VOS_OFFLINE(1)

📦
version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

✨ VOS_OFFLINE ✨

okay bestie, welcome to the vos_offline page from the AFS Command Reference 💖 this is where we learn how to take a volume offline, and honestly? it's giving main character energy. sit down, grab a strawberry 🍓, and let's get into it.

🌸 NAME 🌸

vos_offline — takes a volume offline. periodt.

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

vos offline -server <machine name>
    -partition <partition name>
    -id <volume name or ID>
    [-sleep <seconds to sleep>]
    [-busy] [-cell <cell name>]
    [-noauth] -localauth]
    [-verbose] [-encrypt] [-noresolve]
    [-config <config directory>]
    [-help]

vos of -se <machine name>
    -p <partition name>
    -i <volume name or ID>
    [-sl <seconds to sleep>]
    [-b] [-c <cell name>]
    [-noa] -l]
    [-v] [-e] [-nor]
    [-co <config directory>]
    [-h]

(yes, those brackets are exactly how they were written, we do not fix what we did not break 🙈)

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

The vos offline command takes a volume offline on the fileserver. that's it, that's the whole vibe. it's literally the "brb taking this offline" button. ✨

💀 CAUTIONS 💀

Taking a volume offline that has existing callbacks will result in those callbacks being broken and clients not being able to access the volume.

translation: if there are callbacks out there chilling and you yank the volume offline, those callbacks get broken, and the clients just cannot access the volume anymore. not a cute look. be careful, fr fr. 😭

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -server <machine name> — points at the file server machine where the volume lives. you can hand over the machine's IP address, or its host name (fully qualified OR using an unambiguous abbreviation, both are fine 💖). wanna know more? go see vos(1).
  • -partition <partition name> — points at the partition where the volume lives, on the file server machine that -server named. give the partition's complete name with the preceding slash (like "/vicepa", yes with the slash bestie) or use one of the three acceptable abbreviated forms. details? vos(1). slay.
  • -id <volume name or ID> — specifies either the complete name or the volume ID number of the volume. either one works, we're flexible 💅
  • -sleep <seconds to sleep> — tells it to sleep for a certain number of seconds after taking the volume offline, before bringing it online again. if you use this option, the volume will be online when vos offline successfully completes. if you don't use it, then you have to run vos online to bring the volume back online. no drive-by comebacks. 😤
  • -busy — marks the volume as busy instead of offline. meaning: a program trying to access this volume gets a VBUSY error instead of a VOFFLINE error (until the volume is brought back online).

different programs may react differently when they see these two different states, but generally speaking a busy volume is only unavailable for a short period of time and will become online soon. an offline volume, on the other hand, is typically unavailable for longer periods and may not come back online until an administrator intervenes. it's giving "gone girl" vs "brb". 😭

as an example of when these states occur normally: a volume can be busy when it is being cloned (perhaps as the result of a vos backup or vos release operation). a volume can be offline if a non-DAFS fileserver has detected a problem in the volume, and an administrator must manually schedule a salvage for that volume before it becomes available again.

if -busy is specified, the -sleep option must also be specified, to indicate for how long to keep the volume busy. no -sleep, no -busy, that's the rule 🫶

  • -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). going incognito mode, lowkey.
  • -localauth — 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 the -noauth flag. for more details, see vos(1). it's the VIP pass 👑
  • -verbose — 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. if you're nosy (affectionate) this one's for you 👀
  • -encrypt — 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. protect the girlies' data 🔐
  • -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 dealing with multi-homed servers. this option is available in OpenAFS versions 1.4.8 or later and 1.5.35 or later. iykyk.
  • -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. moving the whole setup to a different house, cute. 🏠
  • -help — prints the online help for this command. all other valid options are ignored. the "just tell me what to do" button 💖

🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

the following example takes an online volume offline:

% vos offline -server sv7.example.org -partition /vicepb -id root.afs

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

so like... you can't just walk in here, you need to be on the list. it's a guest list situation bestie, no cap. 🚫

🔗 SEE ALSO 🔗

vos(1), vos_online(1), bos_salvage(8),

go read those too, they're all part of the same friend group 🫶

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

This man page was created by Steven Jenkins.

and that's the whole page!! this was OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27, and honestly? iconic. go forth and take your volumes offline responsibly, bestie. mwah 💋✨🎀🦋💖

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