VCP-DCV vSphere Architecture, Products and Solutions Practice Question
A vSphere administrator needs to ensure that a critical VM restarts automatically if the ESXi host fails. Which feature should be configured?
⚠ Common exam trap
VCP-DCV often tests the distinction between HA (restart after failure) and FT (continuous availability), catching candidates who pick FT for simple restart requirements or confuse DRS with HA.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
vSphere HA
vSphere HA (High Availability) is specifically designed to automatically restart VMs on another host in the cluster if the original ESXi host fails. It monitors host and VM health and provides rapid recovery without manual intervention. This directly meets the requirement for automatic restart after host failure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
vSphere vMotion
Why it's wrong here
vMotion migrates a running VM between hosts for planned maintenance or load balancing; it does not restart VMs after an unplanned host failure. It is tempting because vMotion is the headline vSphere availability feature, and it would be correct when the requirement is to move a live VM without downtime.
- ✓
vSphere HA
Why this is correct
vSphere HA continuously monitors ESXi hosts and restarts their VMs on surviving hosts in the cluster after a host failure. This directly satisfies the requirement for automatic VM restart, which DRS alone does not provide.
- ✗
vSphere DRS
Why it's wrong here
DRS balances CPU and memory load across hosts in a running cluster; it does not restart VMs after host failure. vSphere HA performs that restart. DRS is the right feature when the goal is automated initial placement and ongoing load balancing.
- ✗
vSphere Fault Tolerance
Why it's wrong here
vSphere Fault Tolerance maintains a live shadow instance on a second host, providing continuous availability with zero downtime and no restart. The scenario requires automatic restart after host failure, which vSphere HA delivers. Fault Tolerance suits workloads needing uninterrupted execution, such as trading systems, where even brief downtime is unacceptable.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 281 original VCP-DCV practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official VMware exam blueprint
This VCP-DCV practice question is part of Courseiva's free VMware certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the VCP-DCV exam.