Makesparsefile

Sparse files do not have disk space allocated for every block in the whole address space, leading to holes within the file. The Tivoli® Storage Manager client detects sparse files during a backup operation and marks them as sparse on the Tivoli Storage Manager server. Holes are detected by their content, which is always zeros.

If you set the makesparsefile option to yes (default), holes within the file are not written to disk so no additional disk space is allocated during a restore.

If you set the makesparsefile option to no, holes are not recreated, leading to disk blocks allocated for the whole address space. This might result in a larger amount of used disk space. Ensure that you have enough disk space to restore all data.

On some UNIX and Linux systems, it might be necessary to back up system specific files as non-sparse files. Use the makesparsefile option for files where the existence of physical disk blocks is required, such as ufsboot on Solaris, which is executed during boot time. The boot file loader of the operating system accesses physical disk blocks directly and does not support sparse files.

Supported Clients

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

Options File

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

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

Parameters

Yes

Specifies that holes within the file are not written so that no additional disk space is allocated during a restore. This is the default.

No

Specifies that holes are not recreated leading to disk blocks allocated for the whole address space.