Hi all,
for the first time I've experimented the RCU tool that now is inside the VSC 2.0.1 for VMware. But during the tests I've noted something that left me doubtful.
I've always thought (and this is the NetApp message to folk :)) that the "rapid" clone utility used some way the flex_clone or the lun_clone techniques to quickly create vmdk images starting from something on active file system volumes... I mean: vmdk on a lun/volume -> Data Ontap snapshot of this -> flex_clone -> rewritable image of the originating data and, of course, all this for dozens of VM performed very quick because there's nothing to transfer!!!
Instead when I ran those test I've choosen a running VM, selected the NetApp menu item -> provisioning and cloning -> rapid clone and, looking both at the putty on my filer and on the status bar of vCenter I've seen no activities on the NetApp at all (no snapshots, no clone and so on...) while the vCenter reported: creating snapshot (a VMware one!!!) -> copying ....copying??? In short the same time and technique I could script or manually execute.
So, why the rapid clone tool asked me for a flex_clone license??? And why if I would use it on FC or iSCSI LUN? I could understand for VMware datastore on NFS...And, last, why a flex_clone if there's NO cloning (data ontap) at all?
Have I missed something?
Regards,