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xfs_freeze(8)                                  System Manager's Manual                                  xfs_freeze(8)



NAME
       xfs_freeze - suspend access to an XFS filesystem

SYNOPSIS
       xfs_freeze [ -f | -u ] mount-point
       xfs_freeze -V

DESCRIPTION
       xfs_freeze suspends and resumes access to an XFS filesystem (see xfs(5)).

       xfs_freeze  halts  new access to the filesystem and creates a stable image on disk.  xfs_freeze is intended to
       be used with volume managers and hardware RAID devices that support the creation of snapshots.

       The mount-point argument is the pathname of the directory where the filesystem  is  mounted.   The  filesystem
       must be mounted to be frozen (see mount(8)).

       The -f flag requests the specified XFS filesystem to be frozen from new modifications.  When this is selected,
       all ongoing transactions in the filesystem are allowed to complete, new write system calls are  halted,  other
       calls which modify the filesystem are halted, and all dirty data, metadata, and log information are written to
       disk.  Any process attempting to write to the frozen filesystem will block waiting for the  filesystem  to  be
       unfrozen.

       Note  that  even after freezing, the on-disk filesystem can contain information on files that are still in the
       process of unlinking.  These files will not be unlinked until the filesystem is unfrozen or a clean  mount  of
       the snapshot is complete.

       The  -u  flag  is used to un-freeze the filesystem and allow operations to continue.  Any filesystem modifica‐
       tions that were blocked by the freeze are unblocked and allowed to complete.

       The -V flag prints the version number and exits.

       Unless -V is specified, one of -f or -u must be supplied to xfs_freeze.

NOTES
       A copy of a frozen XFS filesystem will usually have the same universally unique identifier (UUID) as the orig‐
       inal,  and  thus  may  be prevented from being mounted.  The XFS nouuid mount option can be used to circumvent
       this issue.

       In Linux kernel version 2.6.29, the interface which XFS uses to freeze and unfreeze was elevated to  the  VFS,
       so that this tool can now be used on many other Linux filesystems.

SEE ALSO
       xfs(5), lvm(8), mount(8).



                                                                                                        xfs_freeze(8)