VFS_SHADOW_COPY(8) System Administration tools VFS_SHADOW_COPY(8)

NAME

vfs_shadow_copy - Expose snapshots to Windows clients as shadow
copies.

SYNOPSIS

vfs objects = shadow_copy

DESCRIPTION

This VFS module is part of the samba(7) suite.

The vfs_shadow_copy 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 module is stackable.

CONFIGURATION

vfs_shadow_copy 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_copy. 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:

+o YYYY is the 4 digit year

+o MM is the 2 digit month

+o DD is the 2 digit day

+o hh is the 2 digit hour

+o mm is the 2 digit minute

+o ss is the 2 digit second.


The vfs_shadow_copy snapshot naming convention can be produced with
the following date(1) command:

TZ=GMT date +@GMT-%Y.%m.%d-%H.%M.%S

EXAMPLES

Add shadow copy support to user home directories:

[homes]
vfs objects = shadow_copy

CAVEATS

This is not a backup, archival, or version control solution.

With Samba or Windows servers, vfs_shadow_copy 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.

VERSION

This man page is part of version 4.18.11 of the Samba suite.

AUTHOR

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.

Samba 4.18.11 03/13/2024 VFS_SHADOW_COPY(8)