Which vSphere feature allows a vSphere administrator to create an exact replica of a virtual machine?

Cloning is the vSphere feature that enables a vSphere administrator to create an exact replica of a virtual machine. This process involves creating a new virtual machine with all the same configurations, settings, and data as the original. When you clone a virtual machine, a complete copy is made that can operate independently of the original. This is particularly useful for various purposes, such as load balancing, testing, or creating backup machines quickly.

In contrast, while snapshots save the current state of a virtual machine, including its power state and disk state, they do not create standalone copies of the VM. Snapshots are generally used for rollback capabilities rather than for making exact replicas.

vSphere Fault Tolerance is a feature that provides continuous availability for virtual machines by creating a live shadow instance of a virtual machine. However, this does not equate to creating a new, independent copy of the VM; it’s more about redundancy and ensuring uptime.

vSphere vMotion, on the other hand, allows for the live migration of virtual machines from one physical host to another without downtime. This feature focuses on resource management rather than creating copies of virtual machines.

Therefore, cloning is the feature specifically designed to produce exact replicas, making it the correct answer.