What the dump command syntax is

The Data ONTAP dump command has a defined syntax that consists of a set of options.

You can enter the dump command any time the tape devices you want to use are free to back up data in a specified path. After the dump command is finished, the data in the path is written to the tape.

You can run up to eight dump commands (depending on the hardware you are using) in parallel on up to eight tape drives, one command per drive. Parallel backups increase throughput.

The dump command syntax is as follows:

dump options parameters dump_path

The following list describes the various dump command options:

backup level: Level 0 is a full backup; levels 1 through 9 are for incremental backups.
A: Does not back up ACLs.
b: The blocking factor.
Parameter: The number of 1-KB blocks in each write operation. For a storage system, the range is 4 through 256, and the default is 63.
B: Specifies the number of tape blocks to be written to a tape file before starting a new tape file.
Parameter: The number of tape blocks in a tape file.
f: Specifies the tape device for the backup. (mandatory)
Parameter: At least one tape device name as a parameter. Separate additional tape device names with commas.
l: Backs up only specific files and directories in the dump path. You must use the n option when using the l option.
n: Specifies to provide a name for the backup to be recorded in the /etc/dumpdates file. It takes a string as a parameter. It is required if you use the l option.
Q: Backs up all data in the specified volume that does not reside in a qtree.
u: Updates the /etc/dumpdates file. You must use this option if you plan to perform incremental backups in the future.
X: Excludes specified files from the backup.
Parameter: A string that specifies the exclusion prefixes or suffixes.

Note: Not all options are mandatory, and some do not have any parameters.

The following list describes the rules for entering the dump command:

You can list one or more options.
You must list all options together; do not separate the options by commas or spaces.
You can list the options in any order.
You must include a backup level and a tape file in the options.
parameters can be one parameter or a list of parameters, each of which is associated with an option.
List all parameters in the same order as their corresponding options.
Separate each parameter with one or more spaces.
If the parameter is a list, use commas to separate the items in the list.
dump_path is the complete path name of the volume, directory, or qtree batch file to be backed up by the dump command.
Always precede the volume name by /vol/ even if the volume is a root volume, because between different levels of backups, you could have changed the root volume.

Example of a dump command

dump 0fb rst0a 63 /vol/vol0/

The following list describes the elements of the command line:

0: Does a full backup.
f: Specifies that a tape device is supplied in the command line. Its parameter is rst0a.
b: Specifies that a blocking factor is supplied in the command line.
63: The blocking factor.
/vol/vol0/: The dump path. This command backs up to tape all files and directories in the vol0 volume.