ahmd9 wrote: I've seen documentation for the Full and Linked virtual machine clones
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Cloning Virtual Machines, Using Linked Clones and Using Full Clones?
I'd also suggest reading the section in the User Manual on Snapshots so you have a better understanding of the Linked Clone since it is predicated on the use of Snapshots.
It should be obvious from the documentation that a Full Clone is an independent copy of an existing Virtual Machine and what is done in a Full Clone, with the exception of WPA or other Software PA, has no bearing on the Virtual Machine from which it was cloned. Note that one must still conform to the OSes EULA in that each copy one makes, one needs to have the appropriate number of licenses as applicable to the OS. In other words, e.g. with Windows OSes, you may not make more copies of the installed OS then what is allowed by its EULA and the type of Product Key one has.
A Linked Clone is a Snapshot Branch of the Parent Virtual Machine and is dependent on it not changing or the Linked Clone becomes orphaned. Each separate Linked Clone that is a direct offshoot of the original Parent Virtual Machine is independent of each other. Meaning that If I create a Virtual Machine and then create two Linked Clones directly from the original Virtual Machine then what I do in one Linked Clone does not affect the other Linked Cloned. So e.g. installing any given application in one Lined Clone does not also install it automatically in the other Linked Clone and if one want that same application in the other Linked Clone then one must also install it there as well.