Deduplication, linked clones

[holgihero]

Is there any posibility to achieve something like linked clones realised w VMware?
I need to virtualize a couple of client machines which should be more or less identical.
So it would be nice to have something like a basic image and overlays on file system basis for each machine.
Any suggestions?

Thank you, Holgi

 

[tom]

take a deeper look on the qcow2 format (snapshots)

 

[holgihero]

take a deeper look on the qcow2 format (snapshots)

Yes, thank you for that hint. I was fiddling with LVM2 which did not get me anywhere.

So I create a qcow2 disk file and fill it w basic OS, then I create overlays with qemu-img -b base_image... inside the appropriate vm dirs and assign these to the vm's?
Sounds simple. Will try soon.
What happens when base_img is changed? Should better kept read only, no?

Hey, and where is the snapshot button in your WebGUI? (Just kidding but couldnt that be kept in mind for V.2.0? Together with an instant backup button?)

Best regards and thank you for your work, Holgi

 

[tom]

I think we will take a deeper look on these features if we have btrfs. in the meantime you can also ask good old google for help, read qemu doc´s,

 

[dietmar]

What happens when base_img is changed? Should better kept read only, no?

Yes, I would set it read only.