Introduction

Zerto is a powerful disaster recovery (DR) solution that ensures continuous availability and minimal data loss. However, managing and troubleshooting Zerto environments can be complex, requiring manual efforts to diagnose replication issues, Virtual Protection Group (VPG) failures, and storage inconsistencies.

By leveraging PowerShell and Zerto REST APIs, we can automate troubleshooting, optimize monitoring, and enhance disaster recovery operations.

This post covers:

• Setting up the Zerto PowerShell module
• Common Zerto API calls for troubleshooting
• Automating key tasks like failover testing, log collection, and VPG health checks
• Sample PowerShell scripts for automating Zerto troubleshooting

1. Setting Up Zerto PowerShell Module

Before running any PowerShell scripts, ensure that you have:
✅ Zerto PowerShell Module installed
✅ Zerto API Access enabled
✅ Valid credentials for authentication

1.1 Installing the Zerto PowerShell Module

If you haven’t already installed it, use the following:

Install-Module -Name ZertoPowerShell
Import-Module ZertoPowerShell

1.2 Authenticating with Zerto API via PowerShell

$ZertoServer = "https://zerto-server:9669/v1"  
$Username = "admin"  
$Password = "yourpassword"  

$SecurePassword = ConvertTo-SecureString $Password -AsPlainText -Force  
$Credential = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($Username, $SecurePassword)  

$AuthHeader = @{  
    Authorization = "Bearer $(Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$ZertoServer/session/add" -Method Post -Credential $Credential)"  
}

2. Automating Zerto Troubleshooting with PowerShell

2.1 Checking Virtual Protection Group (VPG) Health

VPGs are critical in Zerto as they define replication consistency groups. Use the following script to check VPG status:

$VPGs = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$ZertoServer/vpgs" -Headers $AuthHeader -Method Get  

foreach ($VPG in $VPGs) {  
    Write-Output "VPG Name: $($VPG.Name) - Status: $($VPG.Status)"  
}

✅ Automates monitoring of VPG status
✅ Helps identify failed or degraded VPGs quickly

2.2 Restarting Virtual Replication Appliances (VRAs)

If a VRA becomes unresponsive, restart it automatically:

$VRAs = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$ZertoServer/vras" -Headers $AuthHeader -Method Get  

foreach ($VRA in $VRAs) {  
    if ($VRA.Status -ne "Running") {  
        Write-Output "Restarting VRA: $($VRA.Name)"  
        Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$ZertoServer/vras/$($VRA.ID)/restart" -Headers $AuthHeader -Method Post  
    }  
}

✅ Detects failed VRAs and restarts them automatically

2.3 Automating Log Collection from Zerto

To analyze failures, automatically retrieve logs from Zerto components:

$LogFiles = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$ZertoServer/logs" -Headers $AuthHeader -Method Get  

foreach ($Log in $LogFiles) {  
    Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$ZertoServer/logs/$($Log.ID)/download" -Headers $AuthHeader -Method Get -OutFile "C:\ZertoLogs\$($Log.Name).log"  
}

✅ Automatically collects Zerto logs for troubleshooting

2.4 Automating Failover Testing

Schedule and execute failover tests using PowerShell:

$FailoverTestParams = @{  
    vpgIdentifier = "Your-VPG-ID"  
    failoverType = "test"  
}  

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$ZertoServer/failovertest/start" -Headers $AuthHeader -Method Post -Body ($FailoverTestParams | ConvertTo-Json)

✅ Automates regular failover testing to validate DR readiness

3. Advanced Troubleshooting & Optimization

3.1 Monitoring Journal Health via API

Zerto uses journaling for point-in-time recovery. This script monitors journal health:

$Journals = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$ZertoServer/journals" -Headers $AuthHeader -Method Get  

foreach ($Journal in $Journals) {  
    Write-Output "Journal: $($Journal.Name) - Size: $($Journal.SizeGB) GB - Retention: $($Journal.RetentionDays) Days"  
}

✅ Ensures journal size is within limits and retention is correct

3.2 Automating Alerts for Zerto Issues

Send automatic email alerts when a VPG is in error state:

$FailedVPGs = $VPGs | Where-Object { $_.Status -ne "OK" }  

if ($FailedVPGs) {  
    $Body = "The following VPGs are in error state: `n" + ($FailedVPGs | Format-Table -AutoSize | Out-String)  
    Send-MailMessage -To "admin@yourdomain.com" -From "zerto-alerts@yourdomain.com" -Subject "Zerto Alert: VPG Issues" -Body $Body -SmtpServer "smtp.yourdomain.com"  
}

✅ Automatically alerts admins about failed VPGs

Conclusion

By leveraging PowerShell and Zerto APIs, we can:
✔ Automate monitoring of VPG health, VRAs, and journals
✔ Automate log collection and failover testing
✔ Proactively troubleshoot issues and send alerts

This approach reduces manual efforts, improves DR response times, and enhances Zerto’s operational efficiency.