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Table Of Contents
You can deploy a linked-clone pool from the parent virtual machine. If the parent virtual machine hardware
is v7, follow these rules when you create a linked-clone pool:
n
Deploy the linked-clone pool on an ESX/ESXi 4.x host or cluster. The linked-clone pool cannot reside on
an ESX/ESXi 3.5 host or a cluster with ESX/ESXi 4.x hosts mixed with ESX/ESXi 3.5 hosts.
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Create the linked-clone pool in vSphere mode.
What to do next
Use
vSphere Client to take a snapshot of the parent virtual machine in its powered-down state. This snapshot
is used as the baseline configuration for the first set of linked-clone desktops that are anchored to the parent
virtual machine.
IMPORTANT Before you take a snapshot, completely shut down the parent virtual machine by using the Shut
Down command in the guest operating system.
Activating Windows 7 and Windows Vista on Linked-Clone Desktops
To make sure that View Composer properly activates Windows 7 and Windows Vista operating systems on
linked-clone
desktops, you must use Microsoft volume activation on the parent virtual machine. The volume-
activation technology requires a volume license key.
To activate Windows 7 or Windows Vista with volume activation, you use Key Management Service (KMS),
which requires a KMS license key. See your Microsoft dealer to acquire a volume license key and configure
volume activation.
NOTE View Composer does not support Multiple Activation Key (MAK) licensing.
Before you create linked-clone desktops with View Composer, you must use volume activation to activate the
operating system on the parent virtual machine.
NOTE Windows XP desktops with volume licenses do not require an activation.
When a linked-clone desktop is created, and each time the linked clone is recomposed, the View Composer
agent uses the parent virtual machine's KMS server to activate the operating system on the linked clone.
The View Composer QuickPrep tool implements the activation through these steps:
1
Invokes a script to remove the existing license status on the linked-clone virtual machine
2 Restarts the guest operating system
3 Invokes a script that uses KMS licensing to activate the operating system on the clone.
Each time QuickPrep runs on a linked clone, the activation takes place.
For KMS licensing, View Composer uses the KMS server that is configured to activate the parent virtual
machine. The KMS server treats an activated linked clone as a computer with a newly issued license.
Disable Windows Hibernation in the Parent Virtual Machine
The Windows hibernation option creates a large system file that can increase the size of the linked-clone OS
disks that are created from the parent virtual machine. Disabling the hibernation option reduces the size of
linked-clones.
The Windows hibernation option creates a hidden system file, Hiberfil.sys. Windows uses this file to store a
copy of system memory on the hard disk when the hybrid sleep setting is turned on. When you create a linked-
clone pool, the file is created on each linked clone's OS disk.
VMware View Administrator's Guide
64 VMware, Inc.