Vmware machine cloning : actvation?

Assuming I’m cloning (copy) more virtual machine images from a fresh one, how activation, zend-id etc. behave ??
Are copies absolutely identical ? Can I change deployment number ?
Thanks

In VirtualBox (starting at version 6.0 or 6.1…not sure), there is an option, when you export a machine…“clone ALL network adapters (MAC)”…dont know the exact wording.
When you do this, you can import the VM on a different computer and it will behave like the original. This is just for backup and recovery purpose!!! If your hardware fails, you can setup a replacement within minutes…Windows, MacOS…or any Linux will do. You just install Virtualbox and import your VM.
Of course, you should never start your old VM again…

If you want new deployments…just export the VM with the VirtualBox standard settings…freePBX will recognize that it needs activation…and it will get a new ID. All commercial modules will be locked.

For backup/recovery , virtual machine copy inside the same host is amazing, you can just power-on the copy if working pbx fails and you have it up again in one minute :+1:
The question was about a basic pbx to be replicated into a different host as different pbx, so as you said , I think the trick is to copy/export the machine before pbx is activated.

I actually used an activated and fully configured freePBX VM as a template for other locations. If you go to export appliance and use the standard settings, you can import it on any other PC/Mac at any other location.
FreePBX will change it’s deployment ID and you have to activate it again. The only problem is that you have to adjust the network settings through the VM terminal window…otherwise you can not access the GUI.

When I replicate a VM to another ESX host normally it will ask me if the VM was “copied” or “moved”. If you say that it was moved then it normally keeps the same MAC address on the NIC. That being said, I don’t know if your activation stays the same but it makes it so that you don’t need to reconfigure networking (assuming hosts are on the same network).

The zend id is based of multiple factors. One is the mac address of eth0.
There are additional hardware checks such as storage devices etc. If any of the checks do not match it will cause you to reactivate.

In Virtualbox, if you use the export option “include MAC addresses of ALL network adapters”, you can use the exported image as a full backup of your freePBX system.
If your hardware fails, you can import this image into any VirtualBox installation on a Windows, MacOS or Linux machine and it will behave like the original (same ID, no activation needed).
The critical point seems to be that you have to copy BOTH MAC addresses, WIFI and ethernet. The harddisk and other hw parts are virtualized (and therefore identical) anyway. But I may be wrong :wink:

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