What is the key advantage of cloning a VM?

The key advantage of cloning a virtual machine (VM) is that it saves time when creating multiple identical copies of a VM. Cloning allows administrators to quickly create exact replicas of an existing VM, including its operating system, applications, and configuration settings. This is particularly useful in environments where multiple VMs with the same setup are needed, such as in testing, development, or deploying standardized environments.

References:

Dell Information Storage and Management V5 course materials, section on virtualization and VM management

Dell EMC documentation on VM cloning