xfs_metadump - copy XFS filesystem metadata to a file
xfs_metadump [
-aefFgow ] [
-m max_extents ] [
-l logdev ]
source target
xfs_metadump -V
xfs_metadump is a debugging tool that copies the metadata from an XFS
filesystem to a file. The
source argument must be the pathname of the
device or file containing the XFS filesystem and the
target argument
specifies the destination file name. If
target is -, then the output is
sent to stdout. This allows the output to be redirected to another program
such as a compression application.
xfs_metadump may only be used to copy unmounted filesystems, or read-only
mounted filesystems.
xfs_metadump does not alter the source filesystem in any way. The
target image is a contiguous (non-sparse) file containing all the
filesystem's metadata and indexes to where the blocks were copied from.
By default,
xfs_metadump obfuscates most file (regular file, directory
and symbolic link) names and extended attribute names to allow the dumps to be
sent without revealing confidential information. Extended attribute values are
zeroed and no data is copied. The only exceptions are file or attribute names
that are 4 or less characters in length. Also file names that span extents
(this can only occur with the
mkfs.xfs(8) options where
-n
size >
-b size) are not obfuscated. Names between 5
and 8 characters in length inclusively are partially obfuscated.
xfs_metadump cannot obfuscate metadata in the filesystem log. Log
recovery of an obfuscated metadump image may expose clear-text metadata and/or
cause filesystem corruption in the restored image. It is recommended that the
source filesystem first be mounted and unmounted, if possible, to ensure that
the log is clean. A subsequent invocation of
xfs_metadump will capture
a clean log and obfuscate all metadata correctly.
If a metadump must be produced from a filesystem with a dirty log, it is
recommended that obfuscation be turned off with -o option, if metadata such as
filenames is not considered sensitive. If obfuscation is required on a
metadump with a dirty log, please inform the recipient of the metadump image
about this situation.
xfs_metadump should not be used for any purposes other than for debugging
and reporting filesystem problems. The most common usage scenario for this
tool is when
xfs_repair(8) fails to repair a filesystem and a metadump
image can be sent for analysis.
The file generated by
xfs_metadump can be restored to filesystem image
(minus the data) using the
xfs_mdrestore(8) tool.
- -a
- Copies entire metadata blocks. Normally,
xfs_metadump will zero any stale bytes interspersed with in-use
metadata. Use this option to copy full metadata blocks, to provide more
debugging information for a corrupted filesystem. Note that the extra data
will be unobfuscated.
- -e
- Stops the dump on a read error. Normally, it will ignore
read errors and copy all the metadata that is accessible.
- -f
- Specifies that the filesystem image to be processed is
stored in a regular file (see the mkfs.xfs -d file option). This
can also happen if an image copy of a filesystem has been made into an
ordinary file with xfs_copy(8).
- -F
- Specifies that we want to continue even if the superblock
magic is not correct. If the source is truly not an XFS filesystem, the
resulting image will be useless, and xfs_metadump may crash.
- -g
- Shows dump progress. This is sent to stdout if the
target is a file or to stderr if the target is stdout.
-
-l logdev
- For filesystems which use an external log, this specifies
the device where the external log resides. The external log is not copied,
only internal logs are copied.
- -m
- Set the maximum size of an allowed metadata extent.
Extremely large metadata extents are likely to be corrupt, and will be
skipped if they exceed this value. The default size is 2097151
blocks.
- -o
- Disables obfuscation of file names and extended
attributes.
- -w
- Prints warnings of inconsistent metadata encountered to
stderr. Bad metadata is still copied.
- -V
- Prints the version number and exits.
xfs_metadump returns an exit code of 0 if all readable metadata is
successfully copied or 1 if a write error occurs or a read error occurs and
the
-e option used.
As
xfs_metadump copies metadata only, it does not matter if the
source filesystem has a realtime section or not. If the filesystem has
an external log, it is not copied. Internal logs are copied and any
outstanding log transactions are not obfuscated if they contain names.
xfs_metadump is a shell wrapper around the
xfs_db(8)
metadump command.
xfs_repair(8),
xfs_mdrestore(8),
xfs_freeze(8),
xfs_db(8),
xfs_copy(8),
xfs(5)
Email bug reports to
[email protected].