'Verbose' mode for dump(8)?

[petec at umcp-cs.UUCP]

>>>>We have one of these at Maryland.  When users lose a file they
>>>>run the program 'whichtape filename' which tells them what
>>>>old versions we have backed up.  Dump automatically builds
>>>>the database of names as it is run.

This is a more complete description of the procedures and 
utilities at UoMD.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Here at Maryland, we have an incremental backup daily, and on every
other Wednesday we have a complete dump that is run in single-user
mode. To help us keep track of which files are on tape, we have
delevoped several programs. (Actually, we only worry about the names 
of files on the daily dump tapes, since we know that all the files
exist on the bi-weekly). We have not hacked at 'dump' to list which
files it is dumping, so we cannot provide you with a verbose dump.
What we do do is this (it is run with a shell script):

	do incremental dump
	dumpdir > /tmp/dumpdir
	filtapmgr < /tmp/dumpdir

 This is only an outline and does not show the true syntax of the 
commands. Dumpdir tells us what files are on the tape (this seems
easier that making 'dump' verbose). Filtapmgr is a program which builds
and maintains a file database. The database is actually a giant 
hierarchical tree structure with each node containing information about
a file. The info included is the file inodes, names of the last 3 dump
tapes, and whether the file is a directory. As tapes are reused, old
information is deleted automatically.
 To access the data-base, the program 'whichtape' may be used. This simply
finds the node with information on that file and prints it. Various
options may be given to vary the amount of information retrieved. It
has a recursive option that will list sub-trees of the database.
 We dump 4 file systems: /u, /usr, /g, and / . The average size of the
database file is 275-325 1k blocks, and may contain information on
12000-15000 different files. The 2 programs 'filtapmgr' and 'whichtape' 
go hand-in-hand with each other and require the investment
of a certain amount of disk space for the database. However, as the
restorer of lost files, I have found that it is usually a trivial
matter; I just run 'whichtape' and mount that tape, or I retrieve a
file off of the bi-weekly dump tape. I am freed from tracking down
the whereabouts of a lost file.
 There seem to have been enough requests that we will post the sources
to filtapmgr and whichtape, along with man entries and a skeleton shell
script. Just give us a little time to get it all together.
-- 
Call-Me:   Pete Cottrell, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Dept.
UUCP:	   {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!petec
CSNet:	   petec at umcp-cs
ARPA:	   petec.umcp-cs at CSNet-Relay