5.5

Types of Data Cloning Operations
Converter Standalone supports disk-based cloning, volume-based cloning, and linked-cloning modes.
Table 1‑1. Cloning Modes
Data Copy Types Application Description
Volume based Copy volumes from the source
machine to the destination machine.
Volume-based cloning is relatively
slow. File-level cloning is slower than
block-level cloning. Dynamic disks are
converted into basic volumes on the
target virtual machine.
Disk based Create copies of the source machines,
for all types of basic and dynamic
disks.
You cannot select which data to copy.
Disk-based cloning is faster than
volume-based cloning.
Linked clone Use to quickly check compatibility of
non-VMware images
For certain third-party sources, the
linked clone is corrupted if you power
on the source machine after the
conversion. Linked cloning is the
fastest (but incomplete) cloning mode
that Converter Standalone supports.
Volume-Based Cloning
During volume-based cloning, volumes from the source machine are copied to the destination machine.
Converter Standalone supports volume-based cloning during hot cloning, and during the import of existing
virtual machines .
During volume-based cloning, all volumes in the destination virtual machine, except LVM2 logical volumes,
are converted to basic volumes, regardless of their type in the corresponding source volume. LVM2 logical
volumes can be preserved as logical volumes during conversion.
Volume-based cloning is performed at the file level or block level, depending on the destination volume size
that you select.
Volume-based cloning
at the file level
Performed when you select a size smaller than the original volume for NTFS
volumes or you choose to resize a FAT volume.
For FAT, FAT32, NTFS, ext2, ext3, ext4, and ReiserFS file systems,
Converter Standalone preserves the file system type during a volume-based
cloning at the file level.
Dynamic source disks are read but not preserved during volume-based
conversions. Dynamic disks are converted into basic volumes on the target
virtual machine.
Volume-based cloning
at the block level
Performed when you choose to preserve the size of the source volume or
when you specify a larger volume size for NTFS source volumes . Volume-
based cloning at the block level is supported only for Windows.
Disk-Based Cloning
Converter Standalone supports disk-based cloning to import existing virtual machines.
Disk-based cloning transfers all sectors from all disks and preserves all volume metadata. The destination
virtual machine receives partitions of the same type, size, and structure, as the partitions of the source
virtual machine. All volumes on the source machine's partitions are copied as they are.
Disk-based cloning supports all types of basic and dynamic disks.
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone User's Guide
14 VMware, Inc.