If not using the binary dump option (-b), then the dumpxCATdb command creates .csv files for xCAT database tables and puts them in the directory given by the -p flag. These files can be used by the restorexCATdb command to restore the database. The command will read the list of tables in the site.skiptables attribute and not backup those tables.
The command will never backup TEAL or ISNM tables, except isnm_config. To dump TEAL tables use the documented process for TEAL. For ISNM use tabdump, after using tabprune to get to prune unnecessary records.
If using the binary dump option for the DB2 or postgreSQL database, then the routine will use the Database provide utilites for backup of the entire database.
B<-b> This flag is only used for the DB2 or postgreSQL database. The routine will use the database backup utilities to create a binary backup of the entire database. Note to use this backup on DB2, you will have first had to modify the logging of the database and have taken an offline initial backup. Refer to the xCAT DB2 documentation for more instructions.