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The feature you are looking for is available in VMWare Horizon View. &nbsp;Check out linked clones.
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The feature you are looking for is available in VMWare Horizon View.  Check out linked clones.

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Clarification: I will be the only one using the vm. I think I can do Linked Clones in Workstation, right?
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Clarification: I will be the only one using the vm. I think I can do Linked Clones in Workstation, right?

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yes Linked Clones is possible in Workstation 10 :: <a href="http://pubs.vmware.com/workstation-10/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.ws.using.doc%2FGUID-BA264A65-C50F-4345-A787-DCC5C5324DD1.html" rel="ugc nofollow">http://pubs.vmware.com/workstation-10/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.ws.using.doc%2FGUID-BA264A65-C50F-4345-A787-DCC5C5324DD1.html</a>
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yes Linked Clones is possible in Workstation 10 :: http://pubs.vmware.com/workstation-10/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.ws.using.doc%2FGUID-BA264A65-C50F-4345-A787-DCC5C5324DD1.html [http://pubs.vmware.com/workstation-10/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.ws.using.doc%2FGUID-BA264A65-C50F-4345-A787-DCC5C5324DD1.html]

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I have a base Windows 7 virtual machine in VMWare 10. I need to create instances of this vm to install customer specific software so I can work on their LOB application. So I want something like this:<br />
<br />
Base machine <br />
--&gt; Customer 1 Machine<br />
--&gt; Customer 2 Machine<br />
--&gt; ...<br />
<br />
I will want to go between the various customer machines (one at a time) as i work on their lob application. I will want to go back to the base machine to create a new clone / snapshop for the next customer. The base machine will be updated with patches and software used in all future machines.<br />
<br />
What is the best strategy to do this using VMWare 10 to minimize disk space yet give me the flexibility to do what I need? I know I can make snapshots or clone the vm. I am not sure which method is best for the objectives I have.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the guidance.
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I have a base Windows 7 virtual machine in VMWare 10. I need to create instances of this vm to install customer specific software so I can work on their LOB application. So I want something like this:

Base machine 
--> Customer 1 Machine
--> Customer 2 Machine
--> ...

I will want to go between the various customer machines (one at a time) as i work on their lob application. I will want to go back to the base machine to create a new clone / snapshop for the next customer. The base machine will be updated with patches and software used in all future machines.

What is the best strategy to do this using VMWare 10 to minimize disk space yet give me the flexibility to do what I need? I know I can make snapshots or clone the vm. I am not sure which method is best for the objectives I have.

Thanks for the guidance.

VMWare clone  or snapshop

VMware, a software company founded in 1998,  was one of the first commercially successful companies to offer x86 virtualization. The storage company EMC purchased VMware in 1994. Dell Technologies acquired EMC in 2016. VMware’s parent company is now Dell Technologies.

VMware has many software products that run on desktops, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, which allows the virtualizing of the x86 architecture.  Its enterprise software hypervisor for servers, VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), is a bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on the server hardware and does not require an additional underlying operating system.

VMware

Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including (but not limited to) a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources. Virtualization is usually the creation of a system that executes separate from the underlying hardware resources, or the creation of an entire desktop for systems located elsewhere, similar to thin clients.