VOS_UNLOCK(1)

📦
version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💅 VOS_UNLOCK — the "let my VLDB entry GO" command 💅

okay bestie, welcome to the vos_unlock page from the AFS Command Reference, section 1. Yes, the manual name is literally VOS_UNLOCK(1) and yes we're still talking about it. Sit down, hydrate, let's go 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

vos_unlock — Unlocks a single VLDB entry 🔓

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

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

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

Like… look at her. Two whole ways to say the exact same thing. The long-form girlies and the short-flag girlies both eating. 👑

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

The vos unlock command releases the lock on the Volume Location Database (VLDB) entry for the indicated volume.

That's it. That's the whole job. She unlocks ONE thing and she does it flawlessly. no notes. 💖

⚠️ CAUTIONS ⚠️

bestie. do NOT use this command under normal circumstances. I am so serious rn. 🚨

Here's when it's actually useful: if the VLDB entry is locked but there's genuinely no reason to suspect inconsistency within the volume, or between it and the VLDB. So like, a false alarm lock. That's the vibe.

Also, lowkey iconic detail: you can list information from locked VLDB entries, even though you can't manipulate them in other ways. Locked ≠ unreadable. She's locked in the house but she still has wifi. 💀

For the crowd-work versions of this energy:

  • vos unlockvldb unlocks several VLDB entries at once — or even the entire VLDB. (the overachiever) 🔥
  • vos lock locks a VLDB entry so nobody else can do anything that requires writing the VLDB. (the bouncer) 🚫

🌈 OPTIONS 🌈

  • -id <volume name or ID> — slide her either the complete name or the volume ID number of a volume, and any of the three types will do. inclusive queen. ✨
  • -cell <cell name> — names the cell where you want the command to run. Do not combine this argument with the -localauth flag, fr fr. For more details, see vos(1).
  • -noauth — hands the issuer the unprivileged identity "anonymous". 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 — gives you a detailed trace of the command's execution on the standard output stream. If this argument is omitted, only warnings and error messages show up. silence era. 🤫
  • -encrypt — encrypts the command so the operation's results are NOT transmitted across the network in clear text. 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. extremely useful when the server address is registered as 127.0.0.1 or when you're dealing with multi-homed servers. available in OpenAFS versions 1.4.8 or later and 1.5.35 or later. 🧭
  • -config <configuration directory> — sets the location of the configuration directory to be used. defaults to /etc/openafs, except if -localauth is specified, in which case the default is /etc/openafs/server. this option lets you use 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 talking right now." 💅

🌸 EXAMPLES 🌸

The following example unlocks the VLDB entry for the volume user.terry:

% vos unlock user.terry

terry said "unlock me" and the command said "say less" 🩷

👑 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.

But wait — if the -localauth flag is included, the issuer must instead be logged on to a server machine as the local superuser root. two totally different gatekeeps. choose your path wisely. 🚪

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

vos(1), vos_lock(1), vos_unlockvldb(1)

the whole squad. go read all three, iykyk. 📚

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 page!! this whole thing is from OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27, and it was literally the vos_unlock man page, now with 100% more girlypop energy. mwah. 🫶💖🎀✨

📦 where this page comes from