AMANDA-CLIENT.CON(5)

📦
version 3.5.4 · 8 versions
, in fedora 43

💅 amanda-client.conf — the client config glow-up

okay so bestie, welcome to the client configuration file for Amanda, aka the Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver 👑 (yes that's the whole name, she's iconic, she's a mouthful). This page is basically the quick-reference cheat sheet for the sections and parameters that live in this file — think of it as the group chat where your client host gets told what's what.

fr fr, these are the files that get loaded:

<CONFIG_DIR>/amanda-client.conf
<CONFIG_DIR>/<config>/amanda-client.conf

Both of them. No cap. 💖

✨ SYNTAX ✨

Good news: the syntax of amanda-client.conf(5) is literally identical to amanda.conf(5). Same rules, same vibe, so if you already know one you already know the other. Slay. 🎀

🌸 GLOBAL PARAMETERS 🌸

These are the big-picture settings, the main character energy of the file. Let's go 🫶

  • conf string — Default: set by configure. This is the conf that amrecover uses.
  • client-username string — Default: CLIENT_LOGIN. Same deal as the parameter of the same name in amanda.conf(5): it says which username amrecover should send when it connects to the server. Heads up 💅 — it needs to match the username listed in .amandahosts on the server, or things get awkward.
  • client-port [ int | string ] — Default: "amanda". Again just like the one in amanda.conf(5): the port to connect on the server. Can be a service name or a numeric port number, your call ✨.
  • amdump-server string — No default: set by configure. The Amanda server you connect to with the amdump_client program.
  • index-server string — Default: set by configure. The amindexd server that amrecover will connect to.
  • tape-server string — Default: set by configure. The amidxtaped server that amrecover will connect to.
  • tapedev string — Default: set by configure. The tapedev that amrecover will use.
  • auth string — Default: "bsdtcp". The type of authorization performed between the tape server and the backup client hosts. Your options are:
    • "bsd" — bsd authorization with a udp initial connection and one tcp connection per data stream.
    • "bsdtcp" — bsd authorization, but using only one tcp connection.
    • "bsdudp" — like bsd, except it uses only one tcp connection for all data streams.
    • "krb5" — Kerberos-V authorization 🔐.
    • "local" — if the client is the server, it doesn't need any authentication setup. convenient much? 🧚
    • "rsh" — rsh authorization.
    • "ssh" — OpenSSH authorization.
  • ssh-keys string — Default: no default. The key file the ssh auth will use — and it must be the private key, no exceptions please 🙈. If you don't specify this parameter, the default ssh key gets used.
  • gnutar-list-dir string — Default comes from configure --with-gnutar-listdir=DIR. The directory where gnutar keeps its state file.
  • mailer string — Default found by configure. A mail program that can send mail with 'MAILER -s "subject" user < message_file'.
  • amandates string — Default: /etc/amandates. The file where Amanda keeps the last date of each dumplevel.
  • connect-tries int — Default: 3. How many times the server will try a connection.
  • rep-tries int — Default: 5. How many times amandad will resend a REP packet if it doesn't get the ACK packet.
  • debug-days int — Default: 3. How many days the debug files are kept.
  • debug-amandad int — Default: 0. Debug level of the amandad process.
  • debug-amidxtaped int — Default: 0. Debug level of the amidxtaped process.
  • debug-amindexd int — Default: 0. Debug level of the amindexd process.
  • debug-amrecover int — Default: 0. Debug level of the amrecover process.
  • debug-auth int — Default: 0. Debug level of the auth module.
  • debug-event int — Default: 0. Debug level of the event module.
  • debug-holding int — Default: 0. Debug level of the holdingdisk module.
  • debug-protocol int — Default: 0. Debug level of the protocol module.
  • debug-selfcheck int — Default: 0. Debug level of the selfcheck process.
  • debug-sendsize int — Default: 0. Debug level of the sendsize process.
  • debug-sendbackup int — Default: 0. Debug level of the sendbackup process.
  • hostname string — Default: hostname. The hostname (in the DLE) of the client machine. 🦋
  • reserved-udp-port int,int — Default: --with-udpportrange or 512,1023. The reserved udp port that will be used (amrecover with bsd or bsdudp).
  • reserved-tcp-port int,int — Default: --with-low-tcpportrange or 512,1023. The reserved tcp port that will be used (amrecover with bsdtcp).
  • unreserved-tcp-port int,int — Default: --with-tcpportrange or 1025,65536. The unreserved tcp port that will be used (bsd, bsdudp).
  • property string string+ — Adds a global property for this client host, which is useful for like, e.g., Application API plugins ✨. The first string is the property name, and the following strings are the property values.

🦋 APPLICATION SECTION 🦋

amanda-client.conf can define multiple types of application, bestie. The info goes into an application section, and it looks exactly like this:

define application "name" {
    application-option application-value
    ...
}

name is the name of this type of application.

Here's the merge tea ☕ — the setting from an application gets merged with the dle setting if the name is the same as the client-application-name from the dle, or if the client-application-name from the dle isn't set and the name is the same as the plugin from the dle.

The application options and values are:

  • client-application-name string — Default: none. Not used on the client.
  • comment string — Default: none. A comment string describing this application.
  • plugin string — No default. Must be set to the name of the program, and that program must live in the $libexecdir/amanda/application directory on the client. If it's set, it must be the same as the dle plugin 👀.
  • property [append] [priority] string string+ — No default. You can set properties for the application, and each application has a different set of properties. Both strings are quoted; the first string is the name of the property to set, and the others are its values. The append keyword appends the values to the list of values for that property. The priority keyword disallows the setting of that property on the server. 💅

🎀 SCRIPT SECTION 🎀

Same situation, different section: amanda-client.conf may define multiple types of script, and the info goes into a script section that looks like this:

define script "name" {
    script-option script-value
    ...
}

name is the name of this type of script.

And the merge drama is identical: the setting from a script is merged with the dle setting if the name is the same as the client-script-name from the dle, or if the client-script-name from the dle isn't set and the name is the same as the plugin from the dle. ✨

The script options and values are:

  • client-script-name string — Default: none. Not used on the client.
  • comment string — Default: none. A comment string describing this script.
  • plugin string — No default. Must be set to the name of the program, and this program must be in the $libdir/amanda/application directory on the client. If set, it must be the same as the dle plugin.
  • execute-where client — Default: client. The value can't be changed. periodt.
  • execute-on *execute_on[,execute_on]** — No default. This is when the script must be executed, and you can specify multiple of them:
    • pre-dle-amcheck — execute before the amcheck command for the dle.
    • pre-host-amcheck — execute before the amcheck command for all dle for the client.
    • post-dle-amcheck — execute after the amcheck command for the dle.
    • post-host-amcheck — execute after the amcheck command for all dle for the client.
    • pre-dle-estimate — execute before the estimate command for the dle.
    • pre-host-estimate — execute before the estimate command for all dle for the client.
    • post-dle-estimate — execute after the estimate command for the dle.
    • post-host-estimate — execute after the estimate command for all dle for the client.
    • pre-dle-backup — execute before the backup command for the dle.
    • post-dle-backup — execute after the backup command for the dle.
    • pre-recover — execute before any level is recovered.
    • post-recover — execute after all levels are recovered.
    • pre-level-recover — execute before each level recovery.
    • post-level-recover — execute after each level recovery.
    • inter-level-recover — execute between two levels of recovery.
  • property [append] [priority] string string+ — No default. You can set properties for the script, and each script has a different set of properties. Both strings are quoted; the first string is the name of the property to set, and the others are its values. The append keyword appends the values to the list of values for that property. The priority keyword disallows the setting of that property on the server.

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

Go read the whole friend group:

The Amanda Wiki: : http://wiki.zmanda.com/ 🌈

💜 AUTHORS 💜

These legends wrote it:

  • James da Silva <jds@amanda.org>
  • Stefan G. Weichinger <sgw@amanda.org>
okay that's the whole page bestie, go configure something iconic 💅✨

Amanda 3.5.4 🦋 dated 07/23/2025 — this cutie is from the File formats and conventions section of the manual, mwah 💖

📦 where this page comes from