Ransomware attackers specifically target and attempt to destroy backup systems to increase the probability of payment. Hardening your system is critical. Please ensure you have reviewed your platform security using the Security Hardening Checklist
Cohesity

COHESITY Documentation

Explore our documentation to get started, discover products & new features, access troubleshooting guides, register sources, platforms support.

Products
Data Security Alliance
Visit Cohesity.com
Demos
Support
Blogs
Developers
Partner Portals
Cohesity Community
© 2026 Cohesity, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use|
Privacy Policy|
Legal|
  1. Home
  2. Veritas NetBackup™ Commands Reference Guide
  3. Appendix A. NetBackup Commands
  4. cat_convert
Veritas NetBackup™ Commands Reference Guide

Name

cat_convert — run NetBackup catalog format conversion utility

SYNOPSIS

cat_convert -a2b [-o] [-s] [-v] source_file_directory [target_file_directory]

cat_convert -dump [-short] [-noheader] [-nopath] [-nodata] [-srec num] [-erec num] [-sep char] source_file

cat_convert -check source_file

cat_convert -decompress compressed_file target_file_directory

On UNIX systems, the directory path to this command is /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/

On Windows systems, the directory path to this command is install_path\NetBackup\bin\

DESCRIPTION

cat_convert converts NetBackup catalog .f files between version 3.4, 4.0v, or 4.5 ASCII format and 4.5 or later binary format. It automatically detects the source catalog file format and converts it to the other format.

The -dump option enables users to view the contents of the binary catalog image .f (dot-f) files. It echoes the contents of the .f file to stdout in a readable format. It also has helper options that limit the output to only certain records in the file or a subset of the output columns.

The -check option provides a consistency check on specified binary .f files.

The -decompress option allows you to decompress specified binary .f files that have been compressed using the .Zl compression format. It also supports .Z format decompression on UNIX platforms.

If cat_convert detects inconsistencies, the utility generates up to four of the following reports that depend on the types of inconsistencies reported:

  • Invalid Inode Report

    This report lists invalid inodes. The following is an example:

    Type Problem Additional Information
    Dir  No Data Path element name: SUNWmlib
    Dir  No Name Filenum: 7
    File No Data Path element name: vmd.uds
    File No Data Path element name: bpcompatd.uds
    File No Name Filenum: 8356
    Dir  No Name Filenum: 8374
    

    The following describes the column information in this report:

    • Type - displays whether the item is a file or a directory.

    • Problem - displays whether no data or no name is the cause of the invalid inode.

    • Additional information - the path element name that is associated with the inode, the filenum field that the catalog received for the inode, or an error message.

  • Invalid Directory Report

    This report lists inconsistent directories. The following is an example:

    Index InodeIndex 1stChild 1stDir LastChild NextIndex NextDir Name
     2539      2230     5605F    -1      5605F   788763F     -1 JSP.cla
    21281      2229    43380F    -1   1122108F   257809F  56110 fr.tmp
    24157      3330    53103F    -1   2688747F       -1F     -1 UNKNOWN
    36766      4406    98367F    -1     98367F       -1F     -1 Root
    97393      5134   471040F    -1   3136322F       -1F     -1 udst.js
    
    Total Directories: 150307
          Total Files: 1137006

    The following describes the column information in this report:

    • Index - the relative position of the directory that is reported to the catalog.

    • Inode Index - an index into the temporary file in which inode information is stored while the backup is in process.

    • 1st Child - the index to the first child (file or directory) under the listed directory. This value is -1 if there is no child. The character F follows the index if the first child is a file, or the character D follows the index if it is a directory.

    • 1st Dir - the index to the first directory under the listed directory. This value is -1 if there is no subdirectory.

    • Last Child - the index to the last child (file or directory) under the listed directory. This value is -1 if there is no child. The character F follows the index if the last child is a file, or the character D follows the index if it is a directory.

    • Next Index - the index to the next sibling (file or directory) of the listed file. This value is -1 if there is no sibling. The character F follows the index if the next sibling is a file, or the character D follows the index if it is a directory.

    • Next Dir - the index to the next sibling directory of the listed directory. This value is -1 if no sibling directory exists.

    • Name - the short name of the directory if available, or UNKNOWN if not available.

  • Invalid File Report

    This report lists inconsistent files. The following is the format of the report:

    Index   Inode Index  Next Index   Name
    2364          12180        2368F  Report.doc
    39774         16642       39776D  UNKNOWN

    The following describes the column information in this report:

    • Index - the relative position of the file as reported to the catalog.

    • Inode Index - an index into the temporary file in which inode information is stored while the backup is in process.

    • Next Index - the index to the next sibling (either a file or directory) of the listed file. This value is -1 if there is no sibling. The character F follows the index if the next sibling is a file, or the character D follows the index if it is a directory.

    • Name - the short name of the directory if available, or UNKNOWN if not available.

  • Invalid Directory and File Report

    This report lists both inconsistent files and directories. The following is the format of the report:

    Index   Inode    Type          Name
    2363    11134    Directory     /Documents/Directory 1
    13679   10077    Directory     /Documents/Directory 2
    Total Directories: 460724
          Total Files: 3426572

    The following describes the column information in this report:

    • Index - the relative position of the file as reported to the catalog.

    • Inode - the inode number of the file or directory that is reported to the catalog.

    • Type - displays whether the item is a file or a directory.

    • Name - the short name of the directory if available, or UNKNOWN if not available.

Since this report traverses the directory tree, it may not list all of the files or directories that are reported in the first two reports. Since it provides the fully qualified name of the file or directory, it can be useful in problem resolution. It also provides the total number of files and directories.

These reports are not localized.

You must have administrator privileges to run this command.

OPTIONS

-a2b

Convert NetBackup 3.4, 4.0V, 4.5 ASCII format catalog .f file(s) to NetBackup 4.5 binary format .f file(s).

-check source_file

Checks the consistency of a binary .f file. source_file must be the fully qualified path. Inconsistencies may be due to faulty FlashBackup or NDMP type backups. If this utility detects no inconsistencies, it ends silently and returns a zero return code. If the utility detects any inconsistencies, it returns the number of inconsistencies and prints up to three reports depending on the types of inconsistencies reported.

-decompress compressed_file target_file_directory

Decompresses the specified compress binary .f file. compressed_file must be the fully qualified path. -decompress decompresses catalog files that have been compressed using the .Zl compression format. On UNIX, it also supports .Z format decompression. target_directory is the directory where the decompress operation places the decompressed file.

-dump

Enables you to view the contents of catalog image .f files.

-erec num

Modifies the output from the cat_convert -dump. Stops the display of records at this record number.

Note:

The record number is not necessarily the same as the file number in the first column of the output.

-nodata

Eliminates the data column from the output of the cat_convert -dump. The data column can result in excessively large outputs.

-noheader

Modifies the output from cat_convert -dump. An option that modifies the output from the cat_convert -dump. Eliminates the column headers.

-nopath

Modifies the output from cat_convert -dump. Eliminates the path column. The path column can result in excessively large outputs.

-o

Overwrite original catalog file content with the new format that converts. -o cannot be used with target_file_directory.

-s

Show statistic information to the console window.

-sep char

An option that modifies the output from cat_convert -dump. An option that modifies the output from the cat_convert -dump. Use char to separate the columns instead of the white-space default separation. For example, you can use this command to generate a comma-separated output.

-short

An option that modifies the output from cat_convert -dump. Limits the output to a subset of the usual columns.

-srec num

An option that modifies the output from cat_convert -dump. An option that modifies the output from the cat_convert -dump. Starts to display the records at this record number.

Note:

The record number is not necessarily the same as the file number in the first column of the output.

target_file_directory

-v

Show current progress information.

Specify one of the following to convert:

  • To specify a target file, the source must be a file.

  • To specify a target directory, the source must be a directory.

    If the source is a directory, you must use -a2b.

    The new files that the conversion creates convert to the specified format, and the original file names are used in the target directory.

If you do not specify the target file or directory when you convert source files, the files the conversion process creates have an appended suffix. (_bin.f or _ascii.f).

If the catalog .f file size is more than 4 megabytes, the binary catalog leaves output files separate. It puts them in the catstore directory.

EXAMPLES

Example 1

# cat_convert -a2b abc.f

If abc.f is in ASCII format, the target_file_path is abc_bin.f.

Example 2

# cat_convert -a2b abc.f

The contents of abc.f convert to binary.

Example 3

# cat_convert -dump -short abc.f

The contents of abc.f appear in stdout in a user-readable format.

SEE ALSO

See cat_export.

See cat_import.

Feedback

Was this page helpful?
Previous

bpverify

Next

cat_export

Feedback

Was this page helpful?