BACKUP_LISTHOSTS(8)

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version 1.8.16.1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

✨ BACKUP_LISTHOSTS ✨ (the backup listhosts of it all)

okay bestie, welcome to section 8 of the AFS Command Reference 💖 this is the page for backup_listhosts — which lists the Tape Coordinators registered in the Backup Database. yes, really. that's the whole job. and she does it WELL. 🎀

🌸 NAME 🌸

backup_listhosts — lists Tape Coordinators registered in the Backup Database 💅

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

backup listhosts [-localauth] [-cell <cell name>] [-help]

backup listh [-l] [-c <cell name>] [-h]

two whole ways to spell it, because she's flexible like that ✨

💫 DESCRIPTION 💫

so here's the vibe: the backup listhosts command shows you the Backup Database record of the port offset numbers defined for Tape Coordinator machines. no cap. 🫶

and here's the important bit — a Tape Coordinator must have an entry in that list to be available for backup operations. if she's not on the list, she's not invited to the party. periodt. 💀

careful though! just because an entry exists does NOT necessarily mean the Tape Coordinator process (butc) is currently running at that port offset. the entry is a vibe, not a liveness check. 🙈

if you actually want to know whether it's running, go issue the backup status command. that's the one that will tell you the truth. ⭐

👑 OPTIONS 👑

  • -localauth — constructs a server ticket using a key from the local /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile file. the backup command interpreter shows it to the Backup Server, Volume Server and VL Server during mutual authentication. do NOT combine this flag with the -cell argument — they do not share a room peacefully bestie. for more details, see backup(8).
  • -cell <cell name> — names the cell in which to run the command. do NOT combine this argument with the -localauth flag — same rule, other direction. for more details, see backup(8).
  • -help — prints the online help for this command. all other valid options are ignored because -help is the main character and she is not sharing the spotlight. 👑

🎀 OUTPUT 🎀

after a "Tape hosts:" header (yes, with the colon, she's particular), the output reports two things about each Tape Coordinator currently defined in the Backup Database:

  • the hostname of the machine housing the Tape Coordinator. the format of this name depends on the hostname format used when the backup addhost command was issued. so if past-you chose chaos, present-you lives with it. 🤷
  • the Tape Coordinator's port offset number.

and here's a cute detail: the Tape Coordinators appear in the order in which they were added to the Backup Database. it's chronological, it's giving origin story, it's iconic. 🌈

🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

the following example shows the result of the command in the Example Corporation cell:

% backup listhosts
Tape hosts:
    Host backup1.example.com, port offset 0
    Host backup1.example.com, port offset 1
    Host backup3.example.com, port offset 4
    Host backup2.example.com, port offset 3

notice how backup3 shows up before backup2? that's the insertion order doing its thing, not a typo, not a glitch, just the database remembering the journey 🦋

🧚 PRIVILEGE REQUIRED 🧚

the issuer must be listed in the /etc/openafs/server/UserList file on every machine where the Backup Server is running. OR — alternate route — the issuer must be logged onto a server machine as the local superuser "root" if the -localauth flag is included. ✨

so basically: be on the list, or be root on the actual box. there is no third option, bestie. 🙈

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

go read backup_status(8) if you want the truth about what's actually running, iykwk 💖

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 absolute icon lives in OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27, and the original manual name is BACKUP_LISTHOSTS(8) — section 8, system administration commands, as she deserves. go forth and list some hosts, you've got this 💅✨

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