pbackup

The pbackup utility is run on the so-called backup server. It connects via SSH to the servers where some or all Containers are to be backed up and puts the tarballs into the directory defined in the /etc/vzbackup.conf global backup configuration file (the default directory is /var/parallels/backups ). Later on, the Container backups may be restored from this directory.

Syntax

pbackup [ backup_options ] server 1 ... [ CT_options ]

You may specify any number of servers in the command-line by names or IP addresses. You may also enter these names as the value of the BACKUP_NODES parameter in the global backup configuration file to avoid the necessity to specify them in the command-line. In this case, you shall specify the –a option instead.

Notes:

1. This section describes backup options for Containers. For backup options that can be used with virtual machines, see pbackup .

2. While the following two subsections provide the complete reference on the pbackup and prestore utilities, many of their options can be specified in the /etc/vzbackup.conf configuration file to be used as the default ones.

Backup Options

Name	Description
-F, -I	Create a full backup. A full backup contains all virtual machine data.
-i	Make an incremental backup or, if no full backups are available, a full backup. An incremental backup contains only the file that were changed since the previous full or incremental backup.
--ssh-opts `<options>`	Options to be passed to `ssh` . See examples in the global backup configuration file.

These options define the list of Containers to back up:

Name

Description

-e <CT_ID|CT_name> [...]

The Containers to back up on the server. Containers can be specified using both their IDs (e.g., 101 or 102 ) and their names (e.g., comp1 or comp2 ).

If the --vzcache option is specified, not the Containers themselves, but their caches will be backed up.

-x <CT_ID|CT_name> [...]

The Containers that need not be backed up (Containers to exclude). Containers can be specified using both their IDs (e.g., 101 or 102 ) and their names (e.g., comp1 or comp2 ).

If the --vzcache option is specified, not the Containers themselves, but their caches will be excluded from backing up.

It is sufficient to specify only one Container option: either –e , or –x ; or to do without any Container options if all the Containers from the specified server(s) are to be backed up.

Container-specific Backup Options

These options must be used with the vzctl command instead of prlctl .

Name	Description
-Cg -Cb -Cn	Compress the resulting Container backups with `gzip` ( `-Cg` ), `bzip2` ( `-Cb` ) or do not use compression ( `-Cn` ). This option overrides the `BACKUP_COMPRESS` parameter in the backup configuration file.
-a	Back up all servers specified in the global backup configuration file.
-c `<config>`	Use an alternative backup configuration file.
-s	The Containers are to be stopped before their backing up. In this case, if a client tries to access the Containers during their downtime, a temporary "busy" page is shown. This option takes precedence of the `BACKUP_VESTOP` parameter in the backup configuration file.
-n	The Containers are NOT to be stopped before their backing up. This option takes precedence of the `BACKUP_VESTOP` parameter in the backup configuration file.
-p	Apply time and load restriction rules for periodic backups. These rules are defined by the `BACKUP_KEEP_MAX` and `BACKUP_LOADAVG_MAX` parameters in the backup configuration file ( `/etc/vzbackup.conf` ). Without this option, these parameters do not take effect. This option is useful if you invoke `pbackup` in unattended mode as a cron job. It overrides the `CRON_BACKUP` parameter in the global backup configuration file.
--desc `<desc>`	The description of the backup archive. Descriptions with white spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks.
-j	Is opposite to the `-p` switch. Turns off the periodic backup mode and disregards the `BACKUP_KEEP_MAX` and `BACKUP_LOADAVG_MAX` parameters in the backup configuration file ( `/etc/vzbackup.conf` ). It overrides the `CRON_BACKUP` parameter in the global backup configuration file.
-L	Make use of the `BACKUP_FINISH_TIME` and `BACKUP_LIMIT_TIME` in the backup configuration file ( `/etc/vzbackup.conf` ).
--rm-tag `<tag>`	Create a backup and then remove the backup with the specified tag. You can learn the tags of the existing backups on the server by using, for example, the `prestore -l` command.
--rm-old	Create a backup and then remove the oldest backup of the specified server/Container(s).
--vzcache	Back up not the Containers themselves, but the cache area of the server ( `/vz/template/vzcaches` ).

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