I have a production MS Windows 2012 R2 server with MS SQL Standard Server 2014 installed that I would like to clone into for testing purposes -- to test for a potential upgrade of software. I have VMware v6.5 (and using vSphere Web Client) in order to accomplish this task.
What I would like to know is the best method to accomplish this. From my initial research, it seems that there are those that suggest using Sysprep before any cloning is performed. But, remembering back to my workstation cloning days, I would have to turn off the "sysprepped" machine and keep it off forever. Unfortunately, I cannot do that on this production server. Any other suggestions? Although starting from a clean install would probably work, it is not a true "apples to apples" comparison to the production server I am needing to upgrade in the future.
Also, I believe that the SQL Server would have some issues with the name change. Would I have to run a command(s) in order to resolve any issues in relation to SQL?
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you can provide.