--- name: "amanda" section: "8" platform: "linux" package: "amanda-common" version: "1:3.5.4-2" release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://carta.tech/man/amanda" --- # amanda(8) The Open Source Backup Platform ## NAME amanda - The Open Source Backup Platform ## DESCRIPTION This manual page gives an overview of the Amanda commands and configuration files for quick reference. ### COMMANDS Here are all the Amanda commands. Each one has its own manual page. See them for all the gory details. • [**amaddclient**(8)](/man/amaddclient/8.md), • [**amadmin**(8)](/man/amadmin/8.md), • [**amaespipe**(8)](/man/amaespipe/8.md), • [**amarchiver**(8)](/man/amarchiver/8.md), • [**amcheck**(8)](/man/amcheck/8.md), • [**amcheckdb**(8)](/man/amcheckdb/8.md), • [**amcheckdump**(8)](/man/amcheckdump/8.md), • [**amcleanup**(8)](/man/amcleanup/8.md), • [**amcrypt-ossl-asym**(8)](/man/amcrypt-ossl-asym/8.md), • [**amcrypt-ossl**(8)](/man/amcrypt-ossl/8.md), • [**amcrypt**(8)](/man/amcrypt/8.md), • [**amcryptsimple**(8)](/man/amcryptsimple/8.md), • [**amdevcheck**(8)](/man/amdevcheck/8.md), • [**amdump**(8)](/man/amdump/8.md), • [**amfetchdump**(8)](/man/amfetchdump/8.md), • [**amflush**(8)](/man/amflush/8.md), • [**amgetconf**(8)](/man/amgetconf/8.md), • [**amgpgcrypt**(8)](/man/amgpgcrypt/8.md), • [**amgtar**(8)](/man/amgtar/8.md), • [**amlabel**(8)](/man/amlabel/8.md), • [**amoverview**(8)](/man/amoverview/8.md), • [**ampgsql**(8)](/man/ampgsql/8.md), • [**amplot**(8)](/man/amplot/8.md), • [**amraw**(8)](/man/amraw/8.md), • [**amrecover**(8)](/man/amrecover/8.md), • [**amreindex**(8)](/man/amreindex/8.md), • [**amreport**(8)](/man/amreport/8.md), • [**amrestore**(8)](/man/amrestore/8.md), • [**amrmtape**(8)](/man/amrmtape/8.md), • [**amsamba**(8)](/man/amsamba/8.md), • [**amserverconfig**(8)](/man/amserverconfig/8.md), • [**amservice**(8)](/man/amservice/8.md), • [**amstar**(8)](/man/amstar/8.md), • [**amstatus**(8)](/man/amstatus/8.md), • [**amsuntar**(8)](/man/amsuntar/8.md), • [**amtape**(8)](/man/amtape/8.md), • [**amtapetype**(8)](/man/amtapetype/8.md), • [**amtoc**(8)](/man/amtoc/8.md), • [**amvault**(8)](/man/amvault/8.md), • [**amzfs-sendrecv**(8)](/man/amzfs-sendrecv/8.md), • [**amzfs-snapshot**(8)](/man/amzfs-snapshot/8.md), • [**script-email**(8)](/man/script-email/8.md), ### CONFIGURATION FILES • [**amanda.conf**(5)](/man/amanda.conf/5.md), • [**amanda-client.conf**(5)](/man/amanda-client.conf/5.md), • [**amanda-security.conf**(5)](/man/amanda-security.conf/5.md), • [**disklist**(5)](/man/disklist/5.md), • [**tapelist**(5)](/man/tapelist/5.md), ### DATA FORMATS • [**amanda-archive-format**(5)](/man/amanda-archive-format/5.md), • [**amanda-command-file**(5)](/man/amanda-command-file/5.md), ### CONCEPTS • [**amanda-applications**(7)](/man/amanda-applications/7.md), • [**amanda-auth**(7)](/man/amanda-auth/7.md), • [**amanda-auth-ssl**(7)](/man/amanda-auth-ssl/7.md), • [**amanda-changers**(7)](/man/amanda-changers/7.md), • [**amanda-compatibility**(7)](/man/amanda-compatibility/7.md), • [**amanda-devices**(7)](/man/amanda-devices/7.md), • [**amanda-interactivity**(7)](/man/amanda-interactivity/7.md), • [**amanda-match**(7)](/man/amanda-match/7.md), • [**amanda-scripts**(7)](/man/amanda-scripts/7.md), • [**amanda-taperscan**(7)](/man/amanda-taperscan/7.md), ## CONFIGURATION FILES There are five user-editable files that control the behavior of Amanda. The first two are [**amanda.conf**(5)](/man/amanda.conf/5.md) and [**amanda-client.conf**(5)](/man/amanda-client.conf/5.md), the main configuration files for the server and client, respectively. They contain parameters to customize Amanda for the site. Next is the [**disklist**(5)](/man/disklist/5.md) file, which lists hosts and disk partitions to back up. Last is the seldom-edited [**tapelist**(5)](/man/tapelist/5.md) file, which lists tapes that are currently active. These files are described in more detail in the following sections. All configuration files are stored in individual configuration directories, usually under /etc/amanda/. A site will often have more than one configuration. For example, it might have a *normal* configuration for everyday backups and an *archive* configuration for infrequent full archival backups. The configuration files would be stored under directories /etc/amanda/normal/ and /etc/amanda/archive/, respectively. Part of the job of an Amanda administrator is to create, populate and maintain these directories. Most Amanda applications take a "config" parameter; this is generally the (unqualified) name of the configuration directory, e.g., normal. If the parameter is . (dot), the current directory is used. This feature is present for backward compatibility, but is not commonly used. ### Configuration Override Most commands allow the override of specific configuration options on the command line, using the -o option. This option has the form -o*name*=*value*. An optional space is allowed after the -o. Each configuration option should be specified in a separate command-line option. For global options, *name* is simply the name of the option, e.g., ``` amdump -oruntapes=2 ``` For options in a named section of the configuration, *name* has the form *SECTION*:*section\_name*:*name*, where *SECTION* is one of TAPETYPE, DUMPTYPE, HOLDINGDISK, or INTERFACE, and *section\_name* is the name of the tapetype, dumptype, holdingdisk, or interface. Examples: ``` amdump -o TAPETYPE:HP-DAT:length=2000m amdump -o DUMPTYPE:no-compress:compress="server fast" amdump -o HOLDINGDISK:hd1:use="-100 mb" amdump -o INTERFACE:local:use="2000 kbps" ``` When overriding device properties, one must carefully quote the command line to simulate the syntax of real configuration files. The following example should serve as a guide: ``` amdump -o 'device-property="PROPERTY_MAX_VOLUME_USAGE" "100000"' ``` Note that configuration overrides are not effective for tape changers, which supply a tapedev based on their own configuration. In order to override *tapedev*, you must also disable any changer: ``` amdump -otapedev=/dev/nst1 -otpchanger='' ``` ## AUTHORS **James da Silva** \ **Stefan G. Weichinger** \