Provided by: openafs-client_1.8.10-2.1ubuntu3.4_amd64 
NAME
vos_release - Updates read-only volumes to match the read/write source volume
SYNOPSIS
vos release -id <volume name or ID>
[-force] [-force-reclone]
[-cell <cell name>]
[-noauth] [-localauth]
[-verbose] [-encrypt] [-noresolve]
[-config <config directory>]
[-help]
vos rel -i <volume name or ID>
[-force] [-force-r]
[-c <cell name>]
[-noa] [-l] [-v] [-e] [-nor]
[-co <config directory>]
[-h]
DESCRIPTION
The vos release command copies the contents of the indicated read/write source volume to each read-only
site defined in the source volume's Volume Location Database (VLDB) entry. (Use the vos addsite command
to define sites as necessary before issuing this command). Each read-only copy has the same name as
read/write source with the addition of a ".readonly" extension.
For users to have a consistent view of the file system, the release of the new volume version must be
atomic: either all read-only sites receive the new version, or all sites keep the version they currently
have. The vos release command is designed to ensure that all copies of the volume's read-only version
match both the read/write source and each other. In cases where problems such as machine or server
process outages prevent successful completion of the release operation, AFS uses two mechanisms to alert
the administrator.
First, the command interpreter generates an error message on the standard error stream naming each read-
only site that did not receive the new volume version. Second, during the release operation the Volume
Location (VL) Server marks site definitions in the VLDB entry with flags ("New release" and "Old
release") that indicate whether or not the site has the new volume version. If any flags remain after the
operation completes, it was not successful. The Cache Manager refuses to access a read-only site marked
with the "Old release" flag, which potentially imposes a greater load on the sites marked with the "New
release" flag. It is important to investigate and eliminate the cause of the failure and then to issue
the vos release command as many times as necessary to complete the release without errors.
The pattern of site flags remaining in the volume's VLDB entry after a failed release operation can help
determine the point at which the operation failed. Use the vos examine or vos listvldb command to display
the VLDB entry. The VL Server sets the flags in concert with the Volume Server's operations, as follows:
• Before the operation begins, the VL Server sets the "New release" flag on the read/write site
definition in the VLDB entry and the "Old release" flag on read-only site definitions (unless the
read-only site has been defined since the last release operation and has no actual volume, in which
case its site flag remains "Not released").
• If necessary, the Volume Server creates a temporary copy (a clone) of the read/write source called
the ReleaseClone (see the following discussion of when the Volume Server does or does not create a
new ReleaseClone.) It assigns the ReleaseClone its own volume ID number, which the VL Server records
in the "RClone" field of the source volume's VLDB entry.
• The Volume Server distributes a copy of the ReleaseClone to each read-only site defined in the VLDB
entry. As the site successfully receives the new clone, the VL Server sets the site's flag in the
VLDB entry to "New release".
• When all the read-only copies are successfully released, the VL Server clears all the "New release"
site flags. The ReleaseClone is no longer needed, so the Volume Server deletes it and the VL Server
erases its ID from the VLDB entry.
By default, the Volume Server determines automatically whether or not it needs to create a new
ReleaseClone:
• If there are no flags ("New release", "Old release", or "Not released") on site definitions in the
VLDB entry, the previous vos release command completed successfully and all read-only sites currently
have the same volume. The Volume Server infers that the current vos release command was issued
because the read/write volume has changed. The Volume Server creates a new ReleaseClone volume and
distributes a copy of the clone volume to all the read-only sites. In order to reduce the amount of
data transferred during a release, the Volume Server sends incremental changes to remote sites during
the release. The Volume Server only sends files and directories which have been changed in the
read/write volume since the previous release.
• If any site definition in the VLDB entry is marked with a flag, either the previous release operation
did not complete successfully or a new read-only site was defined since the last release. The Volume
Server does not create a new ReleaseClone, instead distributing the entire existing ReleaseClone to
sites marked with the "Old release" or "Not released" flag. As previously noted, the VL Server marks
each VLDB site definition with the "New release" flag as the site receives the ReleaseClone, and
clears all flags after all sites successfully receive it.
To override the default behavior, forcing the Volume Server to create and release a new ReleaseClone to
the read-only sites, include the -force flag. This is appropriate if, for example, the data at the
read/write site has changed since the existing ReleaseClone was created during the previous release
operation.
The -force-reclone will force the creation of a new release clone volume, but will not force a full
volume dump to be distributed to the remote sites. Instead, incremental changes will be distributed when
possible.
OPTIONS
-id <volume name or id>
Specifies either the complete name or volume ID number of a read/write volume.
-force
Creates a new ReleaseClone and distributes the entire clone volume to all read-only sites, regardless
of the "New release", "Old release", or "Not released" site flags.
-force-reclone
Creates a new ReleaseClone and incrementally distributes the clone volume to all read-only sites,
regardless of the "New release", "Old release", or "Not released" site flags.
-cell <cell name>
Names the cell in which to run the command. Do not combine this argument with the -localauth flag.
For more details, see vos(1).
-noauth
Assigns the unprivileged identity "anonymous" to the issuer. Do not combine this flag with the
-localauth flag. For more details, see vos(1).
-localauth
Constructs a server ticket using a key from the local /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile file. The vos
command interpreter presents it to the Volume Server and Volume Location Server during mutual
authentication. Do not combine this flag with the -cell argument or -noauth flag. For more details,
see vos(1).
-verbose
Produces on the standard output stream a detailed trace of the command's execution. If this argument
is omitted, only warnings and error messages appear.
-encrypt
Encrypts the command so that the operation's results are not transmitted across the network in clear
text. This option is available in OpenAFS versions 1.4.11 or later and 1.5.60 or later.
-noresolve
Shows all servers as IP addresses instead of the DNS name. This is very useful when the server
address is registered as 127.0.0.1 or when dealing with multi-homed servers. This option is available
in OpenAFS versions 1.4.8 or later and 1.5.35 or later.
-config <configuration directory>
Set the location of the configuration directory to be used. This defaults to /etc/openafs, except if
-localauth is specified, in which case the default is /etc/openafs/server. This option allows the use
of alternative configuration locations for testing purposes.
-help
Prints the online help for this command. All other valid options are ignored.
EXAMPLES
The following command clones the read/write volume usr and releases it to the read-only sites defined in
its VLDB entry.
% vos release usr
PRIVILEGE REQUIRED
The issuer must be listed in the /etc/openafs/server/UserList file on the machine specified with the
-server argument and on each database server machine. If the -localauth flag is included, the issuer must
instead be logged on to a server machine as the local superuser "root".
SEE ALSO
vos(1), vos_addsite(1), vos_examine(1), vos_listvldb(1)
COPYRIGHT
IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.
This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0. It was converted from HTML to POD
by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth
Cassell.
OpenAFS 2025-05-19 VOS_RELEASE(1)