[virt-tools-list] Can we obsolete virt-convert, virt-clone, virt-image?

[Jim Fehlig]

Cole Robinson wrote:
> On 01/10/2014 04:49 PM, Richard W.M. Jones wrote:
>   
>> virt-clone:
>>
>> This tool is supposed to clone existing images.  But you can just run
>> dd/cp to clone the disks + 'virt-install --import' to create libvirt
>> configuration.
>>
>>     
>
> Sure, but that's kind of like dismissing virt-install with 'you can just
> create the XML by hand and virsh define it.' The whole purpose of the tool is
> to simplify those steps.
>
>   
>> To do full cloning you will really need something a lot more advanced
>> that can see inside the disks, ie. virt-sysprep, or that can sparsify
>> disks (virt-sysprep), or that can do templating (virt-builder et al).
>>
>> virt-clone is troublesome for me.  Most people I meet who try to use
>> it should be using virt-sysprep.
>>
>>     
>
> All this is ignoring the fact that there are people out there successfully
> using virt-clone/virt-manager clone, and that despite its limited nature, it
> suits their needs. When it breaks, people complain.
>   

Nod. I've heard such complaints too.

> Is the tool terribly interesting or doing anything particularly difficult? Not
> at all. But it currently provides value. And really, if an end user just wants
> to clone a single VM for local test purposes (the common use case I've seen),
> telling them to use dd and virt-install --import isn't very friendly.
>   

Agreed. Please don't drop this one. It would break a lot of tests
scripts, many of which I'm probably not aware of, but would hear about
from angry users in no time.

Regards,
Jim