Cloning a VM - vCenter

Cloning a VM creates an exact copy of the original VM. It is recommended that you primarily use VM templates to create VMs to ensure the VMs are consistent and maintainable.

To clone a VM, the source VM must be agent-managed. For information about installing the SA Agent, see Installing the SA Agent on a VM and the SA 10.50 User Guide.

1. In the SA Client, select the Virtualization tab to display your virtualization inventory.
2. Navigate to the VM you want to clone.
3. Select the desired VM and right-click or select the Actions menu. Select VM Manage > Clone to display the Virtual Machine Definition window.
4. Virtual Machine Definition: Enter the following information, then select Next.
   • The VM name.
   • Select a customer to assign the VM to. You can select the customer; the default option is the customer assigned to the source VM.
   • The defaults for customer, inventory location, hypervisor, resource pool, and storage location are the same as the source.
   • Verify or change the location in the virtualization inventory where you want to place the new VM.
5. Host: Navigate to and select the Host where you want the new VM to run. Examine the Compatibility Details to make sure the host can support the new VM. Note that compatibility can be checked only if the VM being cloned is powered off.
6. Resource Pool: If the host has resource pools defined, select the resource pool where you want to place the new VM. Examine the Compatibility Details to make sure the resource pool can support the new VM, then select Next. Note that compatibility can be checked only if the VM being cloned is powered off.
7. Storage Location: Select the datastore in which to store the VM configuration file and the VM disk files.
   • Use the drop-down list to select a virtual disk format.
   • In Basic mode, select the datastore where all the VM related files will go (the VM configuration file and the VM disk files).
   • In Advanced mode, you can select different datastores for the VM configuration file and for each of the VM disk files. Select the VM configuration file or any disk, then select the datastore from the drop-down list of available datastores.

   Verify that the specified storage location is compatible with the VM you are creating, then select Next.

8. Guest Customization: Guest customization is strongly recommended so that your new VM does not have any network conflicts with the source VM and to ensure SA agent connectivity. Guest customization is available on agent-managed VMs and templates.

   Guest customization can be used on the following platforms:
   - CentOS 5.8 and above
   - Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (32-bit)
   - Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (64-bit)
   - Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
   - Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (64-bit)
   - Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit)
   - Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit)
   - Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64-bit)
   - Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.8 and above
   - Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and above
   - SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11
   - Ubuntu Linux Server 12.04
   - Ubuntu Linux Server 12.04 x86_64

   For Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (64-bit), Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit), and Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit), use only source VMs with IPv4 DHCP or autoconfiguration IPv6 when cloning to a target that will have an IPv6 autoconfiguration address (DHCPv6).

   Do the following to guest-customize the new VM:

   On Windows:

   • From the drop-down list, select the IP version to be used to configure the VM. Depending on the OS you select, you can use IPv4 only; IPv4 and IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack; or IPv4, IPv6, and IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack.
     • For IPv4, you can select DHCP to configure your network using your SA DHCP-enabled environment, or choose Static to configure your network settings manually. For more information about an SA DHCP-enabled environment, see the "Provisioning" section in the SA 10.50 Administration Guide.
       • You can specify a Static IP as the final network configuration for PXE boot, although DHCP must be enabled for you to PXE boot.
       • For static IP, you are required to enter the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server.
     • For IPv6:
       • With Autoconfig - You can optionally specify one or more IPv6 address, the default gateway, the DNS server, the host name and the domain.
       • Without Autoconfig - You are required to enter a IPv6 address and the host name. Optionally, you can specify the default gateway, the DNS server, and the domain.
         • When an IPv6 address is specified, the default prefix (64) is added at the end of the address, provided that no other valid prefix (an integer between 1 and 128) has been given.
     • For IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack configuration - Configure both IPv4 and IPv6 with scenarios as described above.

       For more information about IPv6, see the SA 10.50 User Guide. For more information about DHCP configuration, see the "Provisioning" section in the SA 10.50 Administration Guide.

   • Enter the Computer Name for the new VM.
   • Use the source volume license key, or optionally enter the product key as XXXXX–XXXXX-XXXXX–XXXXX–XXXXX, in which each X represents a letter or number.
   • Set the Administrator Password.
   • Select New Membership for the new VM.

     If you select Workgroup, enter the Workgroup name for the new VM.

     If you select Windows Server Domain, enter the domain. You must then enter your User Name and Password for that domain.

   • To add optional Custom Attributes, press the Configure button.

   On Linux:

   • From the drop-down list, select the IP version to be used to configure the VM. Depending on the OS you select, you can use IPv4 only; IPv4 and IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack; or IPv4, IPv6, and IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack.
     • For IPv4, you can select DHCP to configure your network using your SA DHCP-enabled environment, or choose Static to configure your network settings manually. For more information about an SA DHCP-enabled environment, see the "Provisioning" section in the SA 10.50 Administration Guide..
       • You can specify a Static IP as the final network configuration for PXE boot, although DHCP must be enabled for you to PXE boot.
       • For static IP, you are required to enter the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server.
     • For IPv6:
       • With Autoconfig - You can optionally specify one or more IPv6 address, the default gateway, the DNS server, the host name and the domain.
       • Without Autoconfig - You are required to enter a IPv6 address and the host name. Optionally, you can specify the default gateway, the DNS server, and the domain.
         • When an IPv6 address is specified, the default prefix (64) is added at the end of the address, provided that no other valid prefix (an integer between 1 and 128) has been given.
     • For IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack configuration - Configure both IPv4 and IPv6 with scenarios as described above.

       For more information about IPv6, see the SA 10.50 Administration Guide. For more information about DHCP configuration, see the "Provisioning" section in the SA 10.50 Administration Guide.

     • Enter the Host Name and Domain for the new VM.

     • Optionally set custom attributes for the new VM.
9. Preview: Verify the selections listed. Use the Back button or select any previous step to make changes, then select Next.
10. Scheduling: Select when you want the clone VM job to run, then select Next.
11. Notifications: Optionally enter a notifier, then select Next.
12. Job Status: Select the Start Job or Schedule Job button. This runs the job or schedules it to be run in the future and displays the Job ID number in the window banner. You can use the Job ID number to look up the job under the Jobs and Sessions tab.

    When the job runs, it clones the VM and displays the results. Once the VM is created, you will see it in the virtualization inventory of the VS in the SA Client and All Managed Servers.