Restore and delete data

This user guide will help you to restore and delete backup data of your Linux computer from the servers of the University of Vienna.

 Note

The backup software IBM Storage Protect used by ZID is abbreviated as ISP in these user guides.

Backup data


Restore backup

To generate a list of all backed up files for the current folder you are in, the following command is executed as root user:

dsmc q backup "*"
dsmc q backup "*" -subdir=yes


Likewise, the command can be carried out for your backed-up file systems, for example /. Should you additionally use the parameter -subdir=yes a very long list may be output. Therefore, use this parameter with caution.

dsmc q backup "/"
dsmc q backup "/" -subdir=yes


You can get an overview of existing file systems via:

dsmc q fi


In addition to the last version backed up, there are also several previous versions in the backup, which you can display with the command below:

dsmc q backup test.file -inactive

To restore the last version of the file that was backed up, the

dsmc restore test.file test.file_restore -latest

will be executed. For older versions you can for example use the interactive menu:

dsmc restore test.file test.file_restore -pick


The above commands have always been presented with the option to rename the newly created file (in test.file_restore). If you want to overwrite the one file, you only need the following syntax:

dsmc restore test.file -latest


Open archive

To retrieve a file from the archive, you should first view the file system list of all backed up file systems in the backup as root user:

dsmc q fi


To display all archives in the folder you are currently in, use the syntax:

dsmc q archive "*"


If you want to restore archives outside your current folder, you must either specify the exact path to it or search the entire file system:

dsmc q archive "/home/user/*"
dsmc q archive "/*"


Um alle gesicherten Dateien innerhalb der Archive aufzulisten, benutzen Sie folgendes Kommando:

dsmc q archive "*" -subdir=yes


To list all backed up files within the archives, use the following command:

dsmc retrieve "*" -pick


To restore entire archives with a specific description, execute the following command:

dsmc retrieve "*" -pick -subdir=yes desc="Archiv_1"
dsmc retrieve "*" -pick -subdir=yes desc="2018-01-01"

The description is to the right of the archive/file name and, for archives without a description, consists of the date of the backup day.

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Deleting backed up data

 Note

The deletion of backed up data from the backup servers cannot be undone. Make sure that you always select the correct files, folders or file systems before executing a delete command.


Deleting backed up data

 Note

The deleting of backup data is deactivated on default e.g. due to possible cyber attacks on your computer. Use the Servicedesk form Zentrales Backup (Central backup, in German) if you need the settings for Deleting backup data to be temporarily or permanently activated.


To remove backed up data from your ISP account, first display a list of the backed up files in the desired folder or file system:

dsmc q backup "*" -inactive -subdir=yes
dsmc q backup "/*" -inactive -subdir=yes


To delete folders or files, use the commands listed below, distinguishing between

  • all versions,
  • only inactive versions (= previous versions or files already deleted on your system) or
  • only active versions (= the last saved version of a file that existed on your system at the time of the last backup).

of the files concerned is differentiated:

dsmc del backup "/home/user/*" -deltype=ALL
dsmc del backup "/home/user/*" -deltype=INACTIVE
dsmc del backup "/home/user/*" -deltype=ACTIVE


Deleting archive data

To remove saved archives from your ISP account, first display the file systems available for your PC and then the corresponding archives in the desired file system:

dsmc q fi
dsmc q archive "/*"
dsmc q archive "/*" -subdir=yes


To delete individual files or folders from all archives, use one of the following commands:

dsmc del archive "/home/user/test.file"
dsmc del archive "/home/*" -subdir=yes


If a file or folder is to be deleted from a specific archive only, use the following syntax:

dsmc del archive "/home/user/test.file" -description="Archiv_1"
dsmc del archive "/home/*" -subdir=yes -description="2018-01-01"


For the complete deletion of archives with the help of the archive description use:

dsmc del archive "/*" -subdir=yes -desc="Archiv_1"


If an interactive menu is more to your liking, you can also remove the desired files using the following command:

dsmc del archive "/*" -subdir=yes -pick


Deleting complete file system

To remove all backed up archive data and backup data from a file system from your ISP account, execute the following command as root user and follow the instructions in the interactive menu.

dsmc del fi

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