BACKUPLOG(5)

📦
version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 BACKUPLOG(5) 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the manual page for BackupLog — yes she's a file reference page, yes she's from AFS, and yes she is so much more interesting than she sounds. i promise. sit down, grab a strawberry 🍓, let's get into it.

✨ NAME ✨

BackupLog — the file that keeps receipts on everything the Backup Server does 📝💅

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so, the BackupLog file is basically the Backup Server's diary. it records a trace of Backup Server (buserver process) operations happening on the local machine, and it also spills all the tea about any error conditions it runs into along the way. 👑

here's the thing: if BackupLog does not already exist in the /var/log/openafs directory when the Backup Server starts up? the server process literally just creates it, no permission slip needed, and writes its initial start-up messages into it. main character behavior, honestly. ✨

the file is in ASCII format (old school, classic, iconic). administrators who are listed in the /etc/openafs/server/UserList file can use the bos getlog command to display what's inside. or, alternately, you can just log on to the machine and use a text editor or a file display command like the UNIX cat command. ngl, very choose-your-own-adventure of you. 🦋

and by default? the mode bits on the BackupLog file grant the required "r" (read) permission to all users. everyone gets to peek. it's giving open house. 🎀

real talk though, one thing to know: the Backup Server records operations only as it completes them, which means it literally cannot recover from failures by reviewing this file. so don't come for her expecting a time machine. 🙈 the log contents are there for administrative evaluation of process failures and other problems — useful, yes, magical undo button, no.

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read those too, bestie, they're part of the lore. 💜

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. (shoutout to the whole team, they ate 💅)

aaaand that's the whole page!! this gorgeous thing came to you from OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27, and it's filed under BACKUPLOG(5) in section 5 — the file formats section, iykyk. 🫶 stay logged, stay slay. 💖✨

📦 where this page comes from