vs. Application Level](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-redundancy-choices "Compare VM-level redundancy with SafeKit application-level high availability strategies") | | **Technical Specifications** | Technical Limitations for SafeKit Clustering | [See SafeKit High Availability Limitations](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-limitations "Technical requirements and limitations for SafeKit application clustering") | | **Proof of Concept** | SafeKit: High Availability Configuration & Failover Demos | [See SafeKit Failover Tutorials](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-failover-tutorials "Step-by-step videos on SafeKit high availability, from installation to automated failover") | | **Architecture** | How the SafeKit Mirror Cluster works (Real-Time Replication & Failover) | [See SafeKit Mirror Cluster: Real-Time Replication & Failover](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-mirror-cluster "See technical architecture and failover mechanism of SafeKit Mirror Cluster") | | **Architecture** | How the SafeKit Farm Cluster works (Network Load Balancing & Failover) | [See SafeKit Farm Cluster: Network Load Balancing & Failover](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-farm-cluster "Technical overview of SafeKit Farm Cluster architecture with network load balancing") | | **Competitive Advantages** | Comparison: SafeKit vs. Traditional High Availability (HA) Clusters | [See SafeKit vs. Traditional HA Cluster Comparison](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-comparison "Detailed comparison of SafeKit software vs traditional hardware-based HA clusters") | | **Technical Resources** | SafeKit High Availability: Documentation, Downloads & Trial | [See SafeKit HA Free Trial & Technical Documentation](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-technical-resources "Access SafeKit free trial, technical documentation, and high availability white papers") | | **Pre-configured Solutions** | SafeKit Application Module Library: Ready-to-Use HA Solutions | [See SafeKit High Availability Application Modules](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/#safekit-ha-application-modules "Browse the library of pre-configured SafeKit modules for automated application failover") | [🧑 Contact us](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/contact-us-for-safekit/) [🎁 SafeKit free trial](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/safekit-free-trial/) [🏅 Free certification](https://training.my.evidian.com/mod/page/view.php?id=712) [💰 Perpetual license cost](https://safekit.eviden.com/products/high-availability-software-for-application-clustering/get-a-quote-safekit-en/)