Performing Clone Lifecycle

Using SnapCenter, you can create clones from a resource group or database. You can either perform on-demand clone or you can schedule recurring clone operations of a resource group or database . If you clone a backup periodically, you can use the clone to develop applications, populate data, or recover data.

1. In the left navigation pane, click Resources, and then select the appropriate plug-in from the list.
2. In the Resources page, select either Database or Resource Group from the View list.
3. Select the resource group or database, and then click Clone Lifecycle.
4. In the Options page, perform the following actions:

   For this field…	Do this…
   Clone job name	Specify the clone life cycle job name that helps in monitoring and modifying the clone life cycle job.
   Clone server	Choose the host on which the clone should be placed.
   Clone instance	Choose the clone instance to which you want to clone the database. This SQL instance must be located in the specified clone server.
   Clone suffix	Enter a suffix that will be appended to the clone database to identify that it is a clone. Each SQL instance that is used to create a clone resource group must have a unique database name. For example, if the clone resource group contains a source database db1 from an SQL instance inst1, and if db1 is cloned to inst1, then the clone database name should be db1__clone. __clone is a mandatory user-defined suffix because the database is cloned to the same instance. If db1 is cloned to the SQL instance inst2, then the clone database name can remain db1 (the suffix is optional) because the database is cloned to a different instance.
   Auto assign mount point or Auto assign volume mount point under path	Choose whether to automatically assign a mount point or volume mount point under a path. Choosing to auto assign a volume mount point under a path enables you to provide a specific directory. The mount points will be created within that directory. Before you choose this option, you must ensure that the directory is empty. If there is a database in the directory, the database will be in an invalid state after the mount operation.

5. In the Location page, select a storage location to create a clone.
6. In the Script page, enter the path and the arguments of the prescript or postscript that should be run before or after the clone operation, respectively.
   For example, you can run a script to update SNMP traps, automate alerts, send logs, and so on.
   The default script timeout is 60 seconds.
7. In the Schedule page, perform one of the following actions:
   • Select Run now if you want to execute the clone job immediately.
   • Select Configure schedule when you want to determine how frequently the clone operation should occur, when the clone schedule should start, on which day the clone operation should occur, when the schedule should expire, and whether the clones have to be deleted after the schedule expires.
8. In the Notification page, from the Email preference drop-down list, select the scenarios in which you want to send the emails.
   You must also specify the sender and receiver email addresses, and the subject of the email. If you want to attach the report of the restore operation performed, select Attach Job Report.

   Note: For email notification, you must have specified the SMTP server details using the either the GUI or the PowerShell command Set-SmSmtpServer.
9. Review the summary, and then click Finish.