FreeBSD offers a feature in conjunction with Soft Updates: file system snapshots.
UFS snapshots allow a user to create images of specified file systems, and treat them as a file. Snapshot files must be created in the file system that the action is performed on, and a user may create no more than 20 snapshots per file system. Active snapshots are recorded in the superblock so they are persistent across unmount and remount operations along with system reboots. When a snapshot is no longer required, it can be removed using rm(1). While snapshots may be removed in any order, all the used space may not be acquired because another snapshot will possibly claim some of the released blocks.
The un-alterable snapshot file flag is set by mksnap_ffs(8) after
initial creation of a snapshot file. unlink(1) makes an
exception for snapshot files since it allows them to be removed.
Snapshots are created using mount(8). To place a snapshot of /var in the file /var/snapshot/snap, use the following command:
# mount -u -o snapshot /var/snapshot/snap /var
Alternatively, use mksnap_ffs(8) to create the snapshot:
# mksnap_ffs /var /var/snapshot/snap
One can find snapshot files on a file system, such as /var, using find(1):
# find /var -flags snapshot
Once a snapshot has been created, it has several uses:
Some administrators will use a snapshot file for backup purposes, because the snapshot can be transferred to CDs or tape.
The file system integrity checker, fsck(8), may be run on the snapshot. Assuming that the file system was clean when it was mounted, this should always provide a clean and unchanging result.
Running dump(8) on the
snapshot will produce a dump file that is consistent with the file system and the
timestamp of the snapshot. dump(8) can also take
a snapshot, create a dump image, and then remove the snapshot in one command
by using -L.
The snapshot can be mounted as a frozen image of the file system. To mount(8) the snapshot /var/snapshot/snap run:
# mdconfig -a -t vnode -f /var/snapshot/snap -u 4 # mount -r /dev/md4 /mnt
The frozen /var is now available through /mnt. Everything will initially be in the same state it was during the snapshot creation time. The only exception is that any earlier snapshots will appear as zero length files. To unmount the snapshot, use:
# umount /mnt # mdconfig -d -u 4
For more information about softupdates and file system
snapshots, including technical papers, visit Marshall Kirk McKusick's website at http://www.mckusick.com/.