nbdkit-ext2-filter - Man Page

 nbdkit --filter=ext2 file fs.img ext2file=/disks/disk.raw

 nbdkit --filter=ext2 --filter=partition file fs.img \
    partition=1 ext2file=exportname

nbdkit-ext2-filter is an nbdkit filter which can read and write files inside ext2, ext3 or ext4 filesystem images.

Suppose you have an ext2/3/4 filesystem image called fs.img which contains inside itself a file called disk.raw inside a directory on the filesystem called /disks, then you could serve that file over NBD using:

 nbdkit --filter=ext2 file fs.img ext2file=/disks/disk.raw

Commonly disk images are partitioned.  In that case, you must select just the partition of a disk image that contains an ext2 filesystem, by using nbdkit-partition-filter(1):

 nbdkit --filter=ext2 --filter=partition file fs.img \
    partition=1 ext2file=/disks/disk.raw

This filter can both read and write to the file inside the filesystem. Use the -r flag to force a readonly connection, but note this does not guarantee that no writes are made to the filesystem.  In particular we may have to replay the ext3 journal in order to open a filesystem even read-only.

The filter does not support multiple parallel connections, because there is a risk of corrupting the filesystem (as if the filesystem was mounted by multiple machines).  If a second connection is made to nbdkit, it will block until the first connection closes.

The filter is implemented using the ext2fs library which is provided in most Linux distros, and also available as part of the e2fsprogs project.

nbdkit-guestfs-plugin(1) is a more generic plugin which can read files from all kinds of different filesystem types, even if they are partitioned or use logical volumes.  It uses libguestfs instead of e2fsprogs.

ext2file=PATH

The full path of the file within the filesystem that will be exposed over NBD.  The path must be absolute (starts with /).

ext2file=exportname

The plugin will expose the path within the filesystem chosen by the exportname passed by the client.  Note that this mode allows the client to deduce which files exist within the disk image, which may be a security risk in some situations.

At present, when using this mode, the server does not advertise any particular exports; however, you may use nbdkit-exportname-filter(1) to perform that task.  Similarly, the underlying plugin must support the default export name, "".

$filterdir/nbdkit-ext2-filter.so

The filter.

Use nbdkit --dump-config to find the location of $filterdir.

nbdkit-ext2-filter first appeared in nbdkit 1.18, replacing nbdkit-ext2-plugin which was added in nbdkit 1.4 and removed in nbdkit 1.22.

nbdkit(1), nbdkit-plugin(3), nbdkit-exportname-filter(1), nbdkit-partition-filter(1), nbdkit-guestfs-plugin(1), http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net/, fuse2fs(1).

Eric Blake

Richard W.M. Jones

Copyright Red Hat

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

• Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
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THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY RED HAT AND CONTRIBUTORS ''AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL RED HAT OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

nbdkit(1), nbdkit-exportname-filter(1), nbdkit-filter(3), nbdkit-release-notes-1.18(1), nbdkit-release-notes-1.22(1), nbdkit-release-notes-1.24(1), nbdkit-release-notes-1.26(1).