How to Create VMware Instant Clone Desktop Pools Step by Step

What is VMware Instant Clone

VMware Instant Clone, also known as VMFork in VMware vSphere allows administrators to create new virtual machines almost instantaneously. This process uses an existing parent VM’s memory and disk, making the creation of clones extremely fast while conserving system resources.

Instant Clone Desktop Pool is a collection of multiple instantly cloned desktops. In a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environment, a desktop pool is a way to manage and distribute virtual desktops.

Prerequisites for VMware Instant Clone Desktop Pool

Environment Setup:

• Deploy the vSphere environment, including vCenter Server, ESXi hosts, and datastores.
• Prepare the Active Directory (AD) environment with domain controllers, DNS, and DHCP services.
• virtual switches must have enough ports for the expected number of VMs, with one port per VM NIC.

Create a Parent VM:

• Clone a new VM from a Windows OS (e.g., Win10 or Win7) using the VCSA template.
• Install Horizon View Agent:
  • Use the appropriate version (e.g., Horizon View Agent 8.0 for Win10, 7.7 for Win7).
  • Customize installation features like USB redirection or client drive redirection as needed.

Create Snapshot:

• Shut down the parent VM and create a snapshot to serve as the base image for Instant Clones.

Add Instant Clone Domain Account:

• Add the domain administrator account for instant clone in the Connection Server Administration platform.

How to Create VMware Horizon Instant Clone Step by Step

Instant cloning is very convenient for large-scale application deployments because it ensures memory efficiency and allows the creation of a large number of virtual machines on a single host. Next, we will talk about the process of how to create horizon 8 instant clone step by step.

1. Open the Horizon Console management interface and log in with an account that has administrator privileges.

2. Click “Desktop Pools” > “Add” button, select “Automated Desktop Pools”, and then select “Instant Clone”.

3. Enter the ID and display name of the desktop pool, check options such as HTML Access, and enter naming rules according to the naming pattern.

4. Select the previously created parent VM, corresponding snapshots, folder locations, clusters, resource pools, datastores, and so on.

5. Keep the desktop pool settings as default or adjust them according to actual needs, such as setting the size of the desktop pool, allocation policy, etc.

6. Keep the default or select the remote display protocol according to the actual situation, if there is vGPU virtualization, you can select accordingly.

7. Select the corresponding AD container and so on.

8. Check the setup options, if there is no problem check “Authorize users after adding pools”, you can also authorize them individually at a later stage, and then submit the configuration information.

✍Tips: After deploying instant clone desktop pool, find and add the users and groups that need to access it and grant them access.
You can log in for access via the web or the VMware Horizon View Client. After downloading and installing the client, enter the connection server address and login password to see and connect to the Instant Clone desktop pools.

Update: Issues during Deploying VMware Instant Clone Desktop Pools

During the deployment of VMware Instant Clone Desktop Pools, you may encounter a variety of errors that can affect the normal deployment and use of the desktop pools, such as:

• Poor I/O performance of the storage device, such as using a low-speed disk or insufficient storage network bandwidth.
• Instant clone operation accounts that do not have sufficient privileges to access resources such as parent VMs, datastores, and so on.
• Storage pitfalls, including capacity shortages and poor performance.
• Inadequate user permissions and server privilege deficiencies.
• Software compatibility issues, such as incompatible versions of Horizon View components (e.g., agents, connection servers, etc.).

For users of VMware Instant Clone desktop pools, the stability and data security of the parent virtual machine is key, and AOMEI Cyber Backup makes it easy to perform regular VMware backups of the parent virtual machine.

Secure Backup and Instant Recovery for VMware VMs

Backup and recovery of data is critical when dealing with VMware instant coning, and AOMEI Cyber Backup software gives you all the assurance you need.

For example, if you use AOMEI Cyber Backup to take a full backup of the parent VM before it undergoes an OS update or application upgrade, in case of any problem, such as unstable system or application failure due to the update, you can quickly restore the parent VM to its previous normal state through the Instant Recovery feature, ensuring that the source of the Instant Clone Desktop Pool is always in a healthy and reliable state.

In addition, you can enjoy secure and efficient protection of your VMware workloads.

Centralized Backup: AOMEI Cyber Backup integrates with vCenter Server, making it easy to add all virtual machines for centralized backup management.
Flexible Storage: Store backup data on local disk arrays, network shared folders or cloud storage.
Simplified Backup: Simply set up a policy and execute it automatically, which greatly improves work efficiency and reduces human error.
Instant Recovery: Recover large numbers of instantly cloned virtual machines in a short period of time for fast disaster recovery.

Download AOMEI Cyber Backup for a free trial:

How to Perform VMware Backup and Instant Recovery for VMs

To clone an existing VMware virtual machine, you can follow these steps with auto backup and instant recovery.

Step 1. Bind Devices

Access to AOMEI Cyber Backup web client, navigate to "Source Device" > "VMware" > "+ Add VMware Device" to add vCenter or Standalone ESXi host as the source device, and then click "Bind Device".

Step 2. Create Backup Tasks

• Navigate to "Backup Task" > "+ Create New Task".

• Device: Select the VMs on the host that you want to backup.
• Target: You can select to back up to a local path, or to a network path. Used paths will be saved in Favorite Storage for handy selection.
• Archive: Enable archiving backup versions to Amazon S3 > Select to choose the added Amazon S3.
• Schedule: You can choose to perform full, differential or incremental scheduled backup, and automate execution according to the frequency you specified.
• Backup Cleanup: Set up the retention policy, saving storage and reduces your workload.

Step 3. Perform Instant Recovery

• Access the Instant Recovery option to restore a VM directly from the backup storage. Click Task > Instant Recovery > New Instant Recovery > Restore from task.

• Select recovery content from backup, choose the host and virtual machine and backup version.
• Select the device to be restored to in Restore to. Choose the target device.
• Set the hardware settings for the new virtual machine, such as CPU quantity, CPU Cores and memory size.
• Type a special name for the new virtual machine.
• Click Start Restore to start the instant restore.

Conclusion

Although VMware instant clone technology brings a lot of convenience and efficiency to desktop virtualization, data security and stable operation are always the key aspects that should not be neglected. Combine the precautions mentioned in the article with AOMEI Cyber Backup's excellent backup and recovery technology to protect the security of enterprises and VMware environments.