Using Backup Software
Because there are thousands of unique situations requiring as many unique
backup solutions, it is not surprising that Linux offers many backup tools.
Along with command-line tools such as tar and dd, Ubuntu also provides a
graphical archiving tool for desktop installations called Déjà Dup that is quite
powerful. Another excellent but complicated alternative is the Amanda
backup application—a sophisticated backup application that works well over
network connections and can be configured to automatically backup all the
computers on a network. Amanda works with drives as well as tapes.
NOTE
The software in a backup system must support the hardware, and this
relationship can determine which hardware or software choices you make.
Many system administrators choose particular backup software not because
they prefer it to other options but because it supports the hardware they
own.
The price seems right for free backup tools, but consider the software’s ease
of use and automation when assessing costs. If you must spend several
hours implementing, debugging, documenting, and otherwise dealing with
overly elaborate automation scripts, the real costs go up.tar: The Most Basic Backup Tool
The tar tool, the bewhiskered old man of archiving utilities, is installed by
default. It is an excellent tool for saving entire directories full of files. For
example, here is the command used to backup the /etc directory:
Click here to view code image
matthew@seymour:~$ sudo tar cvf etc.tar /etc
This example uses tar to create an archive, calls for verbose message output,
and uses the filename etc.tar as the archive name for the contents of the
directory /etc.
Alternatively, if the output of tar is sent to the standard output and
redirected to a file, the command appears as follows:
Click here to view code image
matthew@seymour:~$ sudo tar cv /etc > etc.tar
The result is the same as with the preceding tar options: All files in the
/etc directory will be saved to a file named etc.tar.