Clone VMware workloads using NetApp Backup and Recovery
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Use NetApp Backup and Recovery to create writeable clones of VMware virtual machines from primary or secondary snapshots. With VM clones, you can create and manage virtual machines for testing, integration, and training without impacting production data.
Required Console role
Backup and Recovery super admin or Backup and Recovery backup admin role. Learn about NetApp Console access roles for all services.
Ensure that any VMs whose snapshots you want to clone have been added to a protection group and backed up.
Create a clone of a VMware VM
Create a clone immediately from an existing snapshot.
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After creating a VM clone, you must update the IP address of the cloned virtual machine to prevent IP address conflicts with the original VM. |
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From the NetApp Console menu, select Protection > Backup and Recovery.
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Under Workloads, select the VMware tile.
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Select Clone.
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Select Create new clone.
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In the Select virtual machines section, choose a protection group. VMs in the protection group appear in the selection list.
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Select one or more VMs from the list to clone. VMs you have selected appear in the list of selected VMs on the right.
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When finished, select Next.
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In the Snapshots section on the Select a snapshot page, select a time frame to filter the snapshots by creation date.
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Choose an existing snapshot from the list to use as a base for the clone and select Next.
The Select snapshot location appears if the snapshot is stored in more than one location.
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Choose the snapshot location to use and select Next.
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On the Destination settings page, do the following:
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Choose the FQDN or IP address of the destination vCenter server where the VM clone should be created.
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Choose the ESXi host that will host the clone.
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Choose the network environment for the clone.
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In the Virtual machine name field, enter a suffix for the newly cloned virtual machine.
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Select Clone.
Split a clone
You can split a clone of a VMware VM to detach it from its parent volume. Once split, the clone becomes an independent volume that no longer depends on the parent.
After the split, the datastores associated with the cloned VM become a new, independent datastore. The cloned VM itself is preserved.
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From the NetApp Backup and Recovery menu, select Clone.
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Select a clone.
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Select the Actions icon
> Split clone. -
Review the details in the dialog and select Split.
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When the new, independent VM is created, you can view it in the Inventory page.
Remove a clone
You can remove a VMware VM clone. When you remove a VM clone, the clone is removed from vCenter, and datastores associated with the VM are unmounted and deleted from the storage system.
If a policy protects the clone, both the clone and its job are removed.
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From the NetApp Backup and Recovery menu, select Clone.
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Select a clone.
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Select the Actions icon
> Remove. -
In the Remove confirmation dialog box, review the deletion details.
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Select Remove.
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When the clone is deleted, it is removed from the Inventory page.