<?xml version="1.0" ?> <!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//KDE//DTD DocBook XML V4.2-Based Variant V1.1//EN" "dtd/kdex.dtd" [ <!ENTITY kappname "&kdat;"> <!ENTITY package "kdeadmin"> <!ENTITY % addindex "IGNORE"> <!ENTITY % English "INCLUDE" > <!-- change language only here --> ]> <book lang="&language;"> <bookinfo> <title>&kdat; Documentation</title> <authorgroup> <author> <firstname>Sean</firstname> <surname>Vyain</surname> <affiliation><address><email>svyain@mail.tds.net</email></address></affiliation> </author> <!-- TRANS:ROLES_OF_TRANSLATORS --> </authorgroup> <copyright> <year>2000</year> <holder>Sean Vyain</holder> </copyright> <date>2000-10-03</date> <releaseinfo>2.00.00</releaseinfo> <abstract><para>This documentation describes &kdat; 2.0</para></abstract> <keywordset> <keyword>KDE</keyword> <keyword>KDat</keyword> <keyword>tape</keyword> <keyword>tape management</keyword> </keywordset> </bookinfo> <chapter id="Introduction"> <title>Introduction</title> <para>&kdat; is a tar-based tape archiver. It is designed to work with multiple archives on a single tape. &kdat; was inspired by two separate goals. The first, was to provide a nice, <abbrev>GUI</abbrev> front-end to tar that supported the fast selective extraction features of the <application>dds2tar</application> program. The second goal was to answer my wife's question, <quote>How much longer is it going to be backing up?!?</quote></para> <!-- //////// --> <sect1 id="features"> <title>Features</title> <itemizedlist> <listitem><para>Simple graphical interface to local filesystem and tape contents.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Multiple archives on the same physical tape.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Complete index of archives and files is stored on local hard disk.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Selective restore of files from an archive.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Backup profiles for frequently used backups.</para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> </sect1> </chapter> <chapter id="using-kdat"> <title>Using &kdat;</title> <sect1 id="mount"> <title>Mounting/unmounting a tape</title> <para>Before a tape can be used, it must be mounted by &kdat;. There are three ways to mount a tape:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Select <guimenuitem>Mount Tape</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Click on the <guiicon>tape drive</guiicon> icon on the toolbar.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>&RMB; click on the tape drive tree node, and select <guimenuitem>Mount Tape</guimenuitem>.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>&kdat; will rewind the tape, and read the header information from the tape. If &kdat; does not recognize the header on the tape, you will be prompted to <link linkend="formatting">format</link> the tape.</para> <para>If &kdat; recognizes the header it will look for the corresponding tape index on your local disk. If the tape index cannot be found you will be prompted to <link linkend="indexing">recreate the index from tape</link>.</para> <para>If all goes well, the tape drive icon will change to indicate that the tape has been mounted, and a message will appear in the status bar. The contents of the tape can be explored under the tape drive tree node.</para> <para>Before ejecting a tape, you must unmount the tape. There are three ways to unmount the tape:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Select <guimenuitem>Unmount Tape</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Click on the <guiicon>tape drive</guiicon> icon on the toolbar.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>&RMB; click on the tape drive tree node, and select <guimenuitem>Unmount Tape</guimenuitem>.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>&kdat; will acknowledge that the tape has been unmounted by changing the tape drive icon, and displaying a message in the status bar. The tape may now be safely ejected.</para> </sect1> <!-- //////// --> <sect1 id="formatting"> <title>Formatting a tape</title> <para>Before a tape can be used by &kdat;, it must be formatted by &kdat;.</para> <para>Some types of tapes must be formatted before they can be used to store data. <emphasis>This is not what &kdat; does when formatting a tape.</emphasis> If your tape drive requires that the tapes be formatted before using them, then they must be formatted before they can be <quote>formatted</quote> by &kdat;. Typically floppy tape drives require that their media be formatted, but DAT drives do not.</para> <para>There are two ways to format a tape:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Select <guimenuitem>Format Tape...</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>&RMB; click on the tape drive tree node, and select <guimenuitem>Format Tape...</guimenuitem>.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>You will be prompted for a name for the tape, and the stated capacity of the tape. Both of these parameters can be changed after the tape has been formatted. The tape name is only used to identify the tape to the user; it is not used to identify the tape index associated with the tape. Instead, a unique tape identifier is automatically generated and written to the tape. The stated capacity of the tape is used by &kdat; to warn the user if there will not be enough space to complete a backup.</para> <para>After entering the tape name and capacity, &kdat; will proceed to format the tape. <emphasis>ALL DATA ON THE TAPE WILL BE LOST</emphasis>. Once &kdat; has finished formatting the tape, the tape will be automatically mounted and is ready for use.</para> </sect1> <!-- //////// --> <sect1 id="backing-up"> <title>Backing up files to tape</title> <para>Before initiating a backup, you must select some files to archive. There are three ways to select files for backup:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Highlight a file or folder in the local file tree. Only the selected file or subfolder will be archived.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Highlight a <link linkend="profile">backup profile</link> in the tree. Only the files in the backup profile will be archived.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Checkmark selected files in the local file tree. Only the checked files and/or subfolders will be archived.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>There are four ways to initiate a backup:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Select <guimenuitem>Backup...</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Click on the <guiicon>backup</guiicon> icon in the toolbar.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>&RMB; click on a file or folder in the local file tree, and select <guimenuitem>Backup...</guimenuitem>.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>&RMB; click on a <link linkend="profile">backup profile</link>, and select <guimenuitem>Backup...</guimenuitem>.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>Once the backup has been initiated, the <guilabel>Backup Options</guilabel> dialog will appear. This dialog gives you a chance to review the selected files, and change the backup options.</para> <para>After accepting the backup options, the <guilabel>Backup</guilabel> dialog will appear. This dialog shows the progress of the backup including throughput and time remaining.</para> </sect1> <!-- //////// --> <sect1 id="verifying"> <title>Verifying tape files against local files</title> <para>Before initiating a verify, you must select some files to verify.</para> <para>There are two ways to select files for verification:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Highlight a file or folder in one of the archives under the tape drive tree node. Only the selected file or subfolder will be verified.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Checkmark selected files in one of the archives under the tape drive tree node. Only the checked files and/or subfolders will be verified.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>There are three ways to initiate a verify:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Select <guimenuitem>Verify...</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Click on the <guiicon>verify</guiicon> icon in the toolbar.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>&RMB; click on a file or folder in one of the archives, and select <guimenuitem>Verify...</guimenuitem>.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>Once the verify has been initiated, the <guilabel>Verify Options</guilabel> dialog will appear. This dialog gives you a chance to review the selected files, and change the working folder for the verification.</para> <para>After accepting the verify options, the <guilabel>Verify</guilabel> dialog will appear. This dialog shows the progress of the verification including throughput and time remaining.</para> </sect1> <!-- //////// --> <sect1 id="restoring"> <title>Restoring files from tape</title> <para>Before initiating a restore, you must select some files to restore. There are two ways to select files for restoring:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Highlight a file or folder in one of the archives under the tape drive tree node. Only the selected file or subfolder will be restored.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Checkmark selected files in one of the archives under the tape drive tree node. Only the checked files and/or subfolders will be restored.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>There are three ways to initiate a restore:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Select <guimenuitem>Restore...</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Click on the <guiicon>restore</guiicon> icon in the toolbar.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>&RMB; click on a file or folder in one of the archives, and select <guimenuitem>Restore...</guimenuitem>.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>Once the restore has been initiated, the <guilabel>Restore Options</guilabel> dialog will appear. This dialog gives you a chance to review the selected files, and change the working folder for the restore.</para> <para>After accepting the restore options, the <guilabel>Restore</guilabel> dialog will appear. This dialog shows the progress of the restore including throughput and time remaining.</para> </sect1> <!-- //////// --> <sect1 id="indexing"> <title>Recreating an index from tape</title> <para>Sometimes it may be necessary to recreate the tape index file from the tape contents. <emphasis>This process will overwrite any existing index file for the tape</emphasis>. There are two way to recreate an index from tape:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Select <guimenuitem>Recreate Tape Index</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>&RMB; click on the tape drive tree node, and select <guimenuitem>Recreate Tape Index</guimenuitem>.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>The <guilabel>Index</guilabel> dialog will appear. This dialog shows &kdat;'s progress as it creates the index file.</para> </sect1> <!-- //////// --> <sect1 id="profile"> <title>Creating a backup profile</title> <para>There are two ways to create a backup profile:</para> <orderedlist> <listitem><para>Select <guimenuitem>Create Backup Profile</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>&RMB; click on the <guilabel>Backup Profiles</guilabel> tree node, and select <guimenuitem>Create Backup Profile</guimenuitem>.</para> </listitem> </orderedlist> <para>This should create a new backup profile using the currently checked files and the default backup options. The following options can be set for the backup profile:</para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>Archive name</term> <listitem><para>The symbolic name for the archive. It can be changed later.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>Working folder</term> <listitem><para>The current working folder to perform the backup in. The list of files to backup is automatically updated to reflect the selected working folder.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>Stay on one filesystem</term> <listitem><para>For each folder that is listed under <guilabel>Backup files</guilabel>, only the files under that folder that are on the same filesystem as the folder will be archived. Folders on different filesystems can be listed under <guilabel>Backup files</guilabel>, and each will be treated independently of the others, by tar.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>GNU listed incremental</term> <listitem><para>Perform an incremental backup. A snapshot file is used to determine which files have changed since the last incremental backup. Only the files that have changed will be archived.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>Snapshot file</term> <listitem><para>The name of the file that is used to determine which files have changed since the last incremental backup.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>Remove snapshot file before backup.</term> <listitem><para>Remove the snapshot file before invoking <application>tar</application>. This has the effect of backing up all of the files, and creating the snapshot file for use next time.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> <note><para>The <guibutton>Files >></guibutton> and <guibutton><< Files</guibutton> buttons were not fully implemented at the time this documentation was written...</para></note> <para>You must press the <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> button to commit any changes made to the backup profile.</para> </sect1> <!-- //////// --> <sect1 id="prefs"> <title>Configuring user preferences</title> <para>User preferences can be configured by selecting <guimenuitem>Preferences...</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> menu. The following preferences can be configured:</para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term><guilabel>Default tape size</guilabel> </term> <listitem><para>This value will be used as the default tape size when formatting a tape.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guilabel>Tape block size</guilabel> </term> <listitem><para>The hardware block size for the tape drive. For floppy tape drives this value should be 10240 bytes.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guilabel>Tape device</guilabel> </term> <listitem><para>The full path to your tape device (usually <filename>/dev/tape</filename>). This path must point to the <emphasis>non-rewind</emphasis> version of your tape device. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guilabel>Tar command</guilabel> </term> <listitem><para>The full path to the <command>tar</command> command on your system.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guilabel>Load tape on mount</guilabel> </term> <listitem><para>If enabled, before trying to mount a tape &kdat; will issue an <userinput><command>mt<option>load</option></command></userinput> command to the tape drive. Some drives may require this before reading and writing the tape.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guilabel>Lock tape drive on mount</guilabel> </term> <listitem><para>If enabled, whenever a tape is mounted by &kdat;, the tape drive will be asked to disable the eject button. This option may not work with all tape drives.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guilabel>Eject tape on unmount</guilabel> </term> <listitem><para>If enabled, whenever a tape is unmounted by &kdat;, the tape will automatically be ejected from the drive. Do not use this option with floppy tape drives.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guilabel>Variable block size</guilabel> </term> <listitem><para>If enabled, &kdat; will attempt to change the hardware block size used by the tape drive. Not all drives support variable block size. Whether this feature is enabled or not, you must tell &kdat; the block size that your tape drive uses (&ie; 10240 for ftape users).</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect1> <!-- //////// --> <sect1 id="tapeformat"> <title>&kdat; tape format</title> <para>When &kdat; formats a tape it writes a single file at the beginning of the tape. This file should only occupy a single tape block. The contents of the file are:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem><para>(9 bytes) The string literal <literal>KDatMAGIC</literal></para> </listitem> <listitem><para>(4 bytes) The file format version number (currently 1).</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>(4 bytes) The length in bytes of the tape ID string.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>(n bytes) The tape ID string. The format of this string is <replaceable>hostname</replaceable>:<replaceable>seconds</replaceable>, where <replaceable>hostname</replaceable> is the full name of the machine that the tape was formatted on and <replaceable>seconds</replaceable> is the number of seconds since the epoch when the tape was formatted.</para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> <para>The tape ID is used to locate a file, with the same name, in the <filename>$<envar>HOME</envar>/.kdat</filename> folder.</para> <para>Each of the remaining files on the tape are plain-old <application>tar</application> archives. You should be able to manipulate them directly with <acronym>GNU</acronym> <application>tar</application>. Even non-<acronym>GNU</acronym> <application>tar</application> should work for non-incremental backups.</para> </sect1> </chapter> <!-- ********************************************************************** --> <chapter id="menu-reference"> <title>Menu and Toolbar Reference</title> <sect1 id="menus"> <title>&kdat; menus</title> <para>&kdat; has three menus: <link linkend="menu-file"><guimenu>File</guimenu></link>, <link linkend="menu-edit"><guimenu>Edit</guimenu></link>, and <link linkend="menu-help"><guimenu>Help</guimenu></link>.</para> <!-- //////// --> <sect2 id="menu-file"> <title>The <guimenu>File</guimenu> Menu</title> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Backup</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Begin a backup.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Restore</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Restore a backup from tape.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Verify</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Verify a backup.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Mount Tape</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Mount a tape.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Recreate Tape Index</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Recreate an index on the currently mounted tape.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Create Backup Profile</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Opens the dialog box that allows you to create a Backup Profile.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Delete Archive</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Delete an archive from the tape.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Delete Index</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Delete the &kdat; index from a tape.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Delete Backup Profile</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Delete a Backup Profile.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Format Tape</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Format a tape for use with &kdat;.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <shortcut><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>Q</keycap> </keycombo></shortcut><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Quit</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para><action>Exit &kdat;.</action></para></listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect2> <!-- //////// --> <sect2 id="menu-edit"> <title>The <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> Menu</title> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice> <guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem> </menuchoice></term> <listitem><para>Opens the <guilabel>Preferences</guilabel> dialog, where you can configure &kdat; for your needs.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect2> <!-- //////// --> <sect2 id="menu-help"> <title>The <guimenu>Help</guimenu> Menu</title> &help.menu.documentation; </sect2> <!-- //////// --> <sect2 id="icon-reference"> <title>The &kdat; toolbar</title> <para>The &kdat; toolbar contains 6 icons, as follows:</para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term><guiicon>Mount/unmount Tape</guiicon> </term> <listitem><para>Mount or unmount a tape.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guiicon>Backup</guiicon> </term> <listitem><para>Begin a backup. This item is unavailable unless a tape is mounted.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guiicon>Restore</guiicon> </term> <listitem><para>Restore a backup from tape. This item is unavailable unless a tape is mounted.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guiicon>Verify</guiicon> </term> <listitem><para>Verify the contents of a backup tape. This item is unavailable unless a tape is mounted.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guiicon>Help</guiicon> </term> <listitem><para>Opens the &kdat; help files (this document)</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guiicon>Quit</guiicon> </term> <listitem><para>Quits &kdat;</para></listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect2> </sect1> </chapter> <!-- *********************************************************************** --> <chapter id="Copyright"> <title>Copyright</title> <para>&kdat;</para> <para>Program and Documentation copyright 1998-2000 Sean Vyain<email>svyain@mail.tds.net</email></para> <!-- TRANS:CREDIT_FOR_TRANSLATORS --> &underFDL; &underGPL; </chapter> </book> <!-- Local Variables: mode: sgml sgml-omittag: nil sgml-shorttag: t End: -->