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NAKIVO Real-Time Replication
Your replicas run every hour. A failure at 3:59 shouldn’t cost you 59 minutes of work — NAKIVO Real-Time Replication streams every write from your VMware VMs to a journal on a target host, at an RPO you set from 1 second, and fails them over from a Site Recovery job — at a published per-VM price.
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Same software. Better outcome — at a lower cost.
How it’s rated
Full scoreboard ↓Quick answer
The NAKIVO platform family
This page covers NAKIVO Real-Time Replication — the separately licensed VMware CDP add-on, subscription or perpetual. The rest:
Quick facts
30-second orientation- Product
- Journal-based continuous replication for VMware vSphere VMs
- Maker
- NAKIVO, Inc., Sparks, Nevada; founded 2012 by Bruce Talley and Sergei Serdyuk
- Status
- Beta from v10.10 (Oct 2023); generally available since v11.1 (Oct 2025)
- Price
- $2.95 per VMware VM a month (1-year) or $2.35 (3-year); $550 per socket perpetual
- Licence
- Its own SKUs; bought alone or with Backup & Replication; not in Pro editions
- Platforms
- VMware vSphere 7.0–9.1 only; VMFS, vSAN, vVols and NFS datastores
- Recovery
- RPO set from 1 second to 1 hour; RTO of 5 minutes or less is NAKIVO’s claim
- Journal
- History from 1 hour to 30 days, journal capacity up to 20 TB
- India
- NAKIVO hosts no data; the target vSphere host sits wherever you place it
- In India via
- TechBag — DR design, quote in INR with GST, first test failover
Understand real-time replication before you buy it
Most product pages skip this. We start here — so you buy a capability, not a buzzword.
What is real-time replication?
Real-time replication copies every disk write as it happens, so a failover can start from seconds ago instead of the last scheduled run.
Hourly replicas and a restore plan vs NAKIVO Real-Time Replication — the honest table
What consolidation actually replaces, dimension by dimension.
| Dimension | Hourly replicas and a restore plan | NAKIVO Real-Time Replication |
|---|---|---|
| Data lost in a disaster | Everything since the last replica run | As little as the RPO you set, down to 1 second |
| Picking a restore point | Whichever nightly copy is clean | Any point in a journal up to 30 days long |
| Proving the DR plan | A once-a-year test with downtime | Test-mode failover from a Site Recovery job |
| Licensing the fast tier | A separate CDP vendor on a quote | A listed per-VM add-on in the same console |
| Where replicas live | Wherever the old DR contract put them | A vSphere host you choose, in India or abroad |
| What it is NOT | — | Backup, a hosted DR site, or non-VMware cover |
The cheapest test is one VM: replicate it in real time to a spare ESXi host, run a test-mode failover, and time it against your RTO.
The five pieces of the platform
Vendors love diagrams; buyers need to know what they’re actually operating. Here’s the whole platform, demystified.
I/O Filter
A vSphere I/O filter on each source host catches disk writes as they happen and skips unused and deleted blocks, so no agent runs inside the protected VM.
Journal
The target Transporter runs as a vSphere appliance with the Journal Service, which logs each write and keeps 1 hour to 30 days of history, up to 20 TB.
Modes
Rollback mode writes changes to the replica and saves old data in the journal; roll-forward holds changes in the journal and merges them in later.
Director
The same web console as Backup & Replication runs RTR jobs, and since v11.1 a Site Recovery action fails RTR replicas over in test or production mode.
An I/O filter on every source host and a journal on the target — VMware replicas kept seconds behind production.
Nine capabilities. Replicate, orchestrate, recover.
NAKIVO Real-Time Replication keeps a VMware replica seconds behind production, at a price you can read.
Writes copied as they happen
Each change on the source VM is sent to the target journal straight away, with no snapshot schedule between copies.
An RPO you choose per job
Set the recovery point objective anywhere from 1 second to 1 hour, so critical VMs get the tightest setting and others less.
Survives a dropped link
If the WAN link breaks, changes are cached locally on the source side and sent once the connection returns, AES-256 encrypted.
Filter and journal set up for you
Since v11.1 the I/O filter and Journal Service install automatically on the source host and target appliance when a job is made.
Failover inside a DR workflow
A dedicated RTR failover action sits in Site Recovery jobs beside start-VM, script, email and wait steps, run in order.
Rehearse without an outage
Run the same failover in test mode to check the replica boots and the plan holds, while production keeps running.
Pick a second, not a night
The journal records every disk write, so you can fail over to a point just before corruption or an attack began.
Hardware changes follow along
New disks and changed CPU or memory settings on the source VM are replicated too, so the replica matches what it stands in for.
VMFS, vSAN, vVols or NFS
Replicas can live on any of the four common vSphere datastore types, on site for speed or offsite for a regional loss.
Watch NAKIVO Real-Time Replication in action
Setting up a real-time replication job in the GA release, the earlier beta-era wizard, and NAKIVO’s 2023 beta introduction. All from NAKIVO’s official channel.
How to Set Up Real-Time Replication for VMware vSphere VMs
Creating an RTR job in the GA release, with the filter and journal deployed automatically.
How to Set Up Real-Time Data Replication for VMware VMs with NAKIVO Backup & Replication
The job wizard as it looked in mid-2024, before GA; the RPO and journal settings still apply.
Real-Time Replication for VMware with NAKIVO Backup & Replication
NAKIVO’s October 2023 introduction to the feature, recorded while it was still a beta.
Want a live, India-context walkthrough for your environment?
Book a guided demo →Scheduled replicas are only as fresh as the last run. RTR keeps VMware replicas seconds behind.
Here’s what genuinely sets it apart — and exactly where it stops.
Recovery points a second apart, at a list price
Scheduled replication loses everything since the last run. RTR streams each write to a journal, so you can set an RPO as low as 1 second and keep up to 30 days of points. Unlike most CDP-class tools it carries a public price: $2.95 per VMware VM a month on a 1-year term, or $550 per socket perpetual.
Inside the console you may already run
RTR is managed from the same NAKIVO Director as Backup & Replication, and since v11.1 its failover is an action inside Site Recovery jobs, next to backup, replication and script steps. One team can run nightly backup, scheduled replicas and second-level replication for the few VMs that need it from one place.
Rewind past an attack or a bad change
Because the journal records every write, a failover can target the moment before ransomware started encrypting or a patch broke a database. NAKIVO quotes an RTO of 5 minutes or less in its datasheet; treat that as a claim and time a test-mode failover on your own VMs before you rely on it.
Where it stops
It is VMware vSphere 7.0–9.1 only: no Hyper-V, Proxmox, Nutanix AHV, EC2 or physical servers. It is not in the Pro editions, it was GA only in October 2025, and NAKIVO documents no RTR-specific failback action. It is not backup either; the journal holds 30 days at most, and the target site is yours to build.
The numbers behind the platform
What your NAKIVO Real-Time Replication rollout looks like
Pick the VMs that need seconds
List the VMs where an hour of lost data hurts, confirm they run on vSphere 7.0–9.1, and set an RPO for each one.
Choose the target and licence
Pick a target ESXi host in your Indian site, a colo or an MSP, then a 1 or 3-year term or perpetual, in 5-VM packs.
Deploy and size the journal
Create the first RTR job so the filter and Journal Service deploy, sync clocks, and size the journal on change rate.
Run a test-mode failover
Build a Site Recovery job with the RTR failover action, run it in test mode, and time the result against your RTO.
Write the failback and drill
Document how you will return to the source, since no RTR failback action is listed, and schedule quarterly tests.
The review scoreboard
Modelled on Gartner Peer Insights structure. *Counts and breakdowns are illustrative pending verified review collection.
Quick poll — what’s driving your evaluation?
Talk to an advisor“We run 18 VMs on RTR at a 5-second RPO and the rest on hourly replicas. The licence split kept the budget sane.”
“The I/O filter installed itself when we created the first job. The old beta needed manual steps; this took one afternoon.”
“A bad ERP patch corrupted the database. We failed over to a point 40 seconds before the update ran and were back by lunch.”
“Size the journal on change rate. Our SQL server churned through a 7-day journal far faster than the file servers did.”
“Half our estate moved to Proxmox last year, and RTR does not follow it there. Those VMs are back on scheduled replication.”
“A published per-VM price let us compare it with CDP quotes before any sales call. The 5-VM packs fit our small estate.”
Where everyone sits — the grids
Analyst firms bury this view behind paywalls, and G2 retired its Grid. So here’s TechBag’s synthesis of the disaster recovery market — tap any vendor to see why it sits where it does.
TechBag Disaster Recovery Grid
Execution strength vs product vision — the classic market map, minus the paywall.
$2.95 per VMware VM a month (1-year); $550 per socket perpetual.
Price Transparency × Replication Depth
A grid no vendor prints — pricing you can see before talking to sales, plotted against recovery freshness and orchestration.
Public per-VM price; 1-second RPO floor, Site Recovery failover action.
Positions are TechBag’s illustrative synthesis of public review-platform data and vendor documentation — not a reproduction of any analyst graphic. Verify before relying on it.
NAKIVO Real-Time Replication vs the continuous replication field
Against HPE Zerto Software, Veeam CDP, VMware Live Recovery, Azure Site Recovery and Cohesity SiteContinuity — on RPO, failover, failback, price, ransomware defence, support and India.
| Dimension | NAKIVO Real-Time Replication | HPE Zerto Software | Veeam CDP | VMware Live Recovery | Azure Site Recovery | Cohesity SiteContinuity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | VMware CDP add-on | CDP-first DR software | CDP in the backup suite | Broadcom’s vSphere DR | Microsoft’s DR service | DR on Cohesity |
| Deployment | Filter + journal VA | Appliances per site | Software you run | Appliances by vCenter | Delivered from Azure | Cohesity clusters |
| Workloads covered | vSphere 7.0–9.1 only | VMs and clouds; no AHV | Into vSphere only | vSphere VMs | Azure, VMware, Hyper-V | CDP for VMware only |
| Replication and RPO | Set 1 s to 1 hour | Seconds, 30-day journal | Seconds, 168 h of points | 5 min; less is add-on | 5-minute points | Near-zero, VMware |
| Orchestration and tests | Site Recovery action | Plans, VPGs, sandbox | Runbooks need Premium | Plans with re-IP, tests | Plans of up to 100 | App-level runbooks |
| Failback | Not documented for RTR | Reverse Protect | Documented failback | Reprotect, then return | Back, with a caveat | Documented failback |
| Pricing model | Per VM or per socket | Per protected VM | Per workload (VUL) | No list price; quoted | Per instance, monthly | Capacity, on quote |
| Published entry price | $2.95/VM/month | No list price | ~$350–450 a year | Not published | $25/instance/month | Quote only |
| Included vs add-on | Add-on; not in Pro | Vault needs ARE | CDP in every edition | Short RPO costs extra | Target billed apart | Second site is yours |
| Ransomware defence | Rewind by the second | Encryption detection | Hardened repos, scans | vSAN snapshots add-on | Copies what is written | Immutable, threat-aware |
| India DR site | Your vSphere host | Wherever you send it | Your own vSphere site | A second vSphere site | Four Indian regions | Your cluster or AWS |
| Support | 24/7 on subscription | HPE Tech Care | 24/7, 1-hour Sev 1 | 24x7, 30-min Sev 1 | Paid Azure plans | 24x7, 1-hour P1 |
| Lock-in and exit | VMware at both ends | Native VMs at target | Licence moves with VMs | vSphere, tied to VCF | Azure as the target | Cohesity on both ends |
| Best fit | VMware SMB and mid-size | Broad, ordered DR | Existing Veeam shops | VCF estates | Azure-bound estates | Cohesity customers |
Which approach fits you?
Honest fit signals — because the fastest way to lose your trust is to pretend one product wins every scenario.
Choose NAKIVO Real-Time Replication if…
- ✓A handful of VMware VMs need an RPO of seconds, and you want a published per-VM price before talking to sales
- ✓You already run NAKIVO Backup & Replication at an Enterprise level and want CDP in the same console
- ✓You need to roll back to the second before an attack or a bad change, with test failovers that need no outage
Compare alternatives if…
- ✓You need failover to Azure or AWS — Zerto covers both, and Azure Site Recovery is native to Azure
- ✓You already license Veeam — CDP is in every Veeam Data Platform edition you might own
- ✓You need a documented failback runbook for continuous replicas — Zerto, VMware Live Recovery and Cohesity document one
Do not expect…
- ✓Protection for Hyper-V, Proxmox, Nutanix AHV, EC2 or physical servers
- ✓A NAKIVO-hosted DR site, or backup-length retention beyond 30 days
- ✓A Gartner Magic Quadrant placement — NAKIVO has honorable mentions only
NAKIVO Real-Time Replication is one of 27 disaster recovery products TechBag carries. The Disaster Recovery guide narrows them to a shortlist and shows the reasoning. →
What does losing an hour of VMware data cost you?
Drag the sliders (VMware VMs you protect; IT staff-hour cost). Estimates model the staff time spent re-entering data lost between scheduled replicas and running failovers by hand, at an assumed 1.5 hours per VM a year, with 70% of it saved by a seconds-level journal and Site Recovery failover. Both figures are assumptions. Illustrative.
Loaded cost = salary + overheads per productive hour. Illustrative only — your TechBag quote models your actual environment and modules.
Three ways to consume it
Published. Real-Time Replication is its own licence, sold in 5-VM packs at Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise or Enterprise Plus level and never in the Pro editions. The Enterprise Essentials subscription lists at $2.95 per VMware VM a month on a 1-year term ($35 a year) or $2.35 on 3 years, billed annually upfront for 5–50 VMs with 24/7 support. Perpetual is $550 per CPU socket with a year of business-hours support. Prices are suggested retail and exclude GST; larger estates are quoted. NAKIVO shows no rupee price. TechBag sizes your VM list first, then quotes in INR with GST.
Subscription
Best for a few critical VMs on a budget
- $2.95 per VM a month, 1-year term
- $2.35 per VM a month on 3 years
- 5-VM packs, 5–50 VMs, 24/7 support
+ Platform add-ons
Best for a broader rollout
- Scoped to your estate
- Add-on modules as needed
- Phased, right-sized deployment
Perpetual
Best for dense hosts that rarely change
- $550 per CPU socket, Enterprise Essentials
- 2–6 sockets in the Essentials tier
- 1 year of business-hours support
Buy it for less — TechBag pricing beats list
Whatever the list prices above, TechBag negotiates a significantly better deal — with GST-compliant INR invoicing and local support. Ask us for your discounted quote.
Get an India-ready quote
Tell us your requirements and current tools — we’ll model it against what you spend today.
The 8 questions to ask every vendor
Take this into your next vendor call — including ours.
Which VMs truly need an RPO of seconds? Licence RTR only for those and keep the rest on scheduled replication.
Are all chosen VMs on vSphere 7.0–9.1? Physical servers, EC2, AHV, Proxmox and Hyper-V get no coverage.
Is your NAKIVO licence at Enterprise Essentials or above? RTR is not sold in the Pro or Pro Essentials editions.
Which vSphere host receives the replicas — your own Indian site, a colo or an MSP? NAKIVO hosts none.
How many days of history do you need, up to 30, and how much of the 20 TB journal will your change rate use?
Can the WAN link carry your peak write rate? A slow link stretches the real RPO past the one you set.
How will you return to the source after a failover? NAKIVO documents no RTR-specific failback action.
Is the NAKIVO Director on v11.0.2 or later? CVE-2024-48248 is on CISA’s exploited list; v11.2.3 is current.
Questions buyers ask
Ready to evaluate NAKIVO Real-Time Replication?
List the VMs that cannot lose an hour of data first, or let a TechBag advisor size the journal, pick an Indian target host and quote the 5-VM packs in INR.
Stats, ratings, review counts and pricing are illustrative and sourced from public materials; verify before purchase.