NAME

       vos_release - Updates read-only volumes to match the read/write source volume

SYNOPSIS

       vos release -id <volume name or ID>
           [-force] [-force-reclone]
           [-cell <cell name>]
           [-noauth] [-localauth]
           [-verbose] [-encrypt] [-noresolve]
           [-config <config directory>]
           [-help]

       vos rel -i <volume name or ID>
           [-force] [-force-r]
           [-c <cell name>]
           [-noa] [-l] [-v] [-e] [-nor]
           [-co <config directory>]
           [-h]

DESCRIPTION

       The vos release command copies the contents of the indicated read/write source volume to each read-only
       site defined in the source volume's Volume Location Database (VLDB) entry. (Use the vos addsite command
       to define sites as necessary before issuing this command). Each read-only copy has the same name as
       read/write source with the addition of a ".readonly" extension.

       For users to have a consistent view of the file system, the release of the new volume version must be
       atomic: either all read-only sites receive the new version, or all sites keep the version they currently
       have. The vos release command is designed to ensure that all copies of the volume's read-only version
       match both the read/write source and each other. In cases where problems such as machine or server
       process outages prevent successful completion of the release operation, AFS uses two mechanisms to alert
       the administrator.

       First, the command interpreter generates an error message on the standard error stream naming each read-
       only site that did not receive the new volume version. Second, during the release operation the Volume
       Location (VL) Server marks site definitions in the VLDB entry with flags ("New release" and "Old
       release") that indicate whether or not the site has the new volume version. If any flags remain after the
       operation completes, it was not successful. The Cache Manager refuses to access a read-only site marked
       with the "Old release" flag, which potentially imposes a greater load on the sites marked with the "New
       release" flag. It is important to investigate and eliminate the cause of the failure and then to issue
       the vos release command as many times as necessary to complete the release without errors.

       The pattern of site flags remaining in the volume's VLDB entry after a failed release operation can help
       determine the point at which the operation failed. Use the vos examine or vos listvldb command to display
       the VLDB entry. The VL Server sets the flags in concert with the Volume Server's operations, as follows:

       •   Before the operation begins, the VL Server sets the "New release" flag on the read/write site
           definition in the VLDB entry and the "Old release" flag on read-only site definitions (unless the
           read-only site has been defined since the last release operation and has no actual volume, in which
           case its site flag remains "Not released").

       •   If necessary, the Volume Server creates a temporary copy (a clone) of the read/write source called
           the ReleaseClone (see the following discussion of when the Volume Server does or does not create a
           new ReleaseClone.) It assigns the ReleaseClone its own volume ID number, which the VL Server records
           in the "RClone" field of the source volume's VLDB entry.

       •   The Volume Server distributes a copy of the ReleaseClone to each read-only site defined in the VLDB
           entry. As the site successfully receives the new clone, the VL Server sets the site's flag in the
           VLDB entry to "New release".

       •   When all the read-only copies are successfully released, the VL Server clears all the "New release"
           site flags. The ReleaseClone is no longer needed, so the Volume Server deletes it and the VL Server
           erases its ID from the VLDB entry.

       By default, the Volume Server determines automatically whether or not it needs to create a new
       ReleaseClone:

       •   If there are no flags ("New release", "Old release", or "Not released") on site definitions in the
           VLDB entry, the previous vos release command completed successfully and all read-only sites currently
           have the same volume. The Volume Server infers that the current vos release command was issued
           because the read/write volume has changed. The Volume Server creates a new ReleaseClone volume and
           distributes a copy of the clone volume to all the read-only sites.  In order to reduce the amount of
           data transferred during a release, the Volume Server sends incremental changes to remote sites during
           the release.  The Volume Server only sends files and directories which have been changed in the
           read/write volume since the previous release.

       •   If any site definition in the VLDB entry is marked with a flag, either the previous release operation
           did not complete successfully or a new read-only site was defined since the last release. The Volume
           Server does not create a new ReleaseClone, instead distributing the entire existing ReleaseClone to
           sites marked with the "Old release" or "Not released" flag. As previously noted, the VL Server marks
           each VLDB site definition with the "New release" flag as the site receives the ReleaseClone, and
           clears all flags after all sites successfully receive it.

       To override the default behavior, forcing the Volume Server to create and release a new ReleaseClone to
       the read-only sites, include the -force flag. This is appropriate if, for example, the data at the
       read/write site has changed since the existing ReleaseClone was created during the previous release
       operation.

       The -force-reclone will force the creation of a new release clone volume, but will not force a full
       volume dump to be distributed to the remote sites.  Instead, incremental changes will be distributed when
       possible.

OPTIONS

       -id <volume name or id>
           Specifies either the complete name or volume ID number of a read/write volume.

       -force
           Creates a new ReleaseClone and distributes the entire clone volume to all read-only sites, regardless
           of the "New release", "Old release", or "Not released" site flags.

       -force-reclone
           Creates a new ReleaseClone and incrementally distributes the clone volume to all read-only sites,
           regardless of the "New release", "Old release", or "Not released" site flags.

       -cell <cell name>
           Names the cell in which to run the command. Do not combine this argument with the -localauth flag.
           For more details, see vos(1).

       -noauth
           Assigns the unprivileged identity "anonymous" to the issuer. Do not combine this flag with the
           -localauth flag. For more details, see vos(1).

       -localauth
           Constructs a server ticket using a key from the local /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile file. The vos
           command interpreter presents it to the Volume Server and Volume Location Server during mutual
           authentication. Do not combine this flag with the -cell argument or -noauth flag. For more details,
           see vos(1).

       -verbose
           Produces on the standard output stream a detailed trace of the command's execution. If this argument
           is omitted, only warnings and error messages appear.

       -encrypt
           Encrypts the command so that the operation's results are not transmitted across the network in clear
           text. This option is available in OpenAFS versions 1.4.11 or later and 1.5.60 or later.

       -noresolve
           Shows all servers as IP addresses instead of the DNS name. This is very useful when the server
           address is registered as 127.0.0.1 or when dealing with multi-homed servers. This option is available
           in OpenAFS versions 1.4.8 or later and 1.5.35 or later.

       -config <configuration directory>
           Set the location of the configuration directory to be used. This defaults to /etc/openafs, except if
           -localauth is specified, in which case the default is /etc/openafs/server. This option allows the use
           of alternative configuration locations for testing purposes.

       -help
           Prints the online help for this command. All other valid options are ignored.

EXAMPLES

       The following command clones the read/write volume usr and releases it to the read-only sites defined in
       its VLDB entry.

          % vos release usr

PRIVILEGE REQUIRED

       The issuer must be listed in the /etc/openafs/server/UserList file on the machine specified with the
       -server argument and on each database server machine. If the -localauth flag is included, the issuer must
       instead be logged on to a server machine as the local superuser "root".

SEE ALSO

       vos(1), vos_addsite(1), vos_examine(1), vos_listvldb(1)

COPYRIGHT

       IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.

       This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0.  It was converted from HTML to POD
       by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth
       Cassell.