Clone/Duplicate EC2 Windows Instance

active-directoryamazon ec2amazon-amiclonewindows-server-2008-r2

I have a Windows Server 2008 EC2 instance hosting SQL Server 2008 named DB-01. I'm looking to clone this DB-01 instance so my team can work on the cloned DB-01 (DB-01-CLN) and existing DB-01 instances side by side. I restored an AMI of DB-01 and assigned a different IP.

The issue im running into now is that the existing DB-01 server is joined to a domain. When I logged into the cloned instance and updated the host name it changed the name of the existing DB-01 computer object in active directory. This change prevented me from logging into the existing the DB-01 server with my AD credentials.

I need a way to clone this windows 2008 instance that is AD joined so I can run the existing server and cloned server side by side. Is there something I can do that'll create the cloned instance as a separate instance altogether? By that I mean create its own AD computer object so it doesn't interfere with the existing server?

Thanks,

Best Answer

Yes, this is possible; but you will have to shutdown and sysprep the source machine (or the clone, when logged on locally).