From 95f5984aae62e7b2382faffa0ee3e83962e39e7e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Aliaksandr Valialkin <valyala@victoriametrics.com> Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2023 08:30:39 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] docs/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.md: document why data inside `<-storageDataPath>/snapshots` directory should be manipulated only via snapshot API --- docs/README.md | 9 +++++++++ docs/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.md | 9 +++++++++ 2 files changed, 18 insertions(+) diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md index 5984b899c7..beaa1d6875 100644 --- a/docs/README.md +++ b/docs/README.md @@ -1155,6 +1155,15 @@ Snapshots are created under `<-storageDataPath>/snapshots` directory, where `<-s is the command-line flag value. Snapshots can be archived to backup storage at any time with [vmbackup](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/vmbackup.html). +Snapshots consist of a mix of hard-links and soft-links to various files and directories inside `-storageDataPath`. +See [this article](https://medium.com/@valyala/how-victoriametrics-makes-instant-snapshots-for-multi-terabyte-time-series-data-e1f3fb0e0282) +for more details. This adds some restrictions on what can be done with the contents of `<-storageDataPath>/snapshots` directory: + +- Do not delete subdirectories inside `<-storageDataPath>/snapshots` with `rm` or similar commands, since this will leave some snapshot data undeleted. + Prefer using the `/snapshot/delete` API for deleting snapshot. See below for more details about this API. +- Do not copy subdirectories inside `<-storageDataPath>/snapshot` with `cp`, `rsync` or similar commands, since there are high chances + that these commands won't copy some data stored in the snapshot. Prefer using [vmbackup](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/vmbackup.html) for making copies of snapshot data. + The `http://<victoriametrics-addr>:8428/snapshot/list` page contains the list of available snapshots. Navigate to `http://<victoriametrics-addr>:8428/snapshot/delete?snapshot=<snapshot-name>` in order diff --git a/docs/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.md b/docs/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.md index 34155067c0..7504920cf3 100644 --- a/docs/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.md +++ b/docs/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.md @@ -1163,6 +1163,15 @@ Snapshots are created under `<-storageDataPath>/snapshots` directory, where `<-s is the command-line flag value. Snapshots can be archived to backup storage at any time with [vmbackup](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/vmbackup.html). +Snapshots consist of a mix of hard-links and soft-links to various files and directories inside `-storageDataPath`. +See [this article](https://medium.com/@valyala/how-victoriametrics-makes-instant-snapshots-for-multi-terabyte-time-series-data-e1f3fb0e0282) +for more details. This adds some restrictions on what can be done with the contents of `<-storageDataPath>/snapshots` directory: + +- Do not delete subdirectories inside `<-storageDataPath>/snapshots` with `rm` or similar commands, since this will leave some snapshot data undeleted. + Prefer using the `/snapshot/delete` API for deleting snapshot. See below for more details about this API. +- Do not copy subdirectories inside `<-storageDataPath>/snapshot` with `cp`, `rsync` or similar commands, since there are high chances + that these commands won't copy some data stored in the snapshot. Prefer using [vmbackup](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/vmbackup.html) for making copies of snapshot data. + The `http://<victoriametrics-addr>:8428/snapshot/list` page contains the list of available snapshots. Navigate to `http://<victoriametrics-addr>:8428/snapshot/delete?snapshot=<snapshot-name>` in order