Creating a ZFS Clone

To create a clone, use the zfs clone command, specifying the snapshot from which to create the clone, and the name of the new file system or volume. The new file system or volume can be located anywhere in the ZFS hierarchy. The type of the new dataset (for example, file system or volume) is the same type as the snapshot from which the clone was created. You cannot create a clone of a file system in a pool that is different from where the original file system snapshot resides.

In the following example, a new clone named tank/home/ahrens/bug123 with the same initial contents as the snapshot tank/ws/gate@yesterday is created.

# zfs snapshot tank/ws/gate@yesterday
# zfs clone tank/ws/gate@yesterday tank/home/ahrens/bug123

In the following example, a cloned workspace is created from the projects/newproject@today snapshot for a temporary user as projects/teamA/tempuser. Then, properties are set on the cloned workspace.

# zfs snapshot projects/newproject@today
# zfs clone projects/newproject@today projects/teamA/tempuser
# zfs set sharenfs=on projects/teamA/tempuser
# zfs set quota=5G projects/teamA/tempuser