Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
i nally convert it back to a template. Note that the Convert To Template command is grayed out
if the VM is currently powered on. To use the Convert To Template command, the VM must be
powered off.
Figure 10.9
Users can either
convert a VM
to a template or
clone the VM to a
template.
Cloning a Virtual Machine to a Template
The Clone To Template feature provides the same result as the conversion method in creating
a template that can be deployed as a new VM, but it differs from the conversion method in that
the original VM remains intact. By leaving the original VM in a format that can be turned on,
the Clone To Template feature facilitates making updates to the template. This means you don't
have to store the template object dei nition in the same datastore from which the VM was built.
Perform these steps to clone a VM into a template format:
1.
Use the vSphere Web Client to connect to a vCenter Server instance. Cloning and tem-
plates are not supported when using the vSphere Client to connect directly to an
ESXi host.
2.
Navigate to the Hosts And Clusters or VMs And Templates inventory view.
Either view allows you to clone to a template, but you'll only be able to see the template in
the VMs And Templates inventory view.
➢
➢
3.
Right-click the VM to be used as a template, and select All vCenter Actions
Templ ate
Clone To Template.
4.
Type a name for the new template in the Template Name text box, select a logical location
in the inventory to store the template, and then click Next.
5.
Select the host or cluster where the template should be hosted, and click Next.
6.
If you selected a cluster for which DRS is disabled or is coni gured for Manual operation,
you must select a specii c host in the cluster. Click Next.
