From e15bec30e6036a23789c0ee1e7a058d530523758 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Helfman Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2023 23:34:58 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] Mention some hang edge cases in database limitations (#710). --- docs/how-to/backup-your-databases.md | 22 ++++++++++++---------- 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/how-to/backup-your-databases.md b/docs/how-to/backup-your-databases.md index 0a770d6..3aeea9b 100644 --- a/docs/how-to/backup-your-databases.md +++ b/docs/how-to/backup-your-databases.md @@ -348,17 +348,19 @@ borgmatic's own configuration file. So include your configuration file in backups to avoid getting caught without a way to restore a database. 3. borgmatic does not currently support backing up or restoring multiple databases that share the exact same name on different hosts. -4. Because database hooks implicitly enable the `read_special` configuration -setting to support dump and restore streaming, you'll need to ensure that any -special files are excluded from backups (named pipes, block devices, -character devices, and sockets) to prevent hanging. Try a command like -`find /your/source/path -type b -or -type c -or -type p -or -type s` to find -such files. Common directories to exclude are `/dev` and `/run`, but that may -not be exhaustive. New in version +4. Because database hooks implicitly enable the `read_special` configuration, +any special files are excluded from backups (named pipes, block devices, +character devices, and sockets) to prevent hanging. Try a command like `find +/your/source/path -type b -or -type c -or -type p -or -type s` to find such +files. Common directories to exclude are `/dev` and `/run`, but that may not +be exhaustive. New in version 1.7.3 When database hooks are enabled, borgmatic automatically excludes -special files that may cause Borg to hang, so you no longer need to manually -exclude them. (This includes symlinks with special files as a destination.) You -can override/prevent this behavior by explicitly setting `read_special` to true. +special files (and symlinks to special files) that may cause Borg to hang, so +generally you no longer need to manually exclude them. There are potential +edge cases though in which applications on your system create new special files +*after* borgmatic constructs its exclude list, resulting in Borg hangs. If that +occurs, you can resort to the manual excludes described above. And to opt out +of the auto-exclude feature entirely, explicitly set `read_special` to true. ### Manual restoration