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. 

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 slice 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 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. 

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)

  —  System Administration Utilities