In This Chapter
Doing a simple backup
Selecting a backup strategy
Selecting a backup medium
Backing up to a hard drive
Backing up files with dump
Automating backup with cron
Restoring backed -up files
Backing up over the network with Amanda
Performing network backups with multiple computers
Using the pax archiving utility
If you've ever suffered a hard drive crash, you know just how aggravating it can be. Irreplaceable data can be lost. Countless hours may be spent reinstalling your operating system and applications. It is not a fun experience. It need happen only once for you to learn the importance of making regular backups of your critical data.
Today, larger and faster backup media can simplify the process of backing up your data. Fedora and RHEL support many different types of media - such as writable CD (CD-R and CD-RW), DVD (DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RW), and magnetic tape - for creating backups. Using tools such as cron, you can configure backups to run unattended at scheduled times.
This chapter describes how to create a backup strategy and how to select media for backing up data on your Fedora or RHEL system. It tells you how to do automated backups and backups over a network. It also describes how to restore individual files, or entire file systems, using tools such as the restore command.