Disable dedup and enable fast-clone

[FrancWest]

Hi,

Since block cloning is not supported when dedup is enabled on a ReFS volume, what is the correct procedure to enable fast-clone? I know we need to disable deduplication, but do we also need to unoptimize the data already present and also, do we have to do an active full also in order to get fast-clone being used?

[foggy]

Hi Franc, active full (or compact) is required to start using Fast Clone on the ReFS volume. Here's more on why using deduplication on ReFS is generally not recommended.

[FrancWest]

Hi,

Thanks, but do we also need to use unoptimize before disabling deduplication?

[foggy]

I don't think that matters as you will create the new chain anyway and it will not be deduped.

[FrancWest]

Ok, final question. This is a cloud gateway repository hosted by a service provider. When doing a compact, will the transfer be done across the internet connection, or will it be handled locally at the service provider so that it doesn't have to transfer all the data again over the internet? An active full will of course transfer all data, but what about a compact?

[PetrM]

Hi Franc,

No, data will not be sent over Internet connection during compact as it's performed locally on the repository. The data blocks will be copied to a new empty file directly from the existing full.

Thanks!

[FrancWest]

Hi,

We did the compact on the full backup, but on the next merge it isn’t using fast clone. Could this be, because there are still incrementals present from the time dedup was still active? If so, how can I fix this without doing an active full? FYI, this is a backup copy.

[PetrM]

Hi Franc,

The compact should be enough to activate Fast Clone, at least it's stated in the limitations paragraph on this page. It would be best to contact our support team as the behavior does not seem to be expected. Please don't forget to share a support case ID with us.

Thanks!