Vzdump is a utility to make consistent snapshots of running OpenVZ containers (and KVM virtual machines if you are using [http://pve.proxmox.com Proxmox VE]). It basically creates a tar archive The paragon of the container's private area, which also includes the CT configuration files. There are several ways to provide consistency: * Stop the CT during backup (very long downtime)* Use rsync and suspend/resume (minimal downtime)* Use LVM2 (no downtime) Vzdump stores the backup on the disk in a single file. This file should go to a tape backup for archiving. == Download ==Download vzdump rpm or deb packages from http://download.openvz.org/contrib/utils/vzdump/ or for newest version, check http://download.proxmox.com/debian/dists/lenny/pve/binary-amd64/ . For Debian based systems:<pre>wget http://download.proxmox.com/debian/dists/lenny/pve/binary-amd64/vzdump_1.2-13_all.deb</pre> For future versions, Proxmox will not release rpm´s, so you need to take a look at the sources. (maybe someone else can maintain vzdump rpm packages?) == Installation ==For rpm based systems:<pre>rpm -i vzdump-1.2-5.noarch.rpm</pre> For Debian based systems:<pre>dpkg -i vzdump_1.2-13_all.deb</pre> == Synopsis == see also: <pre>man vzdump</pre> vzdump OPTIONS [--all | <VMID>] --exclude VMID exclude VMID (assumes --all) --exclude-path REGEX exclude certain files/directories. You can use this option more than once to specify multiple exclude paths --stdexcludes exclude temporary files and logs --compress compress dump file (gzip) --storage STORAGE_ID store resulting files to STORAGE_ID (PVE only) --script execute hook script --dumpdir DIR store resulting files in DIR --maxfiles N maximal number of backup files per VM. --tmpdir DIR store temporary files in DIR. --suspend and --stop are using this directory to store a copy of the VM. --mailto EMAIL send notification mail to EMAIL. You can use this option more than once to specify multiple receivers --stop stop/start VM if running --suspend suspend/resume VM when running --snapshot use LVM snapshot when running --size MB LVM snapshot size (default 1024) --bwlimit KBPS limit I/O bandwidth; KBytes per second --lockwait MINUTES maximal time to wait for the global lock. vzdump uses a global lock file to make sure that only one instance understanndig these issues is running (running several instance puts too much load on a server). Default is 180 (3 hours). --stopwait MINUTES maximal time to wait until a VM is stopped. == Examples ==Use a running container, for example install this: [[Proxmox Mail Gateway in container]]. === Backup === Simply dump CT 777 — no snapshot, just archive the container private area and configuration files to the default dump directory (usually <code>/vz/dump/</code>). vzdump 777 Use rsync and suspend/resume to create a snapshot (minimal downtime). vzdump --suspend 777 Backup all containers and send notification mails to root. vzdump --suspend --all --mailto root Use LVM2 to create snapshots (no downtime). vzdump --dumpdir /space/backup --snapshot 777 Note that using LVM2 and vzdump to create snapshots requires 512Mb of free space in your VG as described [http://weblogs.amtex.nl/index.php?blog=2&title=using_vzdump_snapshot_to_backup_without_downtime&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 right here]. === Restore === Restore the above backup to CT 600: vzrestore /space/backup/vzdump-777.tar 600OR vzdump --restore /space/backup/vzdump-777.tar 600 Note : vzdump --restore is not present in version 1.2-7, use vzrestore instead. == Bugs =='''(not fixed in 1.2-4)'''The rsync command used by vzdump to create the backup in suspend mode partially ignores the "--exclude-path" option.In fact, even if the excluded paths won't appear in the final output, the whole VPS will be moved to the temporary directory, meaning that you need as much free disk space as your VPS size to use vzdump. It can be an issue in the case of a file server handling many files... ''Workaround:'' A workaround has been proposed on OpenVZ forum, see below for the excerpt. (http://forum.openvz.org/index.php?t=msg&goto=36924&)<pre>User: tatawakiMessages: 3Registered: December 2008 Junior MemberFrom: *sbm.shawcable.net Line 694:my $rsyncopts = "--stats --numeric-ids --bwlimit=${opt_bwlimit}"; # changes to my $rsyncopts = "--stats --numeric-ids --bwlimit=${opt_bwlimit}";$rsyncopts = $rsyncopts." --exclude-from=/home/backups/exclude_vzdump.txt"; the txt file contains <VEID>/home/: 1094/home/510/opt/...</pre> '''(fixed in 1.1-1)'''vzdump will fail under Debian Etch in version 1.0-2 if it is invoked with parameter "--snapshot" and if the logical volume name contains a hyphen. ''Workaround:'' One possible workaround is to rename the logical volume in question thus it doesn't contain any hyphen.A bug report was sent to proxmox on 02 June 2008.Other distributions or versions may be affected, too. == Hooks == http://nachtmann.it/blog/vzdump-hook-ftp-backup-script - Backup to FTP with limited capacity [[Category: HOWTO]]!