source: trunk/server/docs-xml/manpages-3/vfs_shadow_copy2.8.xml

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<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//Samba-Team//DTD DocBook V4.2-Based Variant V1.0//EN" "http://www.samba.org/samba/DTD/samba-doc">
<refentry id="vfs_shadow_copy2.8">

<refmeta>
        <refentrytitle>vfs_shadow_copy2</refentrytitle>
        <manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
        <refmiscinfo class="source">Samba</refmiscinfo>
        <refmiscinfo class="manual">System Administration tools</refmiscinfo>
        <refmiscinfo class="version">3.6</refmiscinfo>
</refmeta>


<refnamediv>
        <refname>vfs_shadow_copy2</refname>
        <refpurpose>Expose snapshots to Windows clients as shadow copies.</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>

<refsynopsisdiv>
        <cmdsynopsis>
                <command>vfs objects = shadow_copy2</command>
        </cmdsynopsis>
</refsynopsisdiv>

<refsect1>
        <title>DESCRIPTION</title>

        <para>This VFS module is part of the
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>samba</refentrytitle>
        <manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry> suite.</para>

        <para>The <command>vfs_shadow_copy2</command> VFS module functionality
        that is similar to Microsoft Shadow Copy services. When setup properly,
        this module allows Microsoft Shadow Copy clients to browse
        "shadow copies" on Samba shares.
        </para>

        <para>This is a 2nd implementation of a shadow copy module. This
        version has the following features:</para>
        <orderedlist continuation="restarts" inheritnum="ignore" numeration="arabic">
        <listitem><para>You don't need to populate your shares with symlinks to the
        snapshots. This can be very important when you have thousands of
        shares, or use [homes].</para></listitem>
        <listitem><para>The inode number of the files is altered so it is different
        from the original. This allows the 'restore' button to work
        without a sharing violation.</para></listitem>
        </orderedlist>

        <para>This module is stackable.</para>

</refsect1>

<refsect1>
        <title>CONFIGURATION</title>

        <para><command>vfs_shadow_copy2</command> relies on a filesystem
        snapshot implementation. Many common filesystems have native
        support for this.
        </para>

        <para>Filesystem snapshots must be mounted on
        specially named directories in order to be recognized by
        <command>vfs_shadow_copy2</command>. The snapshot mount points must
        be immediate children of a the directory being shared.</para>

        <para>The snapshot naming convention is @GMT-YYYY.MM.DD-hh.mm.ss,
        where:
        <itemizedlist>
                <listitem><para><command>YYYY</command> is the 4 digit year</para></listitem>
                <listitem><para><command>MM</command> is the 2 digit month</para></listitem>
                <listitem><para><command>DD</command> is the 2 digit day</para></listitem>
                <listitem><para><command>hh</command> is the 2 digit hour</para></listitem>
                <listitem><para><command>mm</command> is the 2 digit minute</para></listitem>
                <listitem><para><command>ss</command> is the 2 digit second.</para></listitem>
                </itemizedlist>
        </para>

        <para>The <command>vfs_shadow_copy2</command> snapshot naming convention can be
        produced with the following <citerefentry><refentrytitle>date</refentrytitle>
        <manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry> command:
        <programlisting>
        TZ=GMT date +@GMT-%Y.%m.%d-%H.%M.%S
        </programlisting></para>

</refsect1>

<refsect1>
        <title>OPTIONS</title>

        <variablelist>
                <varlistentry>
                <term>shadow:snapdir = SNAPDIR
                </term>
                <listitem>
                <para>Path to the directory where snapshots are kept.
                </para>
                </listitem>
                </varlistentry>

                <varlistentry>
                <term>shadow:basedir = BASEDIR
                </term>
                <listitem>
                <para>Path to the base directory that snapshots are from.
                </para>
                </listitem>
                </varlistentry>

                <varlistentry>
                <term>shadow:sort = asc/desc, or not specified for unsorted (default)
                </term>
                <listitem>
                <para>By this parameter one can specify that the shadow
                copy directories should be sorted before they are sent to the
                client.  This can be beneficial as unix filesystems are usually
                not listed alphabetically sorted. If enabled, you typically
                want to specify descending order.
                </para>
                </listitem>
                </varlistentry>

                <varlistentry>
                <term>shadow:localtime = yes/no
                </term>
                <listitem>
                <para>This is an optional parameter that indicates whether the
                snapshot names are in UTC/GMT or in local time. By default
                UTC is expected.
                </para>
                </listitem>
                </varlistentry>

                <varlistentry>
                <term>shadow:format = format specification for snapshot names
                </term>
                <listitem>
                <para>This is an optional parameter that specifies the format
                specification for the naming of snapshots.  The format must
                be compatible with the conversion specifications recognized
                by str[fp]time.  The default value is "@GMT-%Y.%m.%d-%H.%M.%S".
                </para>
                </listitem>
                </varlistentry>

                <varlistentry>
                <term>shadow:fixinodes = yes/no
                </term>
                <listitem>
                <para>If you enable <command moreinfo="none">shadow:fixinodes
                </command> then this module will modify the apparent inode
                number of files in the snapshot directories using a hash of the
                files path. This is needed for snapshot systems where the
                snapshots have the same device:inode number as the original
                files (such as happens with GPFS snapshots). If you don't set
                this option then the 'restore' button in the shadow copy UI
                will fail with a sharing violation.
                </para>
                </listitem>
                </varlistentry>
                </variablelist>
</refsect1>

<refsect1>
        <title>EXAMPLES</title>

        <para>Add shadow copy support to user home directories:</para>
<programlisting>
        <smbconfsection name="[homes]"/>
        <smbconfoption name="vfs objects">shadow_copy2</smbconfoption>
        <smbconfoption name="shadow:snapdir">/data/snapshots</smbconfoption>
        <smbconfoption name="shadow:basedir">/data/home</smbconfoption>
        <smbconfoption name="shadow:sort">desc</smbconfoption>
</programlisting>

</refsect1>

<refsect1>
        <title>CAVEATS</title>

        <para>This is not a backup, archival, or version control solution.
        </para>

        <para>With Samba or Windows servers,
        <command>vfs_shadow_copy2</command> is designed to be an end-user
        tool only. It does not replace or enhance your backup and
        archival solutions and should in no way be considered as
        such. Additionally, if you need version control, implement a
        version control system.</para>

</refsect1>



<refsect1>
        <title>VERSION</title>

        <para>This man page is correct for version 3.2.7 of the Samba suite.
        </para>
</refsect1>

<refsect1>
        <title>AUTHOR</title>

        <para>The original Samba software and related utilities
        were created by Andrew Tridgell. Samba is now developed
        by the Samba Team as an Open Source project similar
        to the way the Linux kernel is developed.</para>

</refsect1>

</refentry>