Considerations for working with FlexClone files and FlexClone LUNs

You should keep several considerations in mind when working with FlexClone files and FlexClone LUNs.

• You can create FlexClone files and LUNs only in the same FlexVol volume containing the parent files and LUNs.

• You can clone a complete file, sub-file, LUN, or sub-LUN.

  To clone a sub-file or sub-LUN, you should know the block range of the parent entity and clone entity.

• The sis attribute is added to a FlexVol volume when a FlexClone file or FlexClone LUN is created for the first time.
• When clients write new data either to a FlexClone file or FlexClone LUN, or the parent file or parent LUN, then the new data occupies additional storage space.
• If you delete the FlexClone files or LUNs, the parent files or LUNs are not affected.

  Deleting a parent file or LUN has no impact on the FlexClone files or FlexClone LUNs.

• If you create FlexClone files or LUNs from a Snapshot copy, you cannot create new Snapshot copies until the cloning process is complete.

• If a FlexVol volume containing FlexClone files and LUNs has the fractional reserve set to zero, you must follow extra configuration and management requirements to ensure that the applications accessing the FlexVol volume do not receive errors due to lack of space (ENOSPC).