Manual Chapter : File Tracking

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ARX

  • 6.3.0
Manual Chapter
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A file-history archive holds frequent snapshots of a managed volumes configuration and (typically) its metadata. You can use the archive command to make the current snapshot rule send its configuration/metadata snapshots to a pre-configured file-history archive. After the snapshot rule starts sending this data to the archive, you can later query the archive for the volumes state at different times. These queries are useful for finding the back-end locations of the volumes files on different dates, as the volume migrates them from filer to filer.
Use no archive to stop sending any snapshots to a file-history archive. This disables any record keeping by the current snapshot rule.
archive archive-name
archive-name (1-64 characters) identifies the file-history archive where this rule should copy its configuration/metadata snapshots.
You can use show file-history archive for a list of archives on this ARX, and you can use show file-history archive ... contents to see the volume configuration and metadata that the archive holds.
A file-history archive holds daily snapshots of a managed volumes configuration and (typically) its metadata. You create a snapshot rule in the volume that snapshots this information and then sends the snapshot to the volumes archive. A file-history archive resides on an external filer. In case of an issue with copying the snapshot to the archive filer, you can use the cancel snapshot archive command to cancel the copy operation.
cancel snapshot archive namespace ns volume path rule rule-name
ns (1-30 characters) is the namespace where a snapshot archive is in progress.
path (1-1024 characters) identifies the specific volume, and
rule-name (1-1024 characters) is the snapshot rule.
bstnA# cancel snapshot archive namespace medarcv volume /rcrds rule rcrdsArchive
A file-history archive is where one or more managed volumes store their configuration and metadata snapshots. The managed volumes may store up to seven-years worth of snapshots, possibly taken on a daily basis. This is useful for querying past states of a managed volume, so that you can find file locations as they migrate between the volumes back-end filers. As time goes on, you can use the clear file-history archive command to remove older snapshots that are no-longer needed.
clear file-history archive name [metadata-only] [namespace ns volume vol]
name (1-64 characters) identifies a particular file-history archive. This is the particular archive from which you will clear some (or all) file-history records.
metadata-only (optional) indicates that you want to delete volume metadata only, not the volume configuration. Volume metadata consumes much more space than the configuration, and it supports the show file-history virtual-service command for seeking file locations. That command would no longer be supported, but you can still use the show virtual path-history command to query the front-end service names of various times. If you omit this option, both metadata and configuration are deleted and neither query is supported.
namespace ns (optional, 1-30 characters) focuses on archive records from the given namespace.
volume vol (required after the namespace option, 1-1024 characters) narrows the focus to the archive records for a single volume.
clear file-history archive name [metadata-only] date date ...
name is the file-history archive, as described above.
metadata-only (optional) is also described above.
date date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 06/05/2009, or today) is a specific date for the file-history records to be cleared.
... represents the namespace and volume options described above.
clear file-history archive name [metadata-only] start-date s-date ...
clear file-history archive name [metadata-only] end-date e-date ...
clear ... [metadata-only] start-date s-date end-date e-date ...
name and metadata-only are described above.
start-date s-date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 03/02/2009) is the beginning of the date range. If you provide no end-date (as shown in the first line above), the end date is today.
end-date e-date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 11/12/2009) is the end of the date range. If you provide no start-date (as shown in the second line above), the start is the date of the first snapshot in the file-history archive(s).
... at the end of each syntax line represents the namespace and volume options described above.
clear file-history archive name [metadata-only] count {days|weeks|quarters|months|years} before e-date ...
name and metadata-only are described above.
count (1-100) is the number of days, weeks, or whatever time unit you choose next.
days|weeks|quarters|months|years chooses the time unit. For example, 2 weeks, 3 quarters, or 7 months.
before e-date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 09/30/2009, or today) is the end of the time period.
... at the end of each syntax line represents the namespace and volume options described above.
bstnA# clear file-history archive fileRecordsMed date 01/07/2009
A file-history archive holds daily snapshots of a managed volumes configuration and (typically) its metadata. You can use the contents command to choose the contents of this rules snapshots: client-visible files, volume-configuration data, and/or volume metadata.
Use no contents to eliminate one or more types of data from the current rules snapshots.
user-data represents files and directories that are visible to clients. This causes the rule to create snapshots on the volumes storage filers.
volume-config represents a configuration file that describes this volume. This option only applies to a managed volume. This does not result in any snapshots unless you also choose the metadata option. The volume configuration can support queries with the show virtual path-history command, but not the show file-history virtual-service command.
metadata (optional) includes the managed volumes metadata along with its configuration. This causes the rule to take a snapshot at the filer behind the volumes metadata share. The metadata occupies more disk space than the volume configuration, but it also supports file-specific queries with the show file-history virtual-service command.
A snapshot rule typically includes volume configuration/metadata or user data, not both. If the rule is designed for backing up client data, the default is sufficient. If the rule sends its data to a file-history archive, the contents are usually limited to volume configuration and metadata.
For a snapshot rule that contains all forms of data, user-data and volume-config, the rule adheres to its retain count for all of its snapshots. This includes the snapshots in the volumes filer shares as well as the volumes metadata snapshots. The snapshot remove command can remove all of the rules filer snapshots, including those on the volumes metadata filer.
bstnA(gbl-ns-vol-snap[wwmed~/var~a])# contents volume-config metadata
Use the optional description command to set a descriptive string for the current file-history archive. A file-history archive is where managed volumes can store file-location records over a long period of time.
Use the no form of the command to delete the description.
text (1-255 characters) is your description. Surround the text with quotation marks () if it contains any spaces.
bstnA(gbl-archive[flArch])# description archives for Med Cos
Over time, a file may migrate through multiple shares in a managed volume. You can use the file-tracking facility to track these migrations. The file-history archive command creates (or edits) a storage depot for file-location records. A single file-history archive can hold these records for multiple managed volumes.
Use the no form of the command to remove the configuration for a file-history archive from the ARX database.
name (1-64 characters) is a name you choose for the file-history archive.
The CLI requests confirmation before creating the new archive object; enter yes to confirm. This places you into gbl-archive mode, where you use the location command to establish the filer share or ARX volume where the archive resides. You can also enter an optional archive description (gbl-archive) in this mode.
The file-history records in an archive are snapshots, or point-in-time copies, of a managed volumes metadata and configuration. To keep these records for a particular managed volume, you create a snapshot rule in the volume. The contents of the snapshot rule are the volumes configuration and metadata instead of (or in addition to) client files and directories; use the contents command to set these options. Then use the archive command to send copies of the volume data to this archive.
After one or more snapshot rules post their snapshots in a file-history archive, you can query the archive for file or directory locations at the time of each snapshot. Use the show file-history archive command to list all file-history archives, and use show file-history archive ... contents to list their contents (that is, their snapshots of volume configuration and metadata). To find which client-visible services existed at a time in the past, use the show virtual path-history command. The show file-history virtual-service command shows the locations of client files and/or directories on a given date or a range of dates. You can use these commands to find the location of a file on a date when it was backed up, and to find the location of the same file today.
bstnA(gbl)# file-history archive flArch
bstnA(gbl)# no file-history archive betaArchive
Use the find command to locate one files back-end filer and path. This finds a files location as of now, not from a previous time.
find host hostname-or-ip {nfs| cifs} share-name path path [verbose]
hostname-or-ip identifies a virtual server by its external DNS hostname or Virtual-IP address. Use show virtual service for a list of all virtual servers and their Virtual IP addresses. (To look up DNS names at an external DNS server, you must first identify the server with the ip name-server command.)
nfs | cifs is a required choice, determining the type of share that follows.
share-name (1-4096 characters) is the name of the front-end share, as seen by clients. The show server-mapping command shows all front-end shares on the ARX, in the left column.
path (1-4096 characters) is the virtual-file path within the front-end share.
verbose (optional) adds the files NFS filehandles to the output.
find global-server fqdn {nfs| cifs} share-name path path [verbose]
fqdn (1-255 characters) identifies a global server by its fully-qualified domain name (FQDN). Use show global service for a list of all global servers and their FQDNs.
find namespace namespace path path [verbose]
namespace (1-30 characters) identifies the namespace. Use show namespace for a list of all namespaces.
path (1-4096 characters) is the virtual-file path within the namespace. This is the file path as seen by the client, starting with the volume path.
verbose (optional) adds the files NFS filehandles to the output.
find wins wins-name {nfs| cifs} share-name path path
wins-name (1-255 characters) identifies a virtual server by its optional wins-name or one of its optional wins-alias names.
Namespace identifies the namespace that contains the file.
Logical Path shows the full path to the file from the clients perspective. This path starts from the root of the volume.
NFS Physical Location is an NFS path to the physical file. This appears in ip-address:/path-to-file format.
Managed Volume Path indicates that the path is on a direct volume, and the physical location is on an ARX managed-volume that is standing in as a filer. This field does not appear in the output unless it applies to this query.
CIFS Physical Location is a CIFS path to the physical file. This appears in //ip-address/path-to-file format. If this is an NFS-only file in a multi-protocol (CIFS and NFS) volume, a message here indicates that the file has an inconsistent name. You can use the nsck ... report inconsistencies command to find all of the volumes inconsistent names.
The verbose output shows two NFS filehandles for the file:
Virtual File Handle is the filehandle that the ARX presents to clients.
Physical File Handle is the filehandle that the server gave to the ARX.
The filehandles may be incomplete for the find namespace command. Use one of the other versions (such as find host) for complete NFS filehandles.
If there are any NFS symlinks (or symbolic links) in the path, they appear next. Each symlink in the path appears on one line, with a text arrow (->) pointing to the symlinks target file or directory. For example, a path of /myvol/dirA/Ydir/sub could show this entry, indicating that dirA is a symlink:
/myvol/Xdir/Ydir/sub -> myvol/test/dir3
The object is a symlink appears at the end if the final file or directory in the path is a symlink. This appears in the symlink-path -> real-object-path format shown above, where the symlink-path is a real path up to (but not including) the final name in the path.
This identifies a files location now; for a files location in the past, you can use file tracking. This can be useful for finding the correct filer-backup tape for a lost or compromised file.
The file-tracking feature requires some configuration before you can make any file queries. Specifically, a managed volume requires a snapshot rule to regularly copy its configuration and metadata to a file-history archive. After some copies of metadata have been archived, you can use the show file-history virtual-service command to query file locations at different dates.
bstnA# find namespace wwmed path /acct/index.html
bstnA# find host 192.168.25.14 nfs /claims path /stats/piechart.ppt
bstnA# find global-server ac1.MEDARCH.ORG nfs /claims path /stats/piechart.ppt
bstnA# find global-server insur.medarch.org cifs CLAIMS path /index.html verbose
bstnA# find global-server insur.medarch.org cifs CLAIMS path /common/reagentLists/stats/acmeIns.txt
Use the location command to identify the filer or ARX volume to be used for the current file-history archive. A file-history archive is where managed volumes can store file-location records over a long period of time. This is the specific storage location for those file-location records.
Use the no form of the command to disconnect from the location and disable any file-tracking queries against it.
location filer name {nfs3 | nfs3tcp} share [path path]
location filer name cifs share proxy-user proxy [path path]
location namespace ns volume vol-path [path path]
name (1-64 characters) is external-filer name for this archives back-end filer. This is the filers name from the ARX configuration, which may or may not match the actual host name of the filer.
nfs3 | nfs3tcp chooses the file-access protocol for this location. This is a required choice between NFSv3 over UDP (nfs3) or NFSv3 over TCP (nfs3tcp).
share (1-64 characters) is the name of the back-end export or share.
path (optional, 1-1024 characters) is a specific sub path in the back-end share (or ARX volume) where file-location records should be stored. We recommend a path that is hidden from most clients.
proxy (for a CIFS filer, 1-32 characters) is the proxy-user configuration that the ARX uses as its identity when writing to or reading from the back-end-CIFS share. This requires read and write permissions, but does not necessarily need to belong to the Backup Operators group on the filer.
ns (1-30 characters) identifies a namespace on this ARX.
vol-path (1-1024 characters) identifies a volume in the namespace above. If you use this syntax to place the file-history archive in a managed volume, you can use migration policies to balance the file-history records among multiple back-end filers.
This command determines the physical location for the current file-history archive. Choose a filer or ARX volume with enough storage space for up to 7 years of file-history records. Each file-history record is a snapshot of the volumes configuration (and, typically, its metadata). Use the snapshot rule command to create a snapshot rule for each desired volume, then use the contents command to determine whether or not metadata is included in the volumes snapshots.
Multiple managed volumes can share the same file-history archive. The schedule (gbl-ns-vol-...snap) for each volumes snapshot rule determines the frequency of these records, and the amount of space required over 7 years. For a current reading on the disk space consumed in the archive, you can use the show file-history archive ... contents command.
/ARX-name-ARX-GUID
/yyyy
/mm
/dd
/namespace-name
/volume-name
/namespace-name
/volume-name
/dd
/mm
/yyyy
For cases where the filer location is running low on disk space, you can use the no location command to stop all archive writes to the filer. You can then enter a new location command to identify the replacement filer or volume. To preserve all of your current file-history records at the new location, move the acopia_file_history directory from the former location to the new one.
bstnA(gbl-archive[fileRecordsMed])# location filer fs4 cifs arx_file_archv proxy-user repCred
bstnA(gbl-archive[flArch])# location namespace wwmed volume /acct path fileArch
Over time, a file may migrate through multiple shares in a managed volume. You can set up a managed volume to periodically record its file locations on a file-history archive. Later, you can use commands to query the archive for the location of a file on a given date or dates. The show file-history archive command lists the archives on this ARX, their configurations, and the managed volumes that use them.
show file-history archive name [namespace ns volume vol]
name (optional, 1-64 characters) identifies a particular file-history archive. This invokes a detailed view of the archive, including its configuration and the volumes that use it. If you omit this option, the output is a list of all file-history archives on the ARX.
namespace ns (optional, 1-30 characters) focuses on archive records from the given namespace.
volume vol (required after the namespace option, 1-1024 characters) narrows the focus to the archive records for a single volume.
The related show file-history archive ... contents command shows the archives contents. The archive gets its contents from one or more snapshot rules in one or more managed volumes. By showing the contents, you can learn how much disk space the archive is using on its back-end filer or ARX volume.
Archive Name is the name of the archive, defined by the file-history archive command.
Description offers a short description for the archive. You can set or change this with the description (gbl-archive) command.
Name is the name of the archive, defined by the file-history archive command.
Location is the archives home filer or home volume. You can use the location command to change this.
Description offers a short description for the archive. You can set or change this with the description (gbl-archive) command.
Path is the path under the above location where the archive resides. The location command controls this.
Protocol is CIFS or NFS. This is the file-access protocol that the ARX uses to copy files to the archive. For an archive on an external filer, the location command controls this. For an archive on a managed volume, this is controlled by the volumes namespace configuration.
Proxy User is the name of the ARXs proxy-user credentials for accessing the archive filer or managed volume. After the name of the proxy-user configuration, the windows-domain (gbl-proxy-user) and user (gbl-proxy-user) appears in parentheses.
Status is Online for an archive that is currently usable.
FreeSpace shows the current free space on the archive.
In use by is the title for a table of snapshot rules that add to this archive. The table contains one row per snapshot rule:
Namespace is the namespace that contains the snapshot rule.
Volume identifies the managed volume for this rule.
Snapshot Rule is the name of the snapshot rule that has written to this archive.
bstnA(gbl)# show file-history archive
bstnA(gbl)# show file-history archive fileRecordsMed
bstnA(gbl)# show file-history archive
bstnA(gbl)# show file-history archive fileRecordsMed
Over time, a file may migrate through multiple shares in a managed volume. You can set up a managed volume to periodically record its file locations on a file-history archive. Later, you can use commands to query the archive for the location of a file on a given date or dates. The show file-history archive ... contents command lists the file-history records stored in a particular file-history archive, and shows the amount of disk space that the records occupy.
show file-history archive name contents date date [namespace ns volume vol] [report prefix]
name (1-64 characters) is the file-history archive.
contents is a required keyword.
date date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 05/06/2009, or today) is the date for your query.
namespace ns (optional, 1-30 characters) focuses on archive records from the given namespace.
volume vol (required after the namespace option, 1-1024 characters) narrows the focus to the archive records for a single volume.
report prefix sends the output to a report file with the given prefix (1-255 characters). The report name is prefix_archive-name_mmddyyyyHHMM.rpt, where archive name is all or the name you provide in the next option, and the rest is the time the report was created. The exact report name appears at the CLI prompt after you type the command.
show file-history archive name contents start-date s-date ...
show file-history archive name contents end-date e-date ...
show ... contents start-date s-date end-date e-date ...
start-date s-date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 05/06/2009) is the beginning of the date range. If you provide no end-date (as shown in the first line above), the end date is today.
end-date e-date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 01/12/2009) is the end of the date range. If you provide no start-date (as shown in the second line above), the start is the date of the first snapshot in the file-history archive(s).
... at the end of each syntax line represents the namespace, volume, and report options described above.
show file-history archive name contents count {days|weeks|quarters|months|years} before e-date ...
count (1-100) is the number of days, weeks, or whatever time unit you choose next.
days|weeks|quarters|months|years chooses the time unit. For example, 3 weeks, 2 quarters, or 5 months.
before e-date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 09/04/2009) is the end of the time period.
... at the end of each syntax line represents the namespace, volume, and report options described above.
The archive gets its contents from one or more snapshot rules in one or more managed volumes. A volumes snapshot rule contributes to a file-history archive through the following options: the rule must choose the volumes configuration (and possibly its metadata) with the contents command, and must identify the file-history archive with the archive command.
Query Parameters displays all of your command-line choices with the following fields:
Switch shows the hostname and the GUID for the ARX that writes to this archive. It is possible for multiple ARXes to use the same archive filer. You can also see the GUID at the top of the output for show running-config.
Archive Date/Time is the time stamp when the snapshot rule copied the volume configuration (and possibly the volume metadata) into the archive.
Namespace:Volume identifies the managed volume for this file-history record.
Snapshot Rule is the name of the snapshot rule that created the record.
Config shows the size of the volume-configuration file.
Metadata shows the size of the volume metadata. This is blank if the snapshot rules contents did not include metadata snapshots. Without this, you cannot make the show file-history virtual-service query against this file-history record.
Summary shows the total disk space consumed by these records: total metadata space, total configuration space, and a grand total. You can use this as a guideline to determine the disk space you could reclaim with the clear file-history archive command.
bstnA(gbl)# show file-history archive fileRecordsMed contents end-date today
bstnA(gbl)# show file-history archive fileRecordsMed contents end-date today
show file-history virtual-service fe-service fe-share time-frame {[file file-name [path dir-path]]} [options]
fe-service (1-1024 characters) is the name of an ARX service used by clients. This is a front-end service created by either the cifs or nfs commands. You can use the show virtual path-history command to find the services that existed on an earlier date, and the paths from those services to your filer shares; service-to-filer mappings may change over time. This can also be the VIP (from the virtual server command), a wins-name, or a wins-alias that existed at the time.
fe-share (1-1024 characters) identifies a particular front-end share in the above service. This is created by either the export (gbl-cifs) or export (gbl-nfs) commands, which export storage from an ARX volume to ARX clients. As above, you may need to use the show virtual path-history command to find the shares that existed at the time you are querying. For NFS shares, this is case-sensitive (so that /vol/aShare is different from /vol/ASHARE), but this is not case-sensitive for CIFS shares.
time-frame is a date or range of dates. The output shows the file or directory locations as of these dates. The options are:
start-date date-1 end-date date-2
count {days|weeks|quarters|months|years} before date
for file locations for a time leading up to a date. The count (1-100) is the number of days, weeks, or other time-unit leading up to the date.
[file [file-name] [path dir-path] is a required choice: you can choose a file name, a directory path, or both.
file-name (1-1024 characters) specifies the name of one or more files. You can use special wildmat characters (such as * for zero or more characters, ? for any single character, [a-z] for any lowercase character, or [^0-9] for any character except a number) for a group of similar files.
dir-path specifies the name of one or more directories. Use forward slashes (/) for this path, even for CIFS shares. As with the file-name, you can use special wildmat characters to specify a group of paths. If you omit this, the path is the root of the volume.
options (all optional) are various search and output options that you can apply to any form of this command. If you use more than one of them, they must be in this order:
searches all directories in the volume or path. Without this option, the command only searches the root of the volume or path.
adds more detail to the output. For a search with only a path, this cause the output to show all of the files inside all of the matching directories.
report prefix
sends the output to a report file with the given prefix (1-255 characters). The report name is prefix_archive-name_mmddyyyyHHMM.rpt, where archive name is all or the name you provide in the next option, and the rest is the time the report was created. The exact report name appears at the CLI prompt after you type the command.
archive archive-name
You can use this command to find file/directory locations at different times, typically to identify a backup tape for a lost file or directory. Before you can find any archived files or directories, you must use the file-history archive command to create an archive, and the location command to choose the archives home (either an external filer or an ARX volume). The archive gets its file-history records from one or more managed volumes. Each managed volume requires a snapshot rule to send its configuration and metadata to the archive filer. The snapshot rule contributes to a file-history archive through the following options: the rule must choose the volumes configuration and its metadata with the contents command, and must identify the file-history archive with the archive command.
To restore a file to a managed volume, copy it from its backup tape to a staging area on the back-end filer. The staging area is a directory that is outside any imported volume. You can mount both the staging area and the ARX service as a client, then copy the file(s) from the staging area to the volume. Alternatively, you can use the restore data command to automatically move the file(s) from the staging area to the volume.
Query Parameters contains several fields to summarize your command-line options:
Archive is the name of the file-history archive containing these records.
Hosting Switch identifies this ARX by its hostname and by its GUID (also shown in the output of show running-config).
Archive Date/Time is the specific time for the current file-location record.
Global Server is the global server that clients use to access the chosen files.
WINS Aliases are aliases that clients may use to access the service. You can set these with the wins-name and wins-alias commands.
Dynamic DNS Names are service names that are registered at the local dynamic-DNS servers (typically, Windows DCs). You can use the dynamic-dns command to add a new dynamic-DNS name for this service.
VIP is the virtual-IP address used by clients to access this ARX service, set by the virtual server command.
Namespace is the ARX namespace that held the file at the above time.
Volume Path identifies the files volume.
File Server(s) shows the single filer that held the file at the time, or the series of filers that may have held the directory. Each filer has three fields to describe the exact location of the file or directory:
Shared Path is the path to the file or directory as seen from the network. This starts with the filers CIFS-share name or NFS-export name.
Physical Path identifies the exact, file-system path to the file or directory. This path is the one that could be used to find a backup on an external data-protection device.

The ARX accesses the filers CLI to get the correct physical-path information. The external-filer configuration on the ARX must have the proper filer-type and proxy-user (gbl-filer) for this access. Otherwise, this path is a best guess: for an NFS share, it uses the back-end-export path identified in the filer command; for a CIFS share, it sends a path query to the filer, requiring the namespaces proxy-user (gbl-ns) to be in the Administrators group.
File Name is the name of the file or directory.
Symlink Name appears instead of File Name if the file or directory is a symlink. This is the name of the symlink itself, not the symlinks target. You must retrieve the symlink from a backup tape to discover its target.
bstnA(gbl)# show file-history virtual-service ac1.medarch.org labs date 04/23/2009 file index.html
bstnA# show file-history virtual-service ac1.medarch.org ARCHIVES date today path planA recurse
bstnA(gbl)# show file-history virtual-service ac1.medarch.org labs date 08/30/2010 file index.html
bstnA# show file-history virtual-service ac1.medarch.org ARCHIVES date today path planA recurse
show virtual path-history date date [report prefix] [archive arch-name] [verbose]
date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 11/12/2009, or today) is the exact date for the query.
report prefix (optional, 1-1024 characters) sends the output to a report file. Each report has a unique name in the following format:
where the prefix is part of this option, the archive is all or a specific arch-name (see below), and yyyymmddHHMM is the time the report was created. For example, fRec_all_200903031200.rpt could be the name for one report with the fRec prefix.
archive arch-name (optional, 1-64 characters) focuses on path history from a single file-history archive.
verbose (optional) expands the output with additional details.
show virtual path-history start-date s-date end-date e-date ...
start-date s-date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 05/06/2009) is the beginning of the date range. If you provide no end-date (as shown in the first line above), the end date is today.
end-date e-date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 10/24/2009) is the end of the date range. If you provide no start-date (as shown in the second line above), the start is the date of the first snapshot in the file-history archive(s).
... represents the report, archive, and verbose options described above.
show virtual path-history count {days|weeks|quarters|months|years} before e-date ...
count (1-100) is the number of days, weeks, or whatever time unit you choose next.
days|weeks|quarters|months|years chooses the time unit. For example, 2 weeks, 5 days, or 6 months.
before e-date (mm/dd/yyyy, such as 03/02/2009) is the end of the time period.
... represents the report, archive, and verbose options described above.
You can use this command to find ARX-service and storage configurations at different times, typically to prepare for using the show file-history virtual-service command. Before you can find any volume-configuration information, you must use the file-history archive command to create an archive, and the location command to choose the archives home (an ARX volume or an external filer). The archive gets its volume-configuration records from one or more managed volumes. Each managed volume requires a snapshot rule to send its volume configuration to the archive filer. The snapshot rule contributes to a file-history archive through the following options: the rule must choose the volumes configuration with the contents command, and must identify the file-history archive with the archive command.
Query Parameters contains several fields to summarize your command-line options:
Archive, and
As of date is the heading for every file-history record in your date range. If more than one volume sends its records to this archive, you may see more than one record with the same date.
Archive is the name of the file-history archive containing this record.
Hosting Switch identifies this ARX by its hostname.
Global Server is the global server that clients use to access the Volume, below.
WINS Alias are aliases that clients may use to access the service. You can set these with the wins-name and wins-alias commands.
Dynamic DNS Names are service names that are registered at the local dynamic-DNS servers (typically, Windows DCs). You can use the dynamic-dns command to add a new dynamic-DNS name for this service.
VIP is the virtual-IP address used by clients to access this ARX service, set by the virtual server command.
Namespace is the ARX namespace to which this record applies.
Volume identifies the volume for this file-history record.
Share is the ARX name of the share.
Shared Path is the filers network-accessible path for the above share. The volume imported the filer share through this path, and used the shares storage for client files and directories when the record was created.
-> Physical Path is the actual file-system path on the filer. An external data-recovery application uses file-system paths to identify the files that it has backed up. You can use this to identify the backup files that apply to the volume as of this particular date. The verbose option adds the filers IP address to the end of this output.
The ARX accesses the filers CLI to get the correct physical-path information. The external-filer configuration on the ARX must have the proper filer-type and proxy-user (gbl-filer) for this access. Otherwise, this path is a best guess: for an NFS share, it uses the back-end-export path identified in the filer command; for a CIFS share, it sends a path query to the filer, requiring the namespaces proxy-user (gbl-ns) to be in the Administrators group.
Export is the exported name of the managed volume, or one of its sub paths.
Relative Virtual Path is the managed-volume path that clients saw as the root of the above Export.
bstnA(gbl)# show virtual path-history end-date 06/05/2009 report pathsTilJune verbose
bstnA(gbl)# show virtual path-history date today verbose