6.0.1

Start the Clone a Template to a Template Task
To make changes to a template and preserve the state of the original template, you clone the template to a
template.
You can open the New Virtual Machine wizard from any object in the inventory that is a valid parent object
of a virtual machine, or directly from the template. The wizard provides several options for creating and
deploying virtual machines and templates.
If you open the wizard from a template, the Select a creation type page does not appear.
Procedure
u
Select to clone a template to a template.
Option Description
Open the New Virtual Machine
wizard from any object in the
inventory
a Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual
machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host,
and select New Virtual Machine.
b Select Clone Template to Template and click Next.
The Select a name and folder page opens.
Open the Clone Template to
Template wizard from a template
a Search or browse for a template.
b Right-click the template and select Clone.
The Select a name and folder page opens.
Select a Template to Clone in the vSphere Web Client
If you started the New Virtual Machine wizard from an inventory object other than a template, you select a
template to clone.
This page appears only if you opened the wizard from a nontemplate inventory object, such as a host or
cluster. If you opened the Convert Template to Virtual Machine wizard from a template, this page does not
appear.
Procedure
1 Accept the default template, the template from which you opened the New Virtual Machine wizard, or
select a different template.
2 Click Next.
Select a Name and Location for the Template
When you deploy a template to the vCenter Server inventory, you provide a unique name for it. The unique
name distinguishes it from existing templates in the virtual machine folder or datacenter. The name can
contain up to 80 characters. You can select a datacenter or folder location for the template, depending on
your organizational needs.
Folders provide a way to store virtual machines and templates for different groups in an organization and
you can set permissions on them. If you prefer a flatter hierarchy, you can put all virtual machines and
templates in a datacenter and organize them a different way.
The template name determines the name of the files and folder on the disk. For example, if you name the
template win8tmp, the template files are named win8tmp.vmdk, win8tmp.nvram, and so on. If you change
the template name, the names of the files on the datastore do not change.
Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines
VMware, Inc. 43