nbdkit-floppy-plugin(1)

1nbdkit-floppy-plugin(1)             NBDKIT             nbdkit-floppy-plugin(1)
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NAME

6       nbdkit-floppy-plugin - create virtual floppy disk from directory
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SYNOPSIS

9        nbdkit floppy [dir=]DIRECTORY
10                      [label=LABEL] [size=SIZE]
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DESCRIPTION

13       "nbdkit-floppy-plugin" is a plugin for nbdkit(1) which creates a
14       virtual FAT-formatted floppy disk image from a directory on the fly.
15       The files in the specified directory (and subdirectories) appear in the
16       virtual floppy, which is served read-only over the NBD protocol.
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18       The virtual floppy disk will have a single partition (using an MBR
19       partition table).  In that partition will be a virtual FAT32 filesystem
20       containing the files.  Long filenames are supported.
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22       To create a CD/ISO, see nbdkit-iso-plugin(1).  To create a Linux
23       compatible virtual disk, see nbdkit-linuxdisk-plugin(1).
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25       Note: The plugin does not save a temporary copy of the files, so you
26       must leave the directory alone while nbdkit is running, else you may
27       get an error (for example if the plugin tries to open one of the files
28       which you have moved or deleted).  This is different from how
29       nbdkit-iso-plugin(1) and nbdkit-linuxdisk-plugin(1) work, as both of
30       those plugins keep a temporary copy of the files and directories.
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EXAMPLE

33       Create a virtual floppy disk:
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35        nbdkit floppy /path/to/directory
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PARAMETERS

38       [dir=]DIRECTORY
39           Specify the directory containing files and subdirectories which
40           will be added to the virtual floppy disk.  Files inside this
41           directory will appear in the root directory of the virtual floppy.
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43           This parameter is required.
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45           "dir=" is a magic config key and may be omitted in most cases.  See
46           "Magic parameters" in nbdkit(1).
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48       label=LABEL
49           The optional volume label for the filesystem.  This may be up to 11
50           ASCII characters.  If omitted, "NBDKITFLOPY" is used.
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52       size=SIZE
53           Optional total disk size.  If omitted then the disk will only be
54           large enough to store all the files and directories from
55           "DIRECTORY" with no free space.
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LIMITATIONS

58       The maximum size of the disk is around 2TB.  The maximum size of a
59       single file is 4GB.  Non-regular files (such as block special, symbolic
60       links, sockets) are not supported and will be ignored.
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62       The plugin does not support writes.  nbdkit-cow-filter(1) can be placed
63       on top to enable writes, but they will be thrown away when nbdkit exits
64       and not written to the underlying directory.
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66       The virtual floppy will not be bootable.  This could be added in future
67       (using SYSLINUX) but requires considerable work.  As a workaround use
68       nbdkit-iso-plugin(1) instead.
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70       FAT32 is always used, even for small disks (where dosfstools, for
71       example, would choose FAT12 or FAT16).  This results in extra wasted
72       space, but since it is only virtual wasted space it isn't really
73       important, and it simplifies the implementation greatly.
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FILES

76       $plugindir/nbdkit-floppy-plugin.so
77           The plugin.
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79           Use "nbdkit --dump-config" to find the location of $plugindir.
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VERSION

82       "nbdkit-floppy-plugin" first appeared in nbdkit 1.8.
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AUTHORS

89       Richard W.M. Jones
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COPYRIGHT

92       Copyright Red Hat
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LICENSE

95       Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
96       modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
97       met:
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99       •   Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
100           notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
101
102       •   Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
103           notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
104           documentation and/or other materials provided with the
105           distribution.
106
107       •   Neither the name of Red Hat nor the names of its contributors may
108           be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
109           without specific prior written permission.
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111       THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY RED HAT AND CONTRIBUTORS ''AS IS'' AND ANY
112       EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
113       IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
114       PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL RED HAT OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
115       LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
116       CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
117       SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR
118       BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY,
119       WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR
120       OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
121       ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
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125nbdkit-1.36.2                     2023-11-26           nbdkit-floppy-plugin(1)