How to clone an Azure VM
Is there a simple method of cloning an Azure VM? So far I have found that you can "Deprovision" a VM, run "Sysprep" on it, and then "capture" an image. More on that here. It requires you to shutdown the Virtual Machine.
What I had been hoping for was a simple "Clone VM" that doesn't require a machine shutdown or (if it does require a shutdown) will at least do it via an automated process, automatically bringing the VM back up as soon as the "capture" is complete. Is there a way to do this, preferably via the Azure management console?
Answer
You can automate the process of taking back up of VM on azure by use of Powershell. The following command can be used to perform this operation -
Start-CopyAzureStorageBlob -SrcContainer vhds -SrcBlob $blobName -DestContainer vhds -DestBlob $blobName -Context $sourceContext -DestContext $destContext -Force
The whole process is mentioned at the link - http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2014/01/29/from-the-mvps-copying-a-virtual-machine-from-one-windows-azure-subscription-to-another-with-powershell.aspx?Redirected=true
If you wish to stop the blob copy started by mistake you can refer to the details provided in this link - http://sanganakauthority.blogspot.com/2014/04/stop-copy-of-azure-virtual-machine-from.html
Hope this helps