AFS_VOLUME_HEADER(5)

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version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 AFS_VOLUME_HEADER 💖

okay bestie, welcome to afs_volume_header — section 5 of the AFS File Reference, and honestly? it's giving "tiny file, huge lore." ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

afs_volume_header — the whole vibe of an AFS volume, in file form. Basically it represents an AFS volume. no cap.

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so there's this file, right? it's called Vvol_ID.vol — that's a literal V, then your volume ID, then .vol, together, as one filename. it is the header file for the AFS volume whose volume ID is vol_ID. and babes, there's one of these for every single volume living on an AFS server /vicep partition. one file per volume. no sharing, no doubling up. periodt. 💅

and this header file is lowkey a whole notes-app situation, because it stores info like:

  • the volume's name 🏷️
  • its ID number 🔢
  • its type — read/write, read-only, or backup 👑
  • its size 📏
  • its status — online, offline, or busy 😴

want to actually see any of that? bestie you don't go poking the file yourself, you use vos listvol or vos examine and let them spill the tea for you. 🔥

okay now here's the part where i need you to lock in 🫶 — the header file points to the actual data in the volume, it does not contain it. it's the address, not the house. and because of that, it is not possible to access the AFS data except by mounting the volume in the AFS filespace and reading its contents through the Cache Manager. like, there is no side door, there is no sneaky backstage pass. mount it, or you don't get in. 💀

ngl this is the most important sentence on this whole page so i'm saying it twice: want the data? mount the volume in the AFS filespace and read through the Cache Manager. that's it. that's the only way. 🌈

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 OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27, and it ate. mwah. 🎀✨

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