VMware vsphere Cloning and snapshot technology

With Web vcenter we can easily manage virtual machines, clone technology or create templates, we can quickly create virtual machines, we can also use snapshot technology to capture some of the state of the virtual machine, such as the virtual machine's memory, settings or virtual disk situation, and so on.

(1) cloning : A replica virtual machine has the same properties as the source virtual machine, but the replica virtual machine and the original virtual machine have different MAC addresses and UUID, so this allows the replica virtual machine and the original virtual machine to appear on the same network without any conflicts that can be cloned at boot state, You can also clone in shutdown state. Vcenter supports two cloning methods

　　　　full cloning : out of relation to the original virtual machine, on a complete set of virtual machines

　　　　linked clones : Fast, saves physical space, needs to share a disk file with the original virtual machine

Steps:

Log on to vcenter Server 5.5→ right-click Virtual machine → clone to virtual machine → enter virtual machine name → Select shared storage to hold virtual machine files → select clone options → Finish

　　　　

(2) snapshot : A "backup" of a point in time for a virtual machine vmdk file (Note: The backup here is not really a backup, because the original VMDK file is not backed up), you can restore the virtual machine to a moment of snapshot to achieve system recovery, and create a snapshot file. Once the original vmdk file is corrupted, it cannot be resumed normally. Snapshots have parent snapshots and sub-snapshots, and it is believed that people who have used VMware station know the concept; snapshot consolidation: Consolidating all snapshots into a single snapshot, consolidating the redundant disks in the future can improve virtual machine performance. The process of making a snapshot is also very simple.

Steps:

Generate Snapshot: Right-click virtual machine → generate snapshot → Enter the name of the snapshot → OK

Recover snapshot: Right click on virtual machine → revert to latest snapshot → Yes

Right-click Virtual machine → manage snapshot → revert to → Select a point-in-time snapshot recovery

Delete Snapshot: Right-click virtual machine → manage snapshot → Select the snapshot to delete

(3) template : The template is actually a master image of the virtual machine, through which multiple virtual machines can be deployed, we can convert the virtual machine directly into a template instead of making a copy by cloning, the virtual machine to the template must be in the shutdown state, when converted to a template, you cannot edit and start the template.

　

VMware vsphere Cloning and snapshot technology