VOS_BACKUP(1)

📦
version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 VOS_BACKUP(1) — AFS Command Reference 💖

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, and let me tell you about vos_backup from the AFS command reference, because this lil cutie is about to clone your whole read/write volume and honestly? iconic behavior. 💅

✨ NAME ✨

vos_backup — creates a backup volume for a single read/write volume 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

vos backup -id <volume name or ID>
    [-cell <cell name>]
    [-noauth] [-localauth] [-verbose]
    [-encrypt] [-noresolve]
    [-config <config directory>]
    [-help]

vos backup -i <volume name or ID> [-c <cell name>]
    [-noa] [-l] [-v] [-e] [-nor]
    [-co <config directory>]
    [-h]

like yes, there are two whole forms, and yes, the short one is just the long one wearing a cropped hoodie. same flags, zero skips. 💜

🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

The vos backup command clones the read/write volume you point at and makes a backup version out of it, dropping it at the same site as the read/write version. no relocation drama, she stays home. 🏠

The backup volume's name? It's the same as the read/write source's name with .backup tacked onto the end. so user.smith becomes user.smith.backup, periodt.

Its volume ID number is the one that was allocated for it in the Volume Location Database (VLDB) back when the read/write source was created with the vos create command. so like, the ID was already assigned, she's just showing up to claim it. 👑

And if a backup version already exists? The new clone just replaces it. out with the old, in with the new, no guilt, no ceremony. 💀

wanna back up multiple volumes at once instead of one at a time? that's a different girl. use the vos backupsys command. 🦋

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • -id <volume name or ID> — tells the command either the complete name or the volume ID number of the read/write source volume. that's the one getting cloned, bestie. 🎀
  • -cell <cell name> — names the cell in which to run the command. ⚠️ do not combine this argument with the -localauth flag. for more details, see vos(1).
  • -noauth — assigns the unprivileged identity "anonymous" to the issuer. ⚠️ do not combine this flag with the -localauth flag. for more details, see vos(1).
  • -localauth — constructs a server ticket using a key from the local /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile file. the vos command interpreter then presents it to the Volume Server and Volume Location Server during mutual authentication. ⚠️ do not combine this flag with the -cell argument or the -noauth flag. for more details, see vos(1). 🔐
  • -verbose — produces a detailed trace of the command's execution on the standard output stream. if you skip this argument, only warnings and error messages show up. so like, choose your level of yapping. 🗣️
  • -encrypt — encrypts the command so the operation's results are not transmitted across the network in clear text. 🔒 this option is available in OpenAFS versions 1.4.11 or later and 1.5.60 or later.
  • -noresolve — shows all servers as IP addresses instead of the DNS name. this is very useful when the server address is registered as 127.0.0.1 or when you're dealing with multi-homed servers. 🌐 this option is available in OpenAFS versions 1.4.8 or later and 1.5.35 or later.
  • -config <configuration directory> — set the location of the configuration directory to be used. this defaults to /etc/openafs, except if -localauth is specified, in which case the default is /etc/openafs/server. this option allows the use of alternative configuration locations for testing purposes. 🧪
  • -help — prints the online help for this command. all other valid options are ignored. she said I'm the only one that matters. 🙈

👑 OUTPUT 👑

when it works, you get this lil confirmation message, and honestly? so satisfying:

Created backup volume for I<volume name>

🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

here's the moment you've been waiting for — making a backup version of the volume user.smith:

% vos backup user.smith
Created backup volume for user.smith

ate. no crumbs. 🔥

⭐ PRIVILEGE REQUIRED ⭐

the issuer must be listed in the /etc/openafs/server/UserList file on the machine specified with the -server argument and on each database server machine. and if the -localauth flag is included, the issuer must instead be logged on to a server machine as the local superuser "root". so like, permissions check, bestie. don't skip it. 🫶

🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.

This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0. It was converted from HTML to POD by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth Cassell.

and that's the whole page, bestie — brought to you by OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27, and written up with love. mwah. 💖✨

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