ffile ffile
NAME
ffile - create, or restore from, a full file system archive
SYNOPSIS
ffile -B [-dlmortvAENSV] bkjobid ofsname ofsdev ofslab descript
ffile -RC [-dlmortvAENSV] ofsname ofsdev refsname redev rsjobid
descript
ffile -RF [-dlmortvAENSV] ofsname ofsdev descript
rsjobid:uid:date:type:name
[:[rename]:[inode]] ...
DESCRIPTION
The ffile command is invoked as a child process by other shell
commands. The command name, ffile, is read either from the
bkhist.tab file or the bkreg -m command and option. The -B, -R, -F,
and -C options are passed to ffile by the shell commands backup,
restore, and urestore. The other options are passed from the
bkhist.tab or the bkreg -p command and option. The arguments are
sent to ffile from various locations in the backup service.
ffile -B is invoked as a child process by bkdaemon to perform a full
backup of the file system ofsname (the originating file system). All
files in ofsname are archived. The resulting backup is created in
the format described on cpio(4). The backup is recorded in the
backup history log, /usr/oam/bkrs/tables/bkhist.tab.
ffile -RC and RF are invoked as child processes by rsoper to extract
files from an full file system archive created by ffile -B. The file
system archive is assumed to be in the format described on cpio(4).
If the -RC option is selected, the entire file system is restored.
If the -RF option is specified, only selected objects from the
archive are restored. Each 7-tuple, composed of
rsjobid:uid:date:type:name:rename:inode, specifies an object to be
restored from the file system archive. The 7-tuple objects come to
ffile from rsstatus.tab.
The arguments to ffile are defined as follows:
bkjobid
the job id assigned by backup. The method uses the bkjobid
when it creates history log and table-of-contents entries.
ofsname
the name of the file system that is to be backed up.
7/91 Page 1
ffile ffile
ofsdev the name of the block special device on which the file system
resides.
ofslab the volume name on the file system [see labelit(1M)].
descript
is a description for a destination device in the form:
dgroup:dname:dchar:dlabels
dgroup specifies a device group [see devgroup.tab(4)].
dname specifies a particular device name [see device.tab(4)].
dchars specifies characteristics associated with the device.
If specified, dchar overrides the defaults for the specified
device and group. [See device.tab(4) for a further
description of device characteristics.]
dlabels specifies the volume names for the media to be used
for reading or writing the archive.
refsname
if non-null, the name of the file system to be restored to
instead of ofsname. At least one of refsname and redev must
be null.
redev if non-null, the partition to be restored to instead of
ofsdev. At least one of refsname and redev must be null.
rsjobid
the restore jobid assigned by restore or urestore.
uid the real uid of the user who requested the object to be
restored. It must match the uid of the owner of the object at
the time the archive was made, or it must be the superuser
uid.
date the newest "last modification time" that is acceptable for a
restorable object. The object is restored from the archive
immediately older than this date. date is a hexadecimal
representation of the date and time provided by the time
system call [see time(2)].
type either F or D, indicating that the object is a file or a
directory, respectively.
name the name the object had in the file system archive.
rename the name that the object should be restored to (it may differ
from the name the object had in the file system archive). If
omitted, the object is restored to name.
inode the inode number of the object as it was stored in the file
system archive. [inode] is not used by ffile -R, and is
provided only for command-line compatibility with other
Page 2 7/91
ffile ffile
restoration methods.
Options
Some options are only significant during ffile -B invocations; they
are accepted but ignored during ffile -R invocations because the
command is invoked and options are specified automatically by
restore. These options are flagged with an asterisk (*).
d* Inhibits recording of the archive in the backup history
log.
l* Creates a long form of the backup history log that includes
a table-of-contents for the archive. This includes the
data used to generate a listing of each file in the archive
(like that produced by the ls -l command).
m* Mounts the originating file system read-only before
starting the backup and remounts it with its original
permissions after completing the backup. Cannot be used
with root or /usr file systems.
o Permits the user to override media insertion requests [see
getvol(1M) and the description of the -o option].
r* Includes remotely mounted resources in the archive.
t* Creates a table of contents for the backup on additional
media instead of in the backup history log.
v* Validates the archive as it is written. A checksum is
computed as the archive is being written; as each medium is
completed, it is re-read and the checksum recomputed to
verify that each block is readable and correct. If either
check fails, the medium is considered unreadable. If -A
has been specified, the archiving operation fails;
otherwise, the operator is prompted to replace the failed
medium.
A Establishes automated mode, (i.e., does not prompt the user
to insert or remove media).
E* Reports an estimate of media usage for the archive; then
performs the backup.
N* Reports an estimate of media usage for the archive; does
not perform the backup.
S Displays a period (.) for every 100 (512 byte) blocks
read-from or written-to the archive on the destination
device.
7/91 Page 3
ffile ffile
V Displays the name of each file written-to or extracted-from
the archive on the destination device.
User Interactions
The connection between an archiving method and backup is more complex
than a simple fork/exec or pipe. The backup command is responsible
for all interactions with the user, either directly, or through
bkoper. Therefore, ffile neither reads from standard-input nor
writes to standard-output or standard-error. A method library must
be used [see libbrmeth(3)] to communicate reports (estimates,
filenames, periods, status, etc.) to backup.
DIAGNOSTICS
The exit codes for ffile are the following:
0 successful completion of the task
1 one or more parameters to ffile are invalid.
2 an error has occurred which caused ffile to fail to complete all
portions of its task.
FILES
/usr/oam/bkrs/tables/bkexcept.tab
lists the files that are to be excluded from an
incremental file system backup.
/usr/oam/bkrs/tables/bkhist.tab
lists the labels of all volumes that have been used
for backup operations.
/usr/oam/bkrs/tables/rsstatus.tab
tracks the status ofall restore requests from users.
/usr/oam/bkrs/logs/bklog
logs errors generated by the backup methods and the
backup command
/usr/oam/bkrs/logs/rslog
logs errors generated by the restore methods and the
restore command
$TMP/filelist$$ temporarily stores a table of contents for a backup
archive.
SEE ALSO
backup(1M), bkoper(1M) cpio(1), cpio(4), device.tab(4), fdp(1),
ffile(1), fimage(1), getvol(1M), incfile(1), labelit(1M),
libbrmeth(3), ls(1), restore(1M), rsoper(1M), time(2), urestore(1)
Page 4 7/91