VMware-Clone VMDK without vCenter

Please refer to the following steps on how to clone a VMDK file (Windows 2012R2 Server with latest patches installed (Syspreped)in vSphere 6.5 Standalone Server without vCenter

  1. Create a Virtual Machines with Windows 2012 R2 Server with latest patches installed and sysprep it
  2. Provision a New Virtual Machine by removing the hard disk

VMWARE-CloneVMDK-01
3. Clone the VMDK from the template to Destination

[root@v1:~] vmkfstools -i /vmfs/volumes/EVO/TEMPLATE-WIN2012R2/TEMPLATE-WIN2012R2.vmdk  /vmfs/volumes/EVO/CITRIX-DDC/CITRIX-DDC.vmdk -d thin
Destination disk format: VMFS thin-provisioned
Cloning disk '/vmfs/volumes/EVO/TEMPLATE-WIN2012R2/TEMPLATE-WIN2012R2.vmdk'...
Clone: 100% done.

vmkfstools -i SOURCE DESTINATION -d thin (Thin Provision)
4. Run “du -alh” to verify that the VMDK disk is thin provisioned

[root@v1:~] du -alh /vmfs/volumes/EVO/CITRIX-DDC/
0       /vmfs/volumes/EVO/CITRIX-DDC/CITRIX-DDC.vmx
0       /vmfs/volumes/EVO/CITRIX-DDC/CITRIX-DDC.vmsd
11.5G   /vmfs/volumes/EVO/CITRIX-DDC/CITRIX-DDC-flat.vmdk
0       /vmfs/volumes/EVO/CITRIX-DDC/CITRIX-DDC.vmdk
11.5G   /vmfs/volumes/EVO/CITRIX-DDC/
  1. Add the cloned VMDK file to the VM provisioned early and power on
    VMWARE-CloneVMDK-02

You can login to the new VM with the standard Windows 2012 R2 Images that you prepared now

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