1VFS_SHADOW_COPY2(8) System Administration tools VFS_SHADOW_COPY2(8)
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6 vfs_shadow_copy2 - Expose snapshots to Windows clients as shadow
7 copies.
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10 vfs objects = shadow_copy2
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13 This VFS module is part of the samba(7) suite.
14 The vfs_shadow_copy2 VFS module functionality that is similar to
16 Microsoft Shadow Copy services. When setup properly, this module allows
17 Microsoft Shadow Copy clients to browse "shadow copies" on Samba
18 shares.
19 This is a 2nd implementation of a shadow copy module. This version has
21 the following features:
22 1. You don't need to populate your shares with symlinks to the
24 snapshots. This can be very important when you have thousands of
25 shares, or use [homes].
26 2. The inode number of the files is altered so it is different from
28 the original. This allows the 'restore' button to work without a
29 sharing violation.
30 This module is stackable.
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35 vfs_shadow_copy2 relies on a filesystem snapshot implementation. Many
36 common filesystems have native support for this.
37 Filesystem snapshots must be mounted on specially named directories in
39 order to be recognized by vfs_shadow_copy2. The snapshot mount points
40 must be immediate children of a the directory being shared.
41 The snapshot naming convention is @GMT-YYYY.MM.DD-hh.mm.ss, where:
43 · YYYY is the 4 digit year
45 · MM is the 2 digit month
47 · DD is the 2 digit day
49 · hh is the 2 digit hour
51 · mm is the 2 digit minute
53 · ss is the 2 digit second.
55 The vfs_shadow_copy2 snapshot naming convention can be produced with
58 the following date(1) command:
59 TZ=GMT date +@GMT-%Y.%m.%d-%H.%M.%S
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64 shadow:snapdir = SNAPDIR
65 Path to the directory where snapshots are kept.
66 shadow:basedir = BASEDIR
68 Path to the base directory that snapshots are from.
69 shadow:sort = asc/desc, or not specified for unsorted (default)
71 By this parameter one can specify that the shadow copy directories
72 should be sorted before they are sent to the client. This can be
73 beneficial as unix filesystems are usually not listed
74 alphabetically sorted. If enabled, you typically want to specify
75 descending order.
76 shadow:localtime = yes/no
78 This is an optional parameter that indicates whether the snapshot
79 names are in UTC/GMT or in local time. By default UTC is expected.
80 shadow:format = format specification for snapshot names
82 This is an optional parameter that specifies the format
83 specification for the naming of snapshots. The format must be
84 compatible with the conversion specifications recognized by
85 str[fp]time. The default value is "@GMT-%Y.%m.%d-%H.%M.%S".
86 shadow:fixinodes = yes/no
88 If you enable shadow:fixinodes then this module will modify the
89 apparent inode number of files in the snapshot directories using a
90 hash of the files path. This is needed for snapshot systems where
91 the snapshots have the same device:inode number as the original
92 files (such as happens with GPFS snapshots). If you don't set this
93 option then the 'restore' button in the shadow copy UI will fail
94 with a sharing violation.
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97 Add shadow copy support to user home directories:
98 [homes]
100 vfs objects = shadow_copy2
101 shadow:snapdir = /data/snapshots
102 shadow:basedir = /data/home
103 shadow:sort = desc
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106 This is not a backup, archival, or version control solution.
107 With Samba or Windows servers, vfs_shadow_copy2 is designed to be an
109 end-user tool only. It does not replace or enhance your backup and
110 archival solutions and should in no way be considered as such.
111 Additionally, if you need version control, implement a version control
112 system.
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115 This man page is correct for version 3.2.7 of the Samba suite.
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118 The original Samba software and related utilities were created by
119 Andrew Tridgell. Samba is now developed by the Samba Team as an Open
120 Source project similar to the way the Linux kernel is developed.
121Samba 3.6 04/11/2016 VFS_SHADOW_COPY2(8)