vfs_shadow_copy2 — Expose snapshots to Windows clients as shadow copies.
vfs objects = shadow_copy2
This VFS module is part of the samba(7) suite.
The vfs_shadow_copy2 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.
This is a 2nd implementation of a shadow copy module. This version has the following features:
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].
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.
This module is stackable.
vfs_shadow_copy2 relies on a filesystem
snapshot implementation. Many common filesystems have native
support for this.
Filesystem snapshots must be mounted on
specially named directories in order to be recognized by
vfs_shadow_copy2. The snapshot mount points must
be immediate children of a the directory being shared.
The snapshot naming convention is @GMT-YYYY.MM.DD-hh.mm.ss, where:
YYYY is the 4 digit year
MM is the 2 digit month
DD is the 2 digit day
hh is the 2 digit hour
mm is the 2 digit minute
ss is the 2 digit second.
The vfs_shadow_copy2 snapshot naming convention can be
produced with the following date(1) command:
TZ=GMT date +@GMT-%Y.%m.%d-%H.%M.%S
Path to the directory where snapshots are kept.
Path to the base directory that snapshots are from.
If you enable shadow:fixinodes
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.
Add shadow copy support to user home directories:
[homes]
vfs objects = shadow_copy2
shadow:snapdir = /data/snaphots
shadow:basedir = /data/home
This is not a backup, archival, or version control solution.
With Samba or Windows servers,
vfs_shadow_copy2 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.