Special:Badtitle/NS100:What is the 'amandates' file for?

This article answers a FAQ (frequently asked question).

The name amandates is either a pun or a typo -- the distinction has been lost in the sands of time.

This file is used only in the following circumstances:

• on the client;
• using GNUTAR; and
• not using gnutar_list_dir in the client configuration, which means
  • --without-gnutar-listdir was specified explicitly at build time
  • neither amanda-client.conf(5) nor config/amanda-client.conf specify the parameter.

The file is also used by the 'calcsize' estimate method.

Currently, the file must exist regardless of whether it's being used, and is updated on every invocation of program GNUTAR.