X-Git-Url: https://git.proxmox.com/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=qemu-img.texi;h=69f1bda6aec0895572e82eac8250e8a97bd97574;hb=8a253ec26ec6eb636c962a47767370f6032b8cf5;hp=8b05f2c42801a2535ab4390b47bc415eb880625a;hpb=09d0726c0351cbf71b96b41b9f39cc7857b45ccc;p=qemu.git

diff --git a/qemu-img.texi b/qemu-img.texi
index 8b05f2c42..69f1bda6a 100644
--- a/qemu-img.texi
+++ b/qemu-img.texi
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ Command parameters:
 is the disk image format. It is guessed automatically in most cases. See below
 for a description of the supported disk formats.
 
+@item --backing-chain
+will enumerate information about backing files in a disk image chain. Refer
+below for further description.
+
 @item size
 is the disk image size in bytes. Optional suffixes @code{k} or @code{K}
 (kilobyte, 1024) @code{M} (megabyte, 1024k) and @code{G} (gigabyte, 1024M)
@@ -50,6 +54,9 @@ indicates that target image must be compressed (qcow format only)
 with or without a command shows help and lists the supported formats
 @item -p
 display progress bar (convert and rebase commands only)
+@item -q
+Quiet mode - do not print any output (except errors). There's no progress bar
+in case both @var{-q} and @var{-p} options are used.
 @item -S @var{size}
 indicates the consecutive number of bytes that must contain only zeros
 for qemu-img to create a sparse image during conversion. This value is rounded
@@ -77,12 +84,25 @@ deletes a snapshot
 lists all snapshots in the given image
 @end table
 
+Parameters to compare subcommand:
+
+@table @option
+
+@item -f
+First image format
+@item -F
+Second image format
+@item -s
+Strict mode - fail on on different image size or sector allocation
+@end table
+
 Command description:
 
 @table @option
-@item check [-f @var{fmt}] [-r [leaks | all]] @var{filename}
+@item check [-f @var{fmt}] [--output=@var{ofmt}] [-r [leaks | all]] @var{filename}
 
-Perform a consistency check on the disk image @var{filename}.
+Perform a consistency check on the disk image @var{filename}. The command can
+output in the format @var{ofmt} which is either @code{human} or @code{json}.
 
 If @code{-r} is specified, qemu-img tries to repair any inconsistencies found
 during the check. @code{-r leaks} repairs only cluster leaks, whereas
@@ -110,6 +130,47 @@ it doesn't need to be specified separately in this case.
 
 Commit the changes recorded in @var{filename} in its base image.
 
+@item compare [-f @var{fmt}] [-F @var{fmt}] [-p] [-s] [-q] @var{filename1} @var{filename2}
+
+Check if two images have the same content. You can compare images with
+different format or settings.
+
+The format is probed unless you specify it by @var{-f} (used for
+@var{filename1}) and/or @var{-F} (used for @var{filename2}) option.
+
+By default, images with different size are considered identical if the larger
+image contains only unallocated and/or zeroed sectors in the area after the end
+of the other image. In addition, if any sector is not allocated in one image
+and contains only zero bytes in the second one, it is evaluated as equal. You
+can use Strict mode by specifying the @var{-s} option. When compare runs in
+Strict mode, it fails in case image size differs or a sector is allocated in
+one image and is not allocated in the second one.
+
+By default, compare prints out a result message. This message displays
+information that both images are same or the position of the first different
+byte. In addition, result message can report different image size in case
+Strict mode is used.
+
+Compare exits with @code{0} in case the images are equal and with @code{1}
+in case the images differ. Other exit codes mean an error occurred during
+execution and standard error output should contain an error message.
+The following table sumarizes all exit codes of the compare subcommand:
+
+@table @option
+
+@item 0
+Images are identical
+@item 1
+Images differ
+@item 2
+Error on opening an image
+@item 3
+Error on checking a sector allocation
+@item 4
+Error on reading data
+
+@end table
+
 @item convert [-c] [-p] [-f @var{fmt}] [-t @var{cache}] [-O @var{output_fmt}] [-o @var{options}] [-s @var{snapshot_name}] [-S @var{sparse_size}] @var{filename} [@var{filename2} [...]] @var{output_filename}
 
 Convert the disk image @var{filename} or a snapshot @var{snapshot_name} to disk image @var{output_filename}
@@ -129,7 +190,7 @@ created as a copy on write image of the specified base image; the
 @var{backing_file} should have the same content as the input's base image,
 however the path, image format, etc may differ.
 
-@item info [-f @var{fmt}] [--output=@var{ofmt}] @var{filename}
+@item info [-f @var{fmt}] [--output=@var{ofmt}] [--backing-chain] @var{filename}
 
 Give information about the disk image @var{filename}. Use it in
 particular to know the size reserved on disk which can be different
@@ -137,6 +198,21 @@ from the displayed size. If VM snapshots are stored in the disk image,
 they are displayed too. The command can output in the format @var{ofmt}
 which is either @code{human} or @code{json}.
 
+If a disk image has a backing file chain, information about each disk image in
+the chain can be recursively enumerated by using the option @code{--backing-chain}.
+
+For instance, if you have an image chain like:
+
+@example
+base.qcow2 <- snap1.qcow2 <- snap2.qcow2
+@end example
+
+To enumerate information about each disk image in the above chain, starting from top to base, do:
+
+@example
+qemu-img info --backing-chain snap2.qcow2
+@end example
+
 @item snapshot [-l | -a @var{snapshot} | -c @var{snapshot} | -d @var{snapshot} ] @var{filename}
 
 List, apply, create or delete snapshots in image @var{filename}.
@@ -148,7 +224,9 @@ Changes the backing file of an image. Only the formats @code{qcow2} and
 
 The backing file is changed to @var{backing_file} and (if the image format of
 @var{filename} supports this) the backing file format is changed to
-@var{backing_fmt}.
+@var{backing_fmt}. If @var{backing_file} is specified as ``'' (the empty
+string), then the image is rebased onto no backing file (i.e. it will exist
+independently of any backing file).
 
 There are two different modes in which @code{rebase} can operate:
 @table @option
@@ -205,7 +283,10 @@ After using this command to grow a disk image, you must use file system and
 partitioning tools inside the VM to actually begin using the new space on the
 device.
 @end table
+@c man end
 
+@ignore
+@c man begin NOTES
 Supported image file formats:
 
 @table @option
@@ -226,6 +307,13 @@ support of multiple VM snapshots.
 
 Supported options:
 @table @code
+@item compat
+Determines the qcow2 version to use. @code{compat=0.10} uses the traditional
+image format that can be read by any QEMU since 0.10 (this is the default).
+@code{compat=1.1} enables image format extensions that only QEMU 1.1 and
+newer understand. Amongst others, this includes zero clusters, which allow
+efficient copy-on-read for sparse images.
+
 @item backing_file
 File name of a base image (see @option{create} subcommand)
 @item backing_fmt
@@ -246,73 +334,33 @@ Preallocation mode (allowed values: off, metadata). An image with preallocated
 metadata is initially larger but can improve performance when the image needs
 to grow.
 
-@end table
-
-@item qed
-Image format with support for backing files and compact image files (when your
-filesystem or transport medium does not support holes).  Good performance due
-to less metadata than the more featureful qcow2 format, especially with
-cache=writethrough or cache=directsync.  Consider using qcow2 which will soon
-have a similar optimization and is most actively developed.
-
-Supported options:
-@table @code
-@item backing_file
-File name of a base image (see @option{create} subcommand).
-@item backing_fmt
-Image file format of backing file (optional).  Useful if the format cannot be
-autodetected because it has no header, like some vhd/vpc files.
-@item cluster_size
-Changes the cluster size (must be power-of-2 between 4K and 64K). Smaller
-cluster sizes can improve the image file size whereas larger cluster sizes
-generally provide better performance.
-@item table_size
-Changes the number of clusters per L1/L2 table (must be power-of-2 between 1
-and 16).  There is normally no need to change this value but this option can be
-used for performance benchmarking.
-@end table
-
-@item qcow
-Old QEMU image format. Left for compatibility.
-
-Supported options:
-@table @code
-@item backing_file
-File name of a base image (see @option{create} subcommand)
-@item encryption
-If this option is set to @code{on}, the image is encrypted.
-@end table
+@item lazy_refcounts
+If this option is set to @code{on}, reference count updates are postponed with
+the goal of avoiding metadata I/O and improving performance. This is
+particularly interesting with @option{cache=writethrough} which doesn't batch
+metadata updates. The tradeoff is that after a host crash, the reference count
+tables must be rebuilt, i.e. on the next open an (automatic) @code{qemu-img
+check -r all} is required, which may take some time.
 
-@item cow
-User Mode Linux Copy On Write image format. Used to be the only growable
-image format in QEMU. It is supported only for compatibility with
-previous versions. It does not work on win32.
-@item vdi
-VirtualBox 1.1 compatible image format.
-@item vmdk
-VMware 3 and 4 compatible image format.
+This option can only be enabled if @code{compat=1.1} is specified.
 
-Supported options:
-@table @code
-@item backing_fmt
-Image format of the base image
-@item compat6
-Create a VMDK version 6 image (instead of version 4)
 @end table
 
-@item vpc
-VirtualPC compatible image format (VHD).
+@item Other
+QEMU also supports various other image file formats for compatibility with
+older QEMU versions or other hypervisors, including VMDK, VDI, VHD (vpc), qcow1
+and QED. For a full list of supported formats see @code{qemu-img --help}.
+For a more detailed description of these formats, see the QEMU Emulation User
+Documentation.
 
-@item cloop
-Linux Compressed Loop image, useful only to reuse directly compressed
-CD-ROM images present for example in the Knoppix CD-ROMs.
+The main purpose of the block drivers for these formats is image conversion.
+For running VMs, it is recommended to convert the disk images to either raw or
+qcow2 in order to achieve good performance.
 @end table
 
 
 @c man end
 
-@ignore
-
 @setfilename qemu-img
 @settitle QEMU disk image utility