Using bplist to list files backed up with NetBackup
A common question often asked is "How can I find versions of a file backed up by NetBackup"?.
The answer is to simply use the bplist
command to view a list of all versions of a file that has been backed. The command is located in /usr/openv/netbackup/bin
on Solaris and other UNIX based systems, and under <install_path>\NetBackup\bin
under Windows.
Whilst bplist
is the backup admins most useful command if you want to display the information on the files and directories, it can be tricky to get the command-line argument correct. bplist
assumes:
- That if no path specified, then
bplist
uses the current directory, - If no start time is specified, then
bplist
defaults to the last 12 hours in it's search, - If no policy type specified, then the standard (type 0) is assumed. Click here for a detailed listing of NetBackup polity types.
As a general rule, always try and:
- specify a path,
- specify a -s <start time>
- (optionally, specify an -e <end time>),
- always specify the -R option,
- specify a policy type (-t) unless you are listing a UNIX type backup.
Syntax
The simplest syntax would be:
bplist -l -R <path-to-file>
- For example:
# bplist -l -R /test/file1
For a specific NetBackup client, the syntax would be:
bplist -C <client> -l -R <path-to-file>
- For example:
# bplist -C smurf -l -R /test/file1
If you want to specify the start date, use the syntax:
bplist -C <client> -s <mm/dd/yyyy [hh[:mm[:ss]]]> -l -R <path/to/file>
- For example:
# bplist -C smurf -s 06/23/2010 23:00:00 -l -R /test/file1
Alternatively, if you want to specify the start time as ctime, we can use:
bplist -C <client> -X -s <ctime> -l -R </path/to/file>
- For example:
# bplist -C smurf -X -s 1277330400 -l -R /test/file1
Policy Types
The following table lists the policy types currently available.
Type | Name | Comments |
---|---|---|
0 | Standard | |
1 | Proxy | NetBackup internal setting |
2 | Non-Standard | NetBackup internal setting |
3 | Apollo-wbak | NetBackup DataCenter only |
4 | Oracle | |
5 | Any policy type | |
6 | Informix-On-BAR | |
7 | Sybase | |
8 | MS-Sharepoint | NetBackup Server /Enterprise Server only |
9 | MS-Windows | Not active, use MS-Windows-NT (13) for Windows 2000/NT/XP/2003 clients. |
10 | NetWare | |
11 | DataTools-SQL-BackTrack | |
12 | Auspex-FastBackup | |
13 | MS-Windows-NT | |
14 | OS/2 | |
15 | MS-SQL-Server | |
16 | MS-Exchange-Server | |
17 | SAP | NetBackup Server /Enterprise Server only |
18 | DB2 | NetBackup Server /Enterprise Server only |
19 | NDMP | |
20 | FlashBackup | NetBackup Server /Enterprise Server only |
21 | Split-Mirror | NetBackup Server /Enterprise Server only |
22 | AFS | NetBackup Server /Enterprise Server only |
23 | DFS | Not an active policy type. |
24 | DataStore | |
25 | Lotus-Notes | |
26 | NCR-Teradata | No longer supported, contact NCR to see if they provide an extension. |
27 | OpenVMS | |
28 | MPE/iX | |
29 | FlashBackup-Windows | NetBackup Server /Enterprise Server only |
30 | Vault | |
31 | BE-MS-SQL-Server | |
32 | BE-MS-Exchange-Server | |
33 | Macintosh | Not active, use Standard (0) for Macintosh OSX clients. |
34 | Disk Staging | NetBackup Server /Enterprise Server only |
35 | NBU-Catalog | NetBackup 6.0 only |