PRDB.DB0(5)

📦
version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 PRDB.DB0 💖

okay bestie, so this is the manual page for prdb.DB0 from the AFS file reference situation — it lives in section 5 of the manual, iykyk. let's get into it ✨

✨ NAME ✨

prdb.DB0, prdb.DBSYS1 — these two hold the Protection Database and the little log that comes with it 🎀

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

the main character: prdb.DB0

so prdb.DB0 is literally the file holding the Protection Database 👑 and what does that database do? it maps AFS user, machine, and group names to their respective IDs — that's AFS UIDs and GIDs bestie — and it also keeps track of group memberships. the Protection Server (the ptserver process, periodt) reads all of this so it can help the File Server hand out data access to the authorized girlies only 💅 no randos allowed.

the sidekick: prdb.DBSYS1

prdb.DBSYS1 is a log file 🦋 where the Protection Server writes down every single database operation before it actually does it. and why? because if an operation gets interrupted 😭 mid-way, the Protection Server just replays the log to finish the whole thing off. it's giving safety net, it's giving resilience, we love her.

where they live + how they sync 🏠

both files are in binary format (so no, don't try to read them with your eyeballs, bestie 🙈) and they reside in the /var/lib/openafs/db directory on each of the cell's database server machines.

so when the Protection Server starts up or restarts on a machine, it connects with its peers and vibe-checks whether its copy of the database matches the copies on the other database server machines. if it does not match 👀 the Protection Servers call on AFS's distributed database technology, Ubik, to spread to all of the machines the copy of the database that has the highest version number. newest wins, no cap 🏆

important housekeeping ⚠️

always administer the Protection Database through the commands in the pts suite. don't freestyle it.

and it's advisable to make an archive copy of the database on the regular — use a tool like the UNIX tar command for that. back it up bestie, future you will be obsessed with past you 🫶

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

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 devs fr fr 💖

okay that's the whole page, you ate that reading session ✨ this one's OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27, and it's PRDB.DB0(5) — take care of ur database babes, mwah 💅💖

📦 where this page comes from