include::attributes.txt[]
endif::manvolnum[]
-'vzdump' is a utility to make consistent snapshots of running virtual
-machines (VMs). It basically creates an archive of the VM private
-area, which also includes the VM configuration files. 'vzdump'
-currently supports LXC containers and QemuServer VMs.
+'vzdump' is a utility to make consistent backups of running guest
+systems. It basically creates an archive of the guest private area,
+which also includes the guest configuration files. 'vzdump' currently
+supports LXC containers and QemuServer VMs. There are several ways to
+provide consistency (option `mode`), depending on the guest type.
-There are several ways to provide consistency (option `mode`):
+.Backup `mode` for VMs:
`stop` mode::
-Stop the VM during backup. This results in a very long downtime.
+This first performns a clean shutdown of the VM to make sure it is
+stopped. It then starts the VM in suspended mode and uses the qemu
+backup feature to dump all data. If the VM was running, we start
+(resume) it immediately after starting the qemu backup task. This
+keeps the downtime as low as possible.
`suspend` mode::
-For containers, this mode uses rsync to copy the container data to a temporary
+This mode does not really make sense for qemu. Please use snapshot
+mode instead.
+
+`snapshot` mode::
+
+This mode simply starts a qemu live backup task. If the guest agent
+is enabled (`agent: 1`) and running, it calls 'guest-fsfreeze-freeze'
+and 'guest-fsfreeze-thaw' to improve consistency.
+
+A technical overview of the Proxmox VE live backup for QemuServer can
+be found online
+https://git.proxmox.com/?p=pve-qemu-kvm.git;a=blob;f=backup.txt[here].
+
+NOTE: Qemu backup provides snapshots on any storage type. It does
+not require that the underlying storage supports snapshots.
+
+
+.Backup `mode` for Containers:
+
+`stop` mode::
+
+Stop the container for the duration of the backup. This potentially results in
+a very long downtime.
+
+`suspend` mode::
+
+This mode uses rsync to copy the container data to a temporary
location (see option `--tmpdir`). Then the container is suspended and a second
rsync copies changed files. After that, the container is started (resumed)
again. This results in minimal downtime, but needs additional space
to hold the container copy.
-
++
When the container is on a local filesystem and the target storage of the backup
is an NFS server, you should set `--tmpdir` to reside on a local filesystem too,
as this will result in a many fold performance improvement.
-Use of a local `tmpdir` is also required if you want to backup in `suspend`
-mode a local container using ACLs to an NFS server.
-
-For QemuServer, this mode will suspend the VM, start
-a live backup, and resume the VM.
+Use of a local `tmpdir` is also required if you want to backup a local container
+using ACLs in suspend mode if the backup storage is an NFS server.
`snapshot` mode::
-For containers, this mode uses the snapshotting facilities of the
-underlying storage. A snapshot will be made of the container volume,
-and the snapshot content will be archived in a tar file.
+This mode uses the snapshotting facilities of the underlying
+storage. First, the container will be suspended to ensure data consistency.
+A temporary snapshot of the container's volumes will be made and the
+snapshot content will be archived in a tar file. Finally, the temporary
+snapshot is deleted again.
-For QemuServer, this mode will do a live backup similar to the
-`suspend` mode, but without suspending/resuming the VM.
+NOTE: `snapshot` mode requires that all backed up volumes are on a storage that
+supports snapshots. Using the `backup=no` mountpoint option individual volumes
+can be excluded from the backup (and thus this requirement).
-A technical overview of the Proxmox VE live backup for QemuServer can
-be found online
-https://git.proxmox.com/?p=pve-qemu-kvm.git;a=blob;f=backup.txt[here],
Backup File Names
-----------------
-Newer versions of vzdump encode the virtual machine type and the
+Newer versions of vzdump encode the guest type and the
backup time into the filename, for example
vzdump-lxc-105-2009_10_09-11_04_43.tar
Configuration
-------------
-Global configuration is stored in '/etc/vzdump.conf'.
-
- tmpdir: DIR
- dumpdir: DIR
- storage: STORAGE_ID
- mode: snapshot|suspend|stop
- bwlimit: KBPS
- ionize: PRI
- lockwait: MINUTES
- stopwait: MINUTES
- size: MB
- maxfiles: N
- script: FILENAME
- exclude-path: PATHLIST
+Global configuration is stored in '/etc/vzdump.conf'. The file uses a
+simple colon separated key/value format. Each line has the following
+format:
+
+ OPTION: value
+
+Blank lines in the file are ignored, and lines starting with a '#'
+character are treated as comments and are also ignored. Values from
+this file are used as default, and can be overwritten on the command
+line.
+
+We currently support the following options:
+
+include::vzdump.conf.5-opts.adoc[]
+
+
+.Example 'vzdump.conf' Configuration
+----
+tmpdir: /mnt/fast_local_disk
+storage: my_backup_storage
+mode: snapshot
+bwlimit: 10000
+----
Hook Scripts
------------
File Exclusions
---------------
-First, this option is only available for container backups. 'vzdump'
-skips the following files with option `--stdexcludes`
+NOTE: this option is only available for container backups.
+
+'vzdump' skips the following files by default (disable with the option
+`--stdexcludes 0`)
/var/log/?*
/tmp/?*
/var/tmp/?*
/var/run/?*pid
-Or you can manually specify exclude paths, for example:
+You can also manually specify (additional) exclude paths, for example:
# vzdump 777 --exclude-path /tmp/ --exclude-path '/var/foo*'
(only excludes tmp directories)
Configuration files are also stored inside the backup archive
-(`/etc/vzdump/`), and will be correctly restored.
+(in `./etc/vzdump/`) and will be correctly restored.
Examples
--------
-Simply dump VM 777 - no snapshot, just archive the VM private area and
+Simply dump guest 777 - no snapshot, just archive the guest private area and
configuration files to the default dump directory (usually
-'/var/liv//vz/dump/').
+'/var/lib/vz/dump/').
# vzdump 777
# vzdump 777 --mode suspend
-Backup all VMs and send notification mails to root and admin.
+Backup all guest systems and send notification mails to root and admin.
# vzdump --all --mode suspend --mailto root --mailto admin
-Use snapshot mode (no downtime).
+Use snapshot mode (no downtime) and non-default dump directory.
# vzdump 777 --dumpdir /mnt/backup --mode snapshot
-Backup more than one VM (selectively)
+Backup more than one guest (selectively)
# vzdump 101 102 103 --mailto root
-Backup all VMs excluding VM 101 and 102
+Backup all guests excluding 101 and 102
# vzdump --mode suspend --exclude 101,102
-Restore a container to a new VM 600
+Restore a container to a new CT 600
# pct restore 600 /mnt/backup/vzdump-lxc-777.tar
-Restore a Qemu/KVM machine to VM 601
+Restore a QemuServer VM to VM 601
# qmrestore /mnt/backup/vzdump-qemu-888.vma 601
projects / pve-docs.git / blobdiff