BACKUP_JOBS(8)

📦
version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💅 backup_jobs — bestie edition ✨

okay so this is BACKUP_JOBS(8) from the AFS Command Reference, and it's literally the page for +backup jobs+ — the command that tells you what your backup stuff is doing right now. pending things, running things, all of it. let's get into it 🫶

🌸 NAME 🌸

backup_jobs — lists pending and running operations in interactive mode

(that's the whole vibe. it's a lister. it's nosy. we love her for that 💖)

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

jobs [-help]

j [-h]

yep, j is the glow-up nickname. short, cute, same energy. 🎀

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so the backup jobs command lists the job ID number and status of every backup operation that's running or pending in the current interactive session. that's it, that's the whole job (pun absolutely intended).

real talk tho: this command can only be issued in interactive mode. no solo runs, bestie. it needs the group chat open. and if whoever started the backup interactive command included the -localauth flag, or the -cell argument, or both, then those settings apply to this command too. they just carry over. periodt.

and if u see an operation in the output that u want GONE? u hit it with the backup kill command and identify the operation using the job ID number from this command's output. that's the receipt. keep it. 😌

one more thing: if u wanna check on a Tape Coordinator's status rather than the status of a specific operation, that's a different command — u want the backup status command. don't mix them up, it's giving different assignments. 💅

💖 OPTIONS 💖

  • -help — prints the online help for this command. and btw, all other valid options are ignored when u use this one. she's the main character and she does not share the spotlight. 👑

🌈 OUTPUT 🌈

okay so the output always includes the expiration date and time of the tokens that the backup command interpreter is using during the current interactive session. always. every single time. here's the format:

<date>   <time>: TOKEN EXPIRATION

and here's the little plot twist 🫣 — if the execution date and time specified for a scheduled dump operation is later than <date time>, then its individual line (the one we're about to describe, keep reading bestie) shows up below this line. why? to indicate that the current tokens will not be available to it. she's telling u in advance. she's being a good friend. 💜

now, if whoever issued the backup command included the -localauth flag when entering interactive mode, the line instead reads as follows:

:  TOKEN NEVER EXPIRES

iconic. no expiry. immortal token behavior. ✨

🍓 the scheduled dump entry 🍓

the entry for a scheduled dump operation has this format:

Job <job_ID>:  <timestamp>:  dump  <volume_set>  <dump_level>

where:

  • <job_ID> — is a job identification number assigned by the Backup System.
  • <timestamp> — indicates the date and time the dump operation is to begin, in the format month/date/year hours:minutes (in 24-hour format).
  • <volume_set> — indicates the volume set to dump.
  • <dump_level> — indicates the dump level at which to perform the dump operation.

🧚 the other-operation entry 🧚

the line for a pending or running operation of any other type has this format:

Job <job_ID>:  <operation>  <status>

where:

  • <job_ID> — is a job identification number assigned by the Backup System.
  • <operation> — identifies the operation the Tape Coordinator is performing, which is initiated by the indicated command:
    • Dump (dump name) — initiated by the backup dump command. the dump name has the following format:
<volume_set_name>.<dump_level_name>
  • Restore — initiated by the backup diskrestore, backup volrestore, or backup volsetrestore command.
  • Labeltape (tape_label) — initiated by the backup labeltapen command. the tape_label is the name specified by the backup labeltape command's -name or -pname argument.
  • Scantape — initiated by the backup scantape command.
  • SaveDb — initiated by the backup savedb command.
  • RestoreDb — initiated by the backup restoredb command.
  • <status> — indicates the job's current status, in one of the following messages. and listen: if no message appears, the job is either still pending or has finished. no news is ambiguous news, unfortunately. 😭
    • number Kbytes, volume volume_name — for a running dump operation, indicates the number of kilobytes copied to tape or a backup data file so far, and the volume currently being dumped.
    • number Kbytes, restore.volume — for a running restore operation, indicates the number of kilobytes copied into AFS from a tape or a backup data file so far.
    • [abort requested] — the backup kill command was issued, but the termination signal has yet to reach the Tape Coordinator. it's in transit. it's on the way. be patient. 🙈
    • [abort sent] — the operation is canceled by the backup kill command. once the Backup System removes an operation from the queue or stops it from running, it no longer appears at all in the output from the command. she's gone. poof. 💀
    • [butc contact lost] — the backup command interpreter cannot reach the Tape Coordinator. this message can mean either that the Tape Coordinator handling the operation was terminated or failed while the operation was running, or that the connection to the Tape Coordinator timed out. two possibilities, zero clarification. the mystery is real. 😭
    • [done] — the Tape Coordinator has finished the operation. slay. ✅
    • [drive wait] — the operation is waiting for the specified tape drive to become free. it's queuing. it's in line. it's a patient queen. 🎀
    • [operator wait] — the Tape Coordinator is waiting for the backup operator to insert a tape in the drive. yes bestie, that's u. go put the tape in. 💅

🌟 EXAMPLES 🌟

the following example shows that two restore operations and one dump operation are running (presumably on different Tape Coordinators) and that the backup command interpreter's tokens expire on 22 April 1999 at 10:45 am:

backup> jobs
Job 1: Restore, 1306 Kbytes, restore.volume
Job 2: Dump (user.sunday1), 34 Kbytes, volume user.pat.backup
Job 3: Restore, 2498 Kbytes, restore.volume
       04/22/1999 10:45: TOKEN EXPIRATION

look at that. three jobs, all vibing, all accounted for. 👑

👑 PRIVILEGE REQUIRED 👑

None. 🎉 ur free. no special powers needed.

However — queuing any operation requires privilege, and it is possible to issue this command only within the interactive session in which the jobs are queued. so like… the command itself is free, but u gotta be in the right room with the right people. iykyk. 🫶

🌈 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.

aaaand that's the whole page bestie 💖 this one came from the OpenAFS crew, and the page itself is dated 2026-07-27. go forth, run jobs, know exactly what ur backup system is up to. so proud of u. 🦋✨🎀

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