VOS_REMSITE(1)

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version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 VOS_REMSITE 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because this is vos_remsite from the AFS Command Reference — aka the little command that goes "nope, that read-only site? never happened 💅" and removes a read-only site definition from a VLDB entry. she's niche, she's powerful, and she will absolutely let you create chaos if you use her wrong. let's get into it 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

vos_remsite — literally just removes a read-only site definition from a VLDB entry. that's the whole job. that's her whole personality 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

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

vos rems -s <machine name>
    -p <partition name>
    -i <volume name or ID>
    [-c <cell name>]
    [-noa] [-l] [-v] [-e] [-nor]
    [-co <config directory>]
    [-h]

yes there are two whole spellings, yes the short one is giving speedrun energy, no you don't have to pick a favorite ✨

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so. the vos remsite command removes the read-only replication site that you specify with the -machine and -partition arguments, and it takes it out of the Volume Location Database (VLDB) entry for the volume you point at — and that volume is read/write, just so we're clear.

when is this actually useful?? okay so picture this: someone (no names 🙈) accidentally made a read-only site with the vos addsite command before the vos release command ever actually released it. this command is for cleaning that up. iconic. responsible. we love a fix-it moment.

but now, the important part, do not skip this:

  • if a read-only copy already exists at that site, it is not affected. nothing happens to it. she stays.
  • however — and this is the plot twist 😭 — if this read-only site was the last site housing any version of the volume, then the entire VLDB entry gets removed, even if a copy of the read-only version still actually exists at the site. like, the entry is gone but the actual copy is still sitting there. awkward.
  • the VL Server does not correct that discrepancy until you run the vos syncserv and vos syncvldb commands.

so yeah. she's a little dramatic. handle with care 🫶

⚠️ CAUTIONS ⚠️

do not use this command as your standard way to remove a read-only volume, bestie, i am begging you. it can create a discrepancy between the VLDB and the volumes on file server machines, and that's a mess nobody wants to inherit.

use the vos remove command instead. that's the correct one. periodt 👑

🌈 OPTIONS 🌈

  • -server <server name> — the file server machine portion of the site definition you're removing. give her the machine's IP address or its host name (fully qualified is fine, or an unambiguous abbreviation works too). for details, see vos(1).
  • -partition <partition name> — the partition name portion of the site definition you're removing. give the partition's complete name with the preceding slash (like, for example, "/vicepa") or use one of the three acceptable abbreviated forms. for details, see vos(1).
  • -id <volume name or id> — either the complete name or the volume ID number of the read/write volume to remove. your call, both slay 💖
  • -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 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 omit this argument, only warnings and error messages appear. (so like, quiet mode vs. narrator mode ✨)
  • -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. 🔐
  • -noresolve — shows all servers as IP addresses instead of the DNS name. 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 helping, nothing else matters" 💅)

🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

so here's a little scenario: somebody mistakenly defined a read-only site /viceph on the file server machine "fs5.example.com" for the volume "root.cell". the following command removes that site from the VLDB entry. chef's kiss 🤌

% vos remsite -server fs5.example.com -partition h -id root.cell

👑 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. no shortcuts, no exceptions.

if the -localauth flag is included, the issuer must instead be logged on to a server machine as the local superuser "root". main character energy only, sorry 🫶

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

vos(1), vos_delentry(1), vos_remove(1), vos_zap(1)

go read those too, i know you want to 📚

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 💖 this was shipped under OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27, and honestly? she ate. go forth, un-define your mistaken read-only sites responsibly, and remember: vos remove is your friend, not this one 🌸✨🦋

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