6.5.1

Table Of Contents
Start the Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template Task
To make a master copy of a virtual machine, you can clone the virtual machine 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 an option to clone a virtual machine 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 Virtual Machine to Template and click Next.
The Select a name and folder page opens.
Open the Clone Virtual Machine to
Template wizard from a template
Right-click the virtual machine and select Clone > Clone to Template .
The Select a name and folder page opens.
Select a Virtual Machine to Clone to a Template
To clone a virtual machine to a template, you must select an existing virtual machine to clone. You cannot
modify a template after you create it. To change the template, you must convert it back to a virtual
machine.
This page appears only if you opened the New Virtual Machine wizard from an inventory object other
than a virtual machine, such as a host or cluster. If you opened the wizard from a virtual machine, this
page does not appear.
Procedure
1 Browse or search for the virtual machine and select it.
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.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
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