Deploy a Linked Clone¶
A linked clone is a VM whose disk reads from its template until the guest writes. It's ready in seconds and uses almost no space at first. It suits short-lived VMs, test and lab fleets, and anything you deploy many of from one template.
Deploy one¶
- Deploy from a template as usual (see Create a Golden Image Template).
- On the deploy dialog's hardware step, tick Linked clone.
- Finish the deploy.
Where it works¶
| Storage | Linked clone |
|---|---|
| Local disk | Yes |
| ZFS | Yes |
| NFS | Yes, if the template is on the same NFS datastore as the VM |
| Ceph RBD | Yes. Each template is imported into the pool once, as a shared base image |
| LINSTOR / DRBD | No |
| LVM | No |
| ISO installs | No: there's no template to link to |
While it's linked¶
- The template can't be deleted while any linked clone uses it.
- Moving a local or ZFS linked clone to another host copies its whole disk there, so the clone becomes a full copy on the new host.
- The VM's Configure tab shows a Template Link card naming the template.
Make it independent¶
Configure → Template Link → Make independent copies everything the VM still reads from the template into its own disk. It works while the VM is running and can take a while for a large template. Progress shows in Recent Tasks. Once every clone of a template is independent, the template can be deleted.