topic Re: Question about Flex Clone in ONTAP Discussions

Question about Flex Clone

dpeverley — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 06:06:52 GMT

Just planning setting up a snapvault containing luns and was wondering if it is possible to create a snapshot on the vault and use it to create flex clones?

It would be useful to test the backups and to quickly spin up a test environment.

Anyone know if this is possible?

Re: Question about Flex Clone

LTDCLSERGAO — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:02:02 GMT

Hello,

I presume that you have created LUN under qtree ( for using snapvault)

Your snapvaulted volume is read only, so when you create a clone of this volume, the clone will be read only.

You have to run "snapmirror convert" and then a "snapmirror break" to make the clone writebale ( need a snapmirror license).

For example : snapvaulted volume is volume1 and qtree qtree1

- You create a snapshot for volume1 on destination filer : daily.0

- you create a clone of volume1 based on snapshot daily.0

vol clone create CL_volume1 -s none -b volume1 daily.0

- you disable snapmirror and snapvault

snapmirror off

options snapvault.enable off

- you switch to diag level

priv set diag

- snapmirror convert

snapmirror convert /vol/CL_volume1/qtree1

- you active snapmirror and snapvault

snapmirror on

options snapvault.enable on

- you break snapmirror

snapmirror quiesce /vol/CL_volume1/qtree1

snapmirror break destination:/vol/CL_volume1/qtree1

I have done this for snapvaulted qtree, I think that it will be also OK for LUN under qtree.

I hope that will help.

Said

Re: Question about Flex Clone

dpeverley — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:16:56 GMT

Thanks for the quick response.

I will give this a try, in the example you are doing all the changes to the cloned volume.

By doing this will I it have any effect on the funtionality of the snapvault destination? If I take a a clone and mount it as a test this may be around for several days and backups would still need to be happening.

Re: Question about Flex Clone

LTDCLSERGAO — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:44:28 GMT

Yes, all the changes have been made on the clone volume.

The clone is created using a snapshot, so if you make change on the clone, snapshot size will increase. You have to monitor your volume size if it needs to be extended.

When the tests will be finished, don't forget destroy the clone.