VOS_DELENTRY(1)

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version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 vos_delentry — the AFS Command Reference's resident "bye bye VLDB entry" queen 💖

okay so bestie, buckle up. this is vos_delentry from the AFS Command Reference (that's the manual it lives in), and she is literally the girl who deletes Volume Location Database entries. not volumes. entries. we'll get to that. it's giving "I clean up the paperwork, not the furniture." 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

vos_delentry — Removes a volume entry from the VLDB. periodt. 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

vos delentry [-id <volume name or ID>+]
   [-prefix <prefix of volume whose VLDB entry is to be deleted>]
    [-server <machine name>]
    [-partition <partition name>]
    [-cell <cell name>] [-noauth] [-localauth]
    [-dryrun] [-verbose] [-encrypt] [-noresolve]
    [-config <config directory>]
    [-help]

vos de [-i <volume name or ID>+]
    [-pr <prefix of volume whose VLDB entry is to be deleted>]
    [-s <machine name>] [-pa <partition name>]
    [-c <cell name>] [-noa] [-l]
    [-d] [-v] [-e] [-nor]
    [-co <config directory>]
    [-h]

yes bestie both forms are real, the short one is the same vibe in a crop top. 🦋

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

okay so the vos delentry command removes the Volume Location Database (VLDB) entry for each volume you specify. and no, she does not care which flavor you hand her — the volume you name can be any of the three types (read/write, read-only, or backup), but the entire entry gets removed no matter which type you gave her. the whole thing. gone. 💀

and here's the part that lowkey changes everything: the command has no effect on the actual volumes on file server machines, if they exist. like, she's out here deleting the listing, not the thing. so iconic, so dangerous, we'll talk about it in CAUTIONS. 😭

when is this useful tho? this command is useful if a volume removal operation did not update the VLDB (maybe because the vos zap command was used instead), but the system administrator does not feel it is necessary to use the vos syncserv and vos syncvldb commands to synchronize an entire file server machine. basically: she's the surgical option when you don't wanna nuke-and-resync the whole server. ✨

🎯 how to pick your targets 🎯

to remove the VLDB entry for a single volume, use the -id argument. to remove groups of volumes, combine the -prefix, -server, and -partition arguments. here's the rundown of how to remove the VLDB entry for each group of volumes:

  • For every volume whose name begins with a certain character string (for example, "sys." or "user."): use the -prefix argument.
  • Every volume for which the VLDB lists a site on a certain file server machine: specify the file server name with the -server argument.
  • Every volume for which the VLDB lists a site on a partition of the same name (for instance, on the /vicepa partition on any file server machine): specify the partition name with the -partition argument.
  • Every volume for which the VLDB lists a site on a specific partition of a file server machine: specify both the -server and -partition arguments.
  • Every volume whose name begins with a certain prefix and for which the VLDB lists a site on a file server machine: combine the -prefix and -server arguments. Combine the -prefix argument with the -partition argument, or both the -server and -partition arguments, to remove a more specific group of volumes.

so like, you can go broad or you can go hyper-specific, the girl scales. 🫶

💀 CAUTIONS 💀

bestie. do NOT use this command to remove a volume in normal circumstances. it does not remove a volume from the file server machine, and so is likely to make the VLDB inconsistent with state of the volumes on server machines. use the vos remove command to remove both the volume and its VLDB entry. that's the one you want. I'm begging. 🙈

👑 OPTIONS 👑

  • -id <volume name or ID>+ (short form -i) — Specifies the complete name or the volume ID number of each volume for which to remove the VLDB entry. The entire entry is removed, regardless of whether the read/write, read-only, or backup version is indicated. Provide this argument or some combination of the -prefix, -server, and -partition arguments. ✨
  • -prefix <prefix of volume entry> (short form -pr) — Specifies a character string of any length; the VLDB entry for a volume whose name begins with the string is removed. Include field separators (such as periods) if appropriate. Combine this argument with the -server argument, -partition argument, or both. 🌸
  • -server <server name> (short form -s) — Identifies a file server machine; if a volume's VLDB entry lists a site on the machine, the entry is removed. Provide the machine's IP address or its host name (either fully qualified or using an unambiguous abbreviation). For details, see vos(1).

Combine this argument with the -prefix argument, the -partition argument, or both.

  • -partition <partition name> (short form -pa) — Identifies a partition; if a volume's VLDB entry lists a site on the partition, the entry is removed. Provide the partition's complete name with preceding slash (for example, /vicepa) or use one of the three acceptable abbreviated forms. For details, see vos(1).

Combine this argument with the -prefix argument, the -server argument, or both.

  • -dryrun (short form -d) — Show the actions which would be taken, but do not make changes. this one is your bestie fr fr, always peek before you yeet. 👀
  • -cell <cell name> (short form -c) — 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 (short form -noa) — Assigns the unprivileged identity "anonymous" to the issuer. Do not combine this flag with the -localauth flag. For more details, see vos(1).
  • -localauth (short form -l) — Constructs a server ticket using a key from the local /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile file. The vos command interpreter presents it to the Volume Server and Volume Location Server during mutual authentication. Do not combine this flag with the -cell argument or -noauth flag. For more details, see vos(1).
  • -verbose (short form -v) — Produces on the standard output stream a detailed trace of the command's execution. If this argument is omitted, only warnings and error messages appear. she's chatty and we love that for her. 💬
  • -encrypt (short form -e) — Encrypts the command so that 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 (short form -nor) — 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 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> (short form -co) — 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 (short form -h) — Prints the online help for this command. All other valid options are ignored. she said "my attention span is finite" and honestly same.

🎀 OUTPUT 🎀

The following message confirms the success of the command by indicating how many VLDB entries were removed.

Deleted <number> VLDB entries

that's it, that's the whole receipt. <number> is how many she ate. 🔥

🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

The following command removes the VLDB entry for the volume "user.temp".

% vos delentry user.temp

The following command removes the VLDB entry for every volume whose name begins with the string "test" and for which the VLDB lists a site on the file server machine "fs3.example.com".

% vos delentry -prefix test -server fs3.example.com

see? prefix + server = targeted deletion, no cap. 🦋

🔐 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. If the -localauth flag is included, the issuer must instead be logged on to a server machine as the local superuser "root".

so like, root energy only, bestie. no random girlies off the street. 👑

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

vos(1), vos_remove(1), vos_syncserv(1), vos_syncvldb(1), vos_zap(1)

(the holy trinity of "wait, did the VLDB update?" reading list, plus two friends.) 📚

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 babes 💖 this cutie came to you courtesy of OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27, and she's out. slay responsibly, always -dryrun first, and pls pls pls use vos remove if you actually want the volume gone. mwah. 💅✨🎀

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