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Create a FlexClone volume

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You can create a data protection FlexClone volume from a SnapMirror destination volume or from a parent FlexVol volume that is a SnapVault secondary volume. Beginning with ONTAP 9.7, you can create a FlexClone volume from a FlexGroup volume. After you create a FlexClone volume, you cannot delete the parent volume while the FlexClone volume exists.

Before you begin

  • The FlexClone license must be installed on the cluster. This license is included with ONTAP One.

  • The volume that you want to clone must be online.

Note Cloning a volume as a FlexClone volume on a different SVM is not supported on MetroCluster configurations.

Create a FlexClone volume of a FlexVol or FlexGroup

Step

  1. Create a FlexClone volume:

    volume clone create

    Note While creating a read-write FlexClone volume from the read-write parent volume, you do not need to specify the base snapshot. ONTAP creates a snapshot if you do not name any specific snapshot that is to be used as the base snapshot for the clone. You must specify the base snapshot for creating a FlexClone volume when the parent volume is a data protection volume.
Example

  • The following command creates a read-write FlexClone volume vol1_clone from the parent volume vol1:

    volume clone create -vserver vs0 -flexclone vol1_clone -type RW -parent-volume vol1

  • The following command creates a data protection FlexClone volume vol_dp_clone from the parent volume dp_vol by using the base snapshot snap1:

    volume clone create -vserver vs1 -flexclone vol_dp_clone -type DP -parent-volume dp_vol -parent-snapshot snap1

Create a FlexClone of any SnapLock type

Beginning with ONTAP 9.13.1, you can specify one of three SnapLock types, compliance, enterprise, non-snaplock, when creating a FlexClone of a RW volume. By default, a FlexClone volume is created with the same SnapLock type as the parent volume. However, you can override the default by using the snaplock-type option during FlexClone volume creation.

Using the non-snaplock parameter with the snaplock-type option, you can create a non-SnapLock type FlexClone volume from a SnapLock parent volume to provide a faster method of bringing data back online when necessary.

Learn more about SnapLock.

Before you begin

You should be aware of the following FlexClone volume limitations when they have a different SnapLock type than the parent volume.

  • Only RW-type clones are supported. DP-type clones with a SnapLock type different from the parent volume are not supported.

  • Volumes with LUNs cannot be cloned using the snaplock-type option set to a value other than 'non-snaplock' because SnapLock volumes do not support LUNs.

  • A volume on a MetroCluster mirrored aggregate cannot be cloned with a Compliance SnapLock type because SnapLock Compliance volumes are not supported on MetroCluster mirrored aggregates.

  • SnapLock Compliance volumes with Legal-Hold cannot be cloned with a different SnapLock type. Legal-Hold is only supported on SnapLock Compliance volumes.

  • SVM DR does not support SnapLock volumes. Attempting to create a SnapLock clone from a volume in an SVM that is part of an SVM DR relationship will fail.

  • FabricPool best practices recommend that clones retain the same tiering policy as the parent. However, a SnapLock Compliance clone of a FabricPool-enabled volume cannot have the same tiering policy as the parent. The tiering policy must be set to none. Attempting to create a SnapLock Compliance clone from a parent with a tiering policy other than none will fail.

Steps

  1. Create a FlexClone volume with a SnapLock type: volume clone create -vserver svm_name -flexclone flexclone_name -type RW [ -snaplock-type {non-snaplock|compliance|enterprise} ]

    Example:

    > volume clone create -vserver vs0 -flexclone vol1_clone -type RW -snaplock-type enterprise -parent-volume vol1