Provided by: nbd-server_3.13-1_amd64 bug

NAME

       nbd-server  -  serve  a  file  as  a  block  device  to  other  computers     running  the
       GNU/Linux(tm) or GNU/Hurd Operating    System

SYNOPSIS

       nbd-server  [ip@]port filename [ size ] [ -r ] [ -m ] [ -c ] [ -l host list filename  ]  [
       -o section name ] [ -C config file ] [ -M max connections ] [ -V ] [ -d ]

DESCRIPTION

       nbd-server  is the server for the Linux Network Block Device (NBD). With NBD, a client can
       use a file, exported over the network from a server, as a block device.  It  can  then  be
       used for whatever purpose a normal block device (harddisk, CD-ROM, ...) can be used for.

       NBD  can  be  useful  for  diskless clients that need swapspace, but you can also create a
       filesystem on it and use it as though it were a local filesystem.

       nbd-server implements some security through  a  file  called  "/etc/nbd-server/allow"  (by
       default;  a  different  file  can  be chosen with the '-l' option or through a config file
       specification). This file must list the IP-addresses or network masks of clients that  are
       allowed  to connect. If it does not exist, all clients are able to connect. If the file is
       empty, no clients can connect.

       Note that while the command line allows for specifying an export, the use of  this  option
       is  deprecated. It is preferred to make use of a configuration file instead, the format of
       which is defined in nbd-server(5).

       While nbd-server is running, new exports can be added by  re-writing  configuration  files
       and   then  sending  SIGHUP  to  nbd-server.  SIGHUP  causes  nbd-server  to  re-read  its
       configuration files and to start serving all new exports which were  not  served  earlier.
       Reconfiguration does not modify any existing export, it only appends new ones.

OPTIONS

       ip     The  ip  address  the server should listen on. This may be an IPv4 address, an IPv6
              address, or a hostname. In the latter case, nbd-server will do  a  hostname  lookup
              for  the name specified, and will listen on the first address that is returned. For
              compatibility with past versions of nbd-server, if an IPv4  address  is  specified,
              the @ sign that serves as separator between the address and port may be replaced by
              a colon.

              If this parameter is not specified, nbd-server will listen on all  local  addresses
              on  both  IPv4 and IPv6. To limit to IPv4, specify the address as 0.0.0.0; to limit
              to IPv6, specify it as ::.

       port   The port the server should listen to. A valid port is  any  number  between  1  and
              65536; if 0 is used, nbd-server will listen on stdin (so that nbd-server can be ran
              from inetd)

       filename
              The filename of the file that should be exported. This can be any  file,  including
              "real"  blockdevices  (i.e. a file from /dev). If the filename includes the literal
              string "%s", then this %s will be substituded with the  IP-address  of  the  client
              trying to connect.

       size   The  size  of  the  block  device  at the client side. This is especially useful in
              conjunction with the -m option

              Can optionally be followed by one of K,k,M or m, in which case  the  size  will  be
              multiplied by 1024 (K or k) or 1048576 (M or m)

       -r     Export the file read-only. If a client tries to write to a read-only exported file,
              it will receive an error, but the connection will stay up.

       -m     Work with multiple files. This can be used to export blockdevices that  are  larger
              than  the  maximum allowed filesize on a given filesystem; i.e. when the filesystem
              does not allow files larger than 2GB (which is true for Linux 2.2 and  below),  you
              can  use  this  option  to  store  the  data  in multiple files and export a larger
              filesystem, if needed.

              To use this option, you must create a number of files  with  names  in  the  format
              "name.X",  where "name" is given as the filename argument to nbd-server, and "X" is
              a number starting by 0 and going up for each file.

              Allowing more flexibility for this option is planned for future versions.

       -c     Copy on write. When this option is provided, write-operations are not done  to  the
              exported  file,  but  to  a  separate  file. This separate file is removed when the
              connection is closed, which means that serving this way will make  nbd-server  slow
              down  (especially  on  large  block  devices  with  lots of writes), and that after
              disconnecting and reconnecting the client or the server, all changes are lost.

       -C     Specify configuration file. The default configuration file, if  this  parameter  is
              not specified, is /etc/nbd-server/config.

              Note that the configuration file is always parsed and the entries in the file used,
              even if an  extra  server  is  specified  on  the  command  line.  To  disable  the
              configuration file entirely, either move it away or use the -C option to point nbd-
              server(1) to a non-existing or empty configuration file.

              Also note that if an empty, incomplete, or invalid configuration file is specified,
              nbd-server  will  produce  a warning about failure to parse the config file. If the
              command line contains a fully specified configuration, this warning is harmless and
              may be ignored.

       -M     Specify  the  maximum  number  of  opened  connections.  If  this  parameter is not
              specified, no limit is set.

       -V     Output the version of nbd-server, and exit.

       -d     Do not fork. Useful for debugging.

       host list filename
              This argument should contain a list of IP-addresses for hosts that may  connect  to
              the  server.  Wildcards  are not allowed. If the file does not exist, it is ignored
              (and any host can connect); If the file does exist,  but  is  empty,  no  host  can
              connect.  By  default,  the  name 'nbd_server.allow' is used, and looked for in the
              current directory, unless nbd-server is compiled as a daemon, in which case  it  is
              looked for in the root-directory.

       section name
              If  the  -o  argument  is  given on the command line, then nbd-server will output a
              configuration file section with this as the header that is functionally  equivalent
              to  the  other  options specified on the command line, and exit. This is useful for
              migrating pre-2.9 nbd-server initscript configuration files to the new format.

EXAMPLES

       Some examples of nbd-server usage:

       • To export a file /export/nbd/exp-bl-dev on port 2000:

         nbd-server 2000 /export/nbd/exp-bl-dev

       • To export a the same file read-only:

         nbd-server 2000 /export/nbd/exp-bl-dev -r

       • To export the same file read-write, but make sure changes are lost after restarting  the
         client or the server:

         nbd-server 2000 /export/nbd/exp-bl-dev -c

SEE ALSO

       nbd-client (8), nbd-server (5), nbd-trdump (8)

AUTHOR

       The  NBD  kernel  module  and  the  NBD  tools  were  originally  written  by Pavel Machek
       (pavel@ucw.cz)

       The Linux kernel module is now maintained by Paul  Clements  (Paul.Clements@steeleye.com),
       while the userland tools are maintained by Wouter Verhelst (<wouter@debian.org>)

       On  The  Hurd  there  is  a regular translator available to perform the client side of the
       protocol, and the use of nbd-client is not required. Please see the relevant documentation
       for more information.

       This  manual  page  was  written  by  Wouter Verhelst (<wouter@debian.org>) for the Debian
       GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others).  Permission is granted to  copy,  distribute
       and/or  modify this document under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 2,
       as published by the Free Software Foundation.

                                                $                                   NBD-SERVER(1)