Virtualization Essentials

CHAPTER 11

Copying a Virtual Machine

Virtual machines are composed of disk files that make certain maintenance operations more timely and less cumbersome than working with their physical counterparts. Creating a new virtual machine is often no more complicated than making a file copy and some configuration changes. Deploying a new virtual machine may take a matter of minutes instead of the days or weeks it takes for physical servers to be ordered, staged, provisioned, and deployed. Templates allow system administrators to create standard images of virtual machines that can be stamped out at will. Even the system administrator’s long-time bane, backup and recovery, can be simpler in the virtual environment. Aside from the same back-up solutions ...