Followsymbolic

During a backup operation, the followsymbolic option specifies whether you want to use a symbolic link as a virtual mount point. During a restore or retrieve operation, the followsymbolic option specifies how the Tivoli® Storage Manager client restores a directory whose name matches a symbolic link on the restore target file system.

For backup operations, the followsymbolic option can influence the virtualmountpoint option setting. If you use the virtualmountpoint option to specify a symbolic link as a virtual mount point, you must also set the followsymbolic option.

During restore and retrieve operations, followsymbolic can influence how the client handles a symbolic link on the file system. Set followsymbolic only when the client attempts to restore a directory whose name matches a symbolic link on the restore target file system.

If you specify followsymbolic=no (the default), the client does not restore the contents of the directory, but returns this error message:

ANS4029E Error processing 'filespace name path-name file-name': 
unable to build a directory path; a file exists with the same name 
as a directory.

If you specify followsymbolic=yes, the client restores the contents of the directory to the target of the symbolic link.

For example, assume the client backed up a file with this path: /fs1/dir1/subdir1/file1. Assume also that a symbolic link /fs1/dir1, that exists on the restore target file system, links to the directory /fs88/dir88/subdir88. Restore the file with the command:

restore /fs1/dir1/subdir1/file1

If you specify followsymbolic=no, the client does not restore the file, but returns the preceding error message. If you specify followsymbolic=yes, the client restores file1 to the /fs88/dir88/subdir88/subdir1/file1 directory.

If you restore a symbolic link (not a directory) whose name matches a symbolic link on the restore target file system, the client restores the symbolic link.

If a symbolic link is used as a virtual mount point, the path to the link target must be specified by using an absolute file path.

Use this option with the restore and retrieve commands, or in the client user-options file (dsm.opt).

Supported Clients

This option is valid for all UNIX clients except Mac OS X.

Options File

Place this option in the client options file (dsm.opt).

Syntax


                   .-No--.   
>>-FOLlowsymbolic--+-----+-------------------------------------><
                   '-Yes-'

Parameters

No: Do not back up a virtual mount point that is a symbolic link. Do not restore a directory if the restore target file system contains a symbolic link with matching name. This is the default.
Yes: Restore the contents of a directory to the target of a symbolic link.

Examples

Options file:: followsymbolic Yes
Command line:: -fol=Yes