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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 copy. ONTAP creates a Snapshot copy if you do not name any specific Snapshot copy that is to be used as the base Snapshot copy for the clone. You must specify the base Snapshot copy 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 copy 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