Exploring Instance Clone

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Exploring Instance Clone

    Instance Clone is a powerful feature that enables ServiceNow customers to replicate everything in a database from one instance to another. This process is crucial for maintaining synchronized environments, allowing for effective testing of upgrades and new applications while minimizing discrepancies between production and non-production instances.

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    Key Features

    • Clone Workflow: The cloning process includes several stages such as configuration, preflight checks, backup, restoration, and post-clone cleanup.
    • Backup Integration: Cloning utilizes the most recent daily backup, ensuring that data is up-to-date and relevant.
    • Exclusions and Preservations: Administrators can exclude specific tables or preserve certain data during the cloning process for tailored outcomes.
    • Clone Profiles: Establish consistent results with defined clone profiles and register instances to streamline the cloning process.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing the Instance Clone feature, ServiceNow customers can:

    • Ensure environments are consistent and ready for testing.
    • Quickly adapt target instances to match source versions during cloning.
    • Safeguard production instances by controlling clone settings and preventing accidental clones.
    • Access a streamlined Clone Admin Console for enhanced management and visibility into clone history.

    Explore how to use a clone to copy everything in a database from one instance to another.

    Instance Clone overview

    Cloning is the easiest way to synchronize your instances. It’s essential to have a representative environment to test changes before they go to production.
    • Cloning helps reduce divergence between the environments and promotes smooth deployments.
    • Cloning is used to test changes such as upgrades, new applications, and new capabilities.
    • Cloning data comes from the most recent daily backup.

    A list of helpful terminology and definitions for clone is included here Clone terminology.

    Instance Clone workflow

    Figure 1. Instance Clone workflow diagram
    Instance clone workflow diagram.

    1. Clone build configuration: Basic definitions, configurations, and profile options are prepared. Data to be included, excluded, or preserved is verified.

    2. Preflight checks: The clone checks the source and target instances to verify that they are in a healthy state before proceeding with the clone.

    3. Backup: Uses the latest daily backup. If there were major recent changes, a new backup is created. You can also trigger a new backup manually by selecting the On-demand backup via the Clone Admin Console.

    4. Pre-Clone: Prepares space for the new database before restoring it.

    5. Provision database interface (DBI): A new target instance is set up to receive the restored data.

    6. Restore: The backup data is restored to the new target instance.

    7. Exclusions: Tables marked for exclusion are deleted.

    8. Preservers: Data is preserved from the old target (pre-clone instance) and is copied to the new target instance.

    9. Node repoint: The system switches from the old target to the new clone without user disruption.
    10. Scheduling scripts: Cleanup scripts and custom scripts are scheduled to run. Scripts with the same priority run at the same time.

    11. Post Clone: Cleanup scripts run.

    Instance Clone users

    User Description
    Administrator Clone admins with the clone_admin role can request, cancel, schedule, or modify clones.

    Instance Clone benefits

    Benefit Feature
    Tidy up data with exclusions and preservers for specific clone scenarios. Definitions
    Establish consistent clone outcomes with clone profiles and registered instances. Configurations
    Copy data from a production instance to a non-production instance or to copy data between non-production instances. Request a clone

    Instance Clone use cases

    Clone to a different version

    You can clone between instances that are on different family release versions. During a clone, the source version replaces the target version. For example, if you clone from Source (Zurich) to Target (Yokohama) the target will match the source after the clone and be on Zurich release.

    Clone from a backup

    The clone uses data from the most recent, daily backup of the source instance when cloning. Backups that are used for cloning are a maximum of 36 hours old. A clone from backup starts only at the date and time processing that it's scheduled to start.

    If the source and target instances are on different versions of the ServiceNow AI Platform, the target instance is modified to match the source instance version during this time.

    When starting a clone from a backup, the date and time the backup was taken, as well as periodic progress messages, appear in the Clone Log related list.

    Clone over production instances

    As long as the system property glide.db.clone.allow_clone_target is TRUE, an instance can serve as a clone target. Please ensure the property glide.db.clone.allow_clone_target is set back to FALSE after a production instance has served as a clone target. This helps prevent accidental or unintended clones over production in the future.

    Note:
    Beginning with the Australia release, users attempting to access the legacy Instance Clone page, clone_instance.do, are redirected instead to the Clone Admin Console. To view clone history for clones prior to the Australia release, view the legacy Clone History [clone_instance] table.

    For more information about using Clone Admin Console instead of the legacy Instance Clone, see KB1425858: Clone Admin Console: Quick Start Guide & Instructions.