Thin clones can be created using the latest data available within a volume, volume group, file system, or a previous point-in-time by using a snapshot of these resource types. To create a thin clone using the latest information in the parent object (not a snapshot), go to the page of the resource. To create a thin clone of a volume, select the object, select Repurpose, then Create Thin Clone Using Volume. In previous versions of PowerStoreOS, this option is contained under the More Actions dropdown. An example of these steps can be seen in Figure 36. In this example, the checkbox in front of Storage Resource is checked and Repurpose is selected. Create Thin Clone Using Volume can be found under Repurpose. The process is similar for volume groups, file systems, and NAS servers.

Figure 36.    Create thin clone of a volume example

Note: In PowerStoreOS 3.0 and later, users have the option of enabling File Level Retention (FLR) on General type file systems. When creating a clone of a file system with FLR enabled, the cloned file system will be of the same FLR mode, which cannot be modified.

When a thin clone of the latest image of a resource is created, multiple options are provided to customize the thin clone. The options that are provided depend directly on the type of resource selected. Figure 37 shows the Create Thin Clone window for a volume, where the user can specify the Name, Description, Performance Policy, Host Connectivity, and Protection Policy.

For volume groups, the Name, Description, and Protection Policy can be customized. All other customizations occur at the individual volume level. When a thin clone of a volume group or volume group snapshot is created, all volumes within the group are cloned. For instance, if the volume group contains six volumes, the volume group thin clone being created will contain a thin clone for each of the six volumes.

For file systems, only the Name and Description can be customized. The protection policy assigned to the file system is automatically assigned to the thin clone upon creation. By default, the file system thin clone is not automatically shared. Create an SMB share or NFS export to access the data.

A clone of a NAS server can only be created from the NAS Server page. When cloning a NAS server, the user specifies the NAS Server Name and also selects which file systems to include from the source NAS server. After creation, the user needs to configure one or more file interfaces on the cloned NAS server to access the data. If the NAS server will be attached to an active directory domain, a new SMB Computer Name must be provided that differs from the original NAS server.

Figure 37.    Create thin clone of a volume example

When a thin clone from a snapshot of a volume, volume group, or file system is created, the data within the snapshot is used as the source data to create the thin clone. To create the thin clone, go to the Snapshot tab within the Protection tab of the properties of the resource. After selecting a snapshot to create a thin clone, select More Actions, then Create Thin Clone Using Snapshot. A file system example is shown in Figure 38. After selecting Create Thin Clone Using Snapshot, the same options available when creating a thin clone from the main resource appears.

Figure 38.    Create thin clone using snapshot of a file system