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Table Of Contents
Full and Linked Clones
Clones can be full or linked depending on the amount of data copied from the source to the destination
machine.
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 separate from the parent virtual machine.
Because a full clone does not share virtual disks with the parent virtual machine, full clones generally
perform better than linked clones. Full clones take longer to create than linked clones. Creating a full clone
can take several minutes if the files involved are large.
You can create a full clone by using any disk clone type other than the linked clone type.
A linked clone is a copy of a virtual machine that shares virtual disks with the parent virtual machine in an
ongoing manner. A linked clone is a fast way to convert and run a new virtual machine. You can create a
linked clone from the current state, or snapshot, of a powered off virtual machine. This practice conserves
disk space and lets multiple virtual machines use the same software installation.
All files available on the source machine at the moment of the snapshot continue to remain available to the
linked clone. Ongoing changes to the virtual disk of the parent do not affect the linked clone, and changes to
the disk of the linked clone do not affect the source machine. If you make changes to a source Virtual PC
and Virtual Server machines, or to LiveState images, the linked clone is corrupted and cannot be used
anymore.
A linked clone must have access to the source. Without access to the source, you cannot use a linked clone.
For more information about how to create a linked clone, see “Create a Linked Clone,” on page 60.
Using Converter Standalone with Virtual Machine Sources and
System Images
With Converter Standalone, you can convert virtual machines and system images, and configure VMware
virtual machines.
Converting virtual
machines
You can convert VMware virtual machines from and to Workstation,
VMware Player, VMware Fusion, Hyper-V, ESX, ESXi Embedded, and
ESXi Installable. You can also import virtual machines from Microsoft
Virtual Server and Virtual PC.
To be able to run an imported VMware virtual machine and its source virtual
machine on the same network, you must modify the network name and IP
address on one of the virtual machines. Modifying the network name and IP
address lets the original and new virtual machines to coexist on the same
network.
Configuring virtual
machines
If the VMware virtual machines have disks that have been populated by
using a backup of a physical host, Converter Standalone prepares the image
to run on VMware virtual hardware. If you have used third-party
virtualization software to create a virtual machine on an ESX host, you can
use Converter Standalone to reconfigure it. You can also reconfigure any
operating system installed on a multiboot machine if you have imported the
virtual machine to an ESX host. Before you reconfigure a multiboot machine,
you must change the boot.ini file or the BCD.
Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter Standalone
VMware, Inc. 15