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bplist to list files backed up with NetBackup

Question & Answer


Question

How can I find versions of a file backed up by Veritas (now Symantec) NetBackup™?

Answer

This document describes how to use the bplist command to find versions of backed up files.

To view a list of all the versions of a file that are being maintained on a Veritas NetBackup server, use the bplist command. The command resides in the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin directory. File permissions prevent you from seeing files from other NetBackup clients.

For example, if you need to find backups of the file /nz/data/postgresql.conf, you might run the following command:

    bplist -l -R -PI postgresql.conf

The output would be similar to the following:
    -rwxr----- user1 eng 1002 Apr 2 09:59 /nz/kit.4.0/conf/postgresql.conf
    -rwxr----- user1 eng 1002 Mar 28 09:59 /nz/kit.3.1.2/conf/postgresql.conf

The -l option provides a long listing that includes mode, owner, group, size in bytes and time of last modification.

The -R option specifies a recursive search to a depth of 999 sub-directories. You can override the default and specify to which depth you'd like to recursively search. This option should only be used when performing path independent searches (-PI).

The -PI option makes the search path-independent; if files bearing the same name exist in multiple directories, they would be backed up multiple times. Specifying -PI and the filename only will list both files. If you have a specific file in mind, you may omit the -PI option and instead specify the filename with its absolute path (for example, bplist -l /nz/kit.4.0/conf/postgresql.conf).

Additional options include the following:
  • -I performs a case-insensitive search
  • -s mm/dd/yy [hh[:mm[:ss]]] specifies the date to start the search
  • -e mm/dd/yy [hh[:mm[:ss]]] specifies the date to end the search
  • -help displays the full command usage

The following options can be used with the -l option:
  • -b displays the backup date and time rather than the last modification date and time
  • -c displays the last inode modification date and time
  • -u displays the last access date and time

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Historical Number

NZ186423

Document Information

Modified date:
17 October 2019

UID

swg21574640