Hi there,
I have a VM with all the programs I need installed and its SO is also tailored to my need.
From this VM I need to create some copies (snapshot could be an option too) to be my starting point, so when I don't need this VM anymore, I mean, this copy or snapshot, I can do another copy from this original or parent VM and use it again, reusing all of its original program that have already been installed on it.
This copied virtual machine will work for a long time, I mean, maybe 2 years or more.
In some cases I need to create two child VMs from this parent VM
For this I think I'll have tree options:
1st - Use snapshot
I discarded this option because snapshot is a method for use for a short time, i.e., the more it's used, more will be the changes to its delta disk and so more will be its performance degradation.
2nd - Full clone
I've also discarded this one because it will consume more disk space and the time needed to create it is big.
3rd - Linked clone
I think this 3rd option is the better, but I don't know if it will have some performance degradation if it be used for a long time
If neither of these tree options is good for this working profile, are there another option I could consider?