VMware VCENTER CONVERTER EN-000158-02 User Manual page 16

User's Guide
Cloning Modes
Converter Standalone implements volume-based cloning, disk-based cloning, and linked cloning.
Table 1-3. Cloning Modes
Cloning Mode
Volume based
Disk based
Linked clone
Volume-Based Cloning
Converter Standalone supports volume-based cloning for hot and cold cloning and to import existing virtual
machines.
In volume-based cloning, all volumes in the destination virtual machine are converted to basic volumes,
regardless of their type in the corresponding source volume. Volume-based cloning at the file or block level is
performed, depending on the volume size you select. 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 file level
Volume-based cloning at
the block level
Depending on the cloning mode, Converter Standalone might not support some types of source volumes.
Table 1-4 shows the supported and unsupported source volume types.
Table 1-4. Supported and Unsupported Source Volumes
Cloning Mode
Virtual machine importing
Hot cloning
Volume-based cloning at the file level is supported only for FAT, FAT32, NTFS, ext2, ext3, and ReiserFS file
systems.
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Application
Selects the volumes to copy from the
source machine to the destination
machine.
Creates exact copies of the source
machines, for all types of basic and
dynamic disks.
Use to quickly check compatibility of
non-VMware images
Performed when any size smaller than the original is selected.
Performed when the volume size is maintained or extended.
Source Volumes Supported
Basic volumes
n
All types of dynamic volumes
n
Windows NT 4 with mirrored
n
volumes
Only master boot record (MBR)
n
disks
All types of source volumes that
Windows recognizes
Description
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.
You cannot select which data to copy.
Disk-based cloning is faster than
volume-based cloning.
For certain third-party sources, the
linked clone is corrupted if you power
on the source machine. Linked cloning
is the fastest (but incomplete) cloning
mode that Converter Standalone
supports.
Source Volumes Not Supported
RAID
n
Windows NT4 fault-tolerant
n
volumes
GUID partition table (GPT) disks
n
Any volumes that reside on
n
Windows NT operating systems
VMware, Inc.