tdbbackup Command in Linux

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The tdbbackup command in Linux backs up and validates the integrity of Samba .tdb files. These .tdb files are commonly used by Samba for storing persistent states, like user sessions, locking information, or configuration.

Table of Contents

Here is a comprehensive guide to the options available with the tdbbackup command −

• Installation of tdbbackup Command
• Syntax of tdbbackup Command
• tdbbackup Command Options
• Examples of tdbbackup Command in Linux

Installation of tdbbackup Command

The tdbbackup command may not be installed by default on some Linux distributions. To install it on Ubuntu, Kali Linux, Raspberry Pi OS, Debian, and other Debian-based distributions, use the following command −

sudo apt install tdb-tools

To install it on Arch Linux, use the command given below −

sudo pacman -S tdb

For Alpine Linux, use −

sudo apk add tdb

To install tdbbackup on Fedora, use the following command −

sudo dnf install tdb-tools

To verify the installation of the tdbbackup command, check its binary path −

which tdbbackup

Syntax of tdbbackup Command

The syntax of the tdbbackup command in Linux is as follows −

tdbbackup [options] <fname…>

In the above syntax, the [options] field is used to specify the options to change the command’s output. These options are listed in the next section. The <fname…> field is used to specify one or more .tdb file names to process.

tdbbackup Command Options

The options of the Linux tdbbackup command are listed below −

Examples of tdbbackup Command in Linux

This section explores how to use the tdbbackup command in Linux with examples −

• Creating a Backup of a tdb File
• Setting a Backup Suffix
• Checking tdb File for Damage
• Setting Hash Table Size for Backup
• Open with Read-Only Locking
• Skipping Locking during Backup
• Displaying Usage Help

Creating a Backup of a tdb File

To create a backup of a tdb file, use the tdbbackup command followed by the filename −

tdbbackup share_info.tdb

This command creates a backup file in the same directory.

Note that the tdb files are generally located in /var/lib/samba, or /run/samba directories.

Setting a Backup Suffix

To set a custom backup file suffix, use the -s option −

tdbbackup -s backup share_info.tdb

The above command creates a backup named store.tdb.backup instead of the default store.tdb.bak.

Checking tdb File for Damage

To check the file integrity and restore from the backup if corruption is found, use the -v option −

tdbbackup -v share_info.tdb

In the above output image, 1 record means the database contains 1 key-value pair.

Setting Hash Table Size for Backup

To set the hash table size of the backup database, use the -n option. For example, to set the hash table size in the backup to 8192, use the tdbbackup command in the following way −

tdbbackup -n 8192 share_info.tdb

In the above command, 8192 means 8192 slots in the hash table.

Open with Read-Only Locking

To open the tdb file with read-only locking, use the -r option −

tdbbackup -r share_info.tdb

Skipping Locking during Backup

Locking ensures that multiple processes do not access or modify the same data simultaneously, preventing potential corruption. The -l option skips locking during backup −

tdbbackup -l share_info.tdb

Only use this for tdb files that do not support locking or are lock-free.

Displaying Usage Help

To display the usage help, use the -h option with the tdbbackup command −

tdbbackup -h

Conclusion

The tdbbackup command in Linux is used to back up and verify the integrity of .tdb files, which store important Samba data such as session info and configurations. It offers several options for customizing backups, including setting suffixes, checking for corruption, adjusting hash sizes, and managing file locking.

In this tutorial, we covered the tdbbackup command, its installation, syntax, options, and usage in Linux with examples.