VM-Host Affinitiy Rule

As we all know that we have two type of VM-Host Affinity Rule. This rules tell whether or not a group of VMs can run on Specified DRS group 1. Mandatory Rules (Must) 2. Preferred Rules (Should) Mandatory Rules: It is must rule for HA, DRS and DPM, so when a VM is placed in ESX host specified in the DRS group it prevent VM from running on them. Preferred Rules : It is a preferred rule for DRS and DPM and it will try his best by not running the VM in ESX host specified in the DRS group but HA would restart the VM on the other host in DRS group in case of a host failure. Below table summarize which rule is respected by HA, DRS and DPM Rule Type VMHost Affinity Should run on hosts in group Must run on hosts in group Anti-Affinity Should not run on hosts in group Must not run on hosts in group DRS No Yes DPM No Yes HA No Yes

So now the question is how HA Know which VMs are specified in Must rule?? Well we know HA maintains a compatlist file which contains the protected VMs list and their compatible hosts. The file is located under /etc/opt/vmware/fdm/