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What Is a Clone?
If you want to save the virtual machine state in case you make a mistake, use a snapshot. If you want to make a copy of a virtual machine for separate use, use a clone.
A clone is a copy of the original parent virtual machine. After the cloning operation is completed, the clone has a separate existence:
  • Changes made to a clone do not affect the parent virtual machine. Changes made to the parent virtual machine do not appear in a clone.
  • A clone has a different MAC address and UUID from its parent virtual machine.
  • A clone can be powered on simultaneously with its parent.
  • Types of Clone
    There are two types of clone:
  • The Full Clone
  • The Linked Clone
  • The Full Clone
    A full clone is an independent copy of a virtual machine that shares nothing with the parent virtual machine after the cloning operation. Ongoing operation of a full clone is entirely separate from the parent VM.
    The Linked Clone
    A linked clone is a copy of a virtual machine that shares virtual disks with the parent virtual machine in an ongoing manner. This conserves disk space, and allows multiple virtual machines to use the same software installation.
    Benefits of Linked Clones
    Linked clones are created swiftly. A full clone can take several minutes if the files involved are large. A linked clone lowers the barriers to creating new VMs, so you might swiftly and easily create a unique virtual machine for each task you have.
    Another benefit of linked clones is that they are easier to share. If a group of people needs to access the same virtual disks, then the people can easily pass around clones with references to those virtual disks. For example, a support team can reproduce a bug in a linked clone and then just email that linked clone to development. This is feasible only when a virtual machine isn't gigabytes in size.


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