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™ Administrator's Guide, Volume I
  3. Section II. Configuring hosts
  4. Configuring Host Properties
  5. Exclude Lists properties
  6. Syntax rules for exclude lists
Veritas NetBackup™ Administrator's Guide, Volume I

Syntax rules for exclude lists

Veritas suggests that you always specify automounted directories and CD-ROM file systems in the exclude list. Otherwise, if the directories are not mounted at the time of a backup, NetBackup must wait for a timeout.

The following syntax rules apply to exclude lists:

  • Only one pattern per line is allowed.

  • NetBackup recognizes standard wildcard use.

    See Wildcard use in NetBackup.

    See NetBackup naming conventions.

  • If all files are excluded in the backup selections list, NetBackup backs up only what is specified by full path names in the include list. Files can be excluded by using / or * or by using both symbols together (/*).

  • Spaces are considered legal characters. Do not include extra spaces unless they are part of the file name.

    For example, if you want to exclude a file named

    C:\testfile (with no extra space character at the end)

    and your exclude list entry is

    C:\testfile (with an extra space character at the end)

    NetBackup cannot find the file until you delete the extra space from the end of the file name.

  • End a file path with \ to exclude only directories with that path name (for example, C:\users\test\). If the pattern does not end in \ (for example, C:\users\test), NetBackup excludes both files and directories with that path name.

  • To exclude all files with a given name, regardless of their directory path, enter the name. For example:

    test

    rather than

    C:\test

    This example is equivalent to prefixing the file pattern with

    \

    \*\

    \*\*\

    \*\*\*\

    and so on.

The following syntax rules apply only to UNIX clients:

  • Do not use patterns with links in the names. For example, assume /home is a link to /usr/home and /home/doc is in the exclude list. The file is still backed up in this case because the actual directory path, /usr/home/doc, does not match the exclude list entry, /home/doc.

  • Blank lines or lines which begin with a pound sign (#) are ignored.

Feedback

Was this page helpful?
Previous

Adding an exception to the exclude list

Next

Example of a Windows client exclude list

Feedback

Was this page helpful?