DRBDMETA(8)

💖 DRBDMETA(8) — the DRBD meta data management tool, bestie edition 💖

okay so. this is drbdmeta, section 8 of the manual (system administration, iykyk). she's the one who handles DRBD's meta data storage. let's get into it 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

drbdmeta — DRBD's meta data management tool. she creates, she displays, she modifies. main character energy fr 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

drbdmeta [--force] [--ignore-sanity-checks] {device} {v06 minor |
         v07 meta_dev index | v08 meta_dev index} {command}
         [cmd args...]

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Drbdmeta is your girl for creating, displaying and modifying the contents of DRBD's meta data storage. but like — lowkey — you usually do not want to run this directly. start it through the frontend drbdadm(8) instead, bestie. that's the vibe.

This command only works if the DRBD resource is currently down, or at least detached from its backing storage. no cap.

• The first parameter is the device node associated to the resource.
• The second parameter lets you select the version of the meta data. Currently all major DRBD releases (0.6, 0.7 and 8) are supported. all three, periodt 👑

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💅 OPTIONS 💅

• --force — every question that drbdmeta asks gets treated like the user already answered 'yes'. no more asking, she just goes 🫶
• --ignore-sanity-checks — some sanity checks make drbdmeta terminate. e.g. if a file system image would get destroyed by creating the meta data. with this option you can force drbdmeta to ignore these checks. > ⚠️ like, it's literally called ignoring sanity checks. proceed with intention, not on autopilot.

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⭐ COMMANDS ⭐

• create-md --peer-max-bio-size val

Create-md initializes the meta data storage. this needs to be done before a DRBD resource can be taken online for the first time, fr fr. and in case there's already a meta data signature of an older format sitting there, drbdmeta will ask you if it should convert the older format to the selected format. so polite of her 🎀

If you will use the resource before it is connected to its peer for the first time, DRBD may perform better if you use the --peer-max-bio-size option. For DRBD versions of the peer use up to these values:

• <8.3.7 → 4k
• 8.3.8 → 32k
• 8.3.9 → 128k
• 8.4.0 → 1M

• get-gi

Get-gi shows a short textual representation of the data generation identifier. In version 0.6 and 0.7 these are generation counters, while in version 8 it is a set of UUIDs. different eras, same slay ✨

• show-gi

Show-gi prints a textual representation of the data generation identifiers including explanatory information. it's giving ✨full context✨

• dump-md

Dumps the whole contents of the meta data storage — including the stored bit-map and activity-log — in a textual representation. the whole thing. no crumbs left 🙈

• outdate

Sets the outdated flag in the meta data. This is used by the peer node when it wants to become primary, but cannot communicate with the DRBD stack on this host.

• dstate

Prints the state of the data on the backing storage. The output is always followed by /DUnknown, since drbdmeta only looks at the local meta data. she's local only, she's not nosy 💜

• check-resize

Examines the device size of a backing device, and it's last known device size, recorded in a file /var/lib/drbd/drbd-minor-??.lkbd. In case the size of the backing device changed, and the meta data can be found at the old position, it moves the meta data to the right position at the end of the block device. she's relocating. she's thriving 🧚

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👑 EXPERTS COMMANDS 👑

Drbdmeta allows you to modify the meta data as well. This is intentionally omitted for the command's usage output, since you should only use it if you really know what you are doing.

💀 By setting the generation identifiers to wrong values, you risk to overwrite your up-to-data data with an older version of your data. read that again. your current data. gone. replaced by old data. that is the actual, real, no-hyperbole stakes here.

• set-gi gi

Set-gi allows you to set the generation identifier. Gi needs to be a generation counter for the 0.6 and 0.7 format, and a UUID set for 8.x. Specify it in the same way as get-gi shows it. match the format, bestie, don't freestyle it 🙈

• restore-md dump_file

Reads the dump_file and writes it to the meta data. simple as that, she's restoring 💖

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🌈 VERSION 🌈

This document was revised for version 8.3.2 of the DRBD distribution.

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🫶 AUTHOR 🫶

Written by Philipp Reisner <philipp.reisner@linbit.com> and Lars Ellenberg <lars.ellenberg@linbit.com>. legends, honestly 🌟

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😭 REPORTING BUGS 😭

Report bugs to <drbd-user@lists.linbit.com>. they wanna hear about it, for real.

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💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

Copyright 2001-2008 LINBIT Information Technologies, Philipp Reisner, Lars Ellenberg. This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

⚠️ "no warranty" is not a vibe, it's a legal statement. she is free software and she comes as-is. 💀

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• drbdadm(8)

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okay that's the whole page, bestie!! and for the cute sign-off: this lil doc came from DRBD 8.3.2, dated 15 Oct 2008 (yes, she's vintage — vintage is iconic 💅), and in the manual she's filed under DRBDMETA(8). now go run her through drbdadm like a good girlboss ✨🎀🦋