Clone an image of a VMware VM

Use these instructions to clone an image of a virtual machine.

From the Backup and DR Service management console, click App Manager > Applications.

The Applicationspage opens.
Select the application with the image you want to clone, then choose Accessfrom the dialog list at the right corner of the Applicationspage.

The Accesspage opens listing backup images using the timeline ramp view. Image types that support clone creation include OnVault, snapshot, and remote snapshot—StreamSnap images.
Select an image and then select Clonefrom the list of access operations.

The Clonepage opens.
Enter a name for the VM that you want to clone in VM Name.
Select a vCenter from the VCENTERdrop-down for the VM you want to clone.
Select an ESX host from the Choose Serverdrop-down where you want to clone the VM.
Select a datastore from the Datastoredrop-down that has the required storage available.

Note: A clone is a full copy of the VMware VM written to the specified datastores including all configuration files.
If you need to change the volume provisioning for the clone image for space allocation of the image, specify one of the selections under Provisioning Type.

Note: The management console maintains thin and thick provisioning of the original host while cloning or restoring an image.
- Original Setting: Default provisioning setting of the image.
- Thin: A volume with a virtual capacity that differs from its real capacity—a logical capacity size that is larger than the actual physical capacity that is assigned to the volume.
- Thick: A volume that uses a fully allocated—thick—amount of capacity that is reset to zero prior to new data being written.
- Thick Lazy: A volume that uses a fully allocated—thick—amount of capacity, but only the used space is initially reset to zero. The remaining unallocated space is reset to zero during the first write to that space.
Enter a unique name for the new clone in the Labelfield.
Select a single volume or multiple volumes from Select Volumes To Clone. By default all volumes are selected, and the first volume cannot be deselected. For an individual file system there may be only one volume.

Specify the Datastoreand Provisioning Typefor each volume you want to mount—see steps 9 and 10.

Note: Backup and DR assumes that the first volume of the VM is the boot volume. If the first volume is not the boot volume, contact customer support for assistance.

A job is submitted to clone the image to the selected host.

When the clone job is complete, the image is not available in the Manage active mounts view of the App Manageras it is not dependent on the backup/recovery appliance. The new VM needs to be managed from the vSphere client.

The VMware administrator's guide

This page is one in a series of pages specific to protecting and recovering VMware VMs with Backup and DR. You can find additional information at:

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The VMware administrator's guide

Clone an image of a VMware VM