Opened files

The backup-archive client looks for files that have changed between the start and the completion of the backup of the file.

Some files on your system might be in use, or open, when you try to back them up. Because an open file can change, a backup action might not reflect the correct contents of the file at a given time.

Consider whether the file is important, and whether you can build the file again. If the file is not important, you might not want to back it up. Or, if the file is important, a root user on your workstation can ensure the file is closed before backup.

If your backups run on a schedule, a root user can use the preschedulecmd option to enter a command to close the file. For example, if the open file is a database, use the quiesce command of the database to shut down the database. A root user can use the postschedulecmd option to restart the application that uses the file after the backup completes. If you are not using a schedule for the backup, ensure that you close the application that uses the file before you start the backup.

The client can back up the file even if it is open and gets changed during the backup. This is only useful if the file is usable even if it changes during backup. To back up these files, assign the files a management class with the serialization dynamic or shared dynamic.