Built-In Backup Programs

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This section gives an overview of several backup commands. All the examples are run on an Integrity server, but the commands work identically on IA-32 systems. If you're interested in how tape drives are used for system backup, the examples in the device files section of this chapter pay special attention to the device file for tape drives. The following is a brief overview of backup programs covered in this chapter:

tar

tar is widely considered the most portable of the backup and restore programs. tar is the most popular generic backup utility. You will find that many applications are shipped on tar tapes. This is the most widely used format for exchanging data with other Linux systems. tar is an old backup method and therefore runs on all Linux and UNIX systems. tar is one of the slower backup programs so you'll need to consider this if you decide to use if for your full or incremental backups. One highly desirable aspect of tar is that when you load files onto a tape with tar and then restore them onto another system, the original users and groups are retained.

dump

dump provides many levels of backup and creates /etc/dumpdates, which lists the last time a file system was backed up. restore is used to read information backed up with dump.

cpio

cpio is portable and easy to use, like tar. In addition, cpio is faster than tar. cpio is good for replicating directory trees.

dd

This is a bit-for-bit copy. It is not smart in the sense that it does not copy files and ownerships; it just copies bits. You could not, therefore, select an individual file from a dd tape as you could with tar, restore or cpio. dd is mainly used for converting data, such as EBCDIC to ASCII.


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    Linux on HP Integrity Servers. A System Administrator's Guide
    Linux on HP Integrity Servers: A System Administrators Guide
    ISBN: 0131400002
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2004
    Pages: 100

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