[Techtalk] backup - tar

[Maria McKinley]

Hi there,

I am using tar to backup, and I am really frustrated with it.  It keeps 
going through a dozen or so files, and then quitting with no 
explanation.  It does this no matter which files I try to backup.  The 
command I use is:

nohup tar -czvf /dev/nst0 --atime-preserve /home > /tmp/backup &

Is there another way to backup on linux?  On the mac system we use 
retrospect, which works so nicely.  Granted, we pay a lot of money for 
it to work so nicely, but at this point I'm willing to spend money to 
get something to work consistently on linux.  Has anyone else had 
problems with tar and figured out a way to deal with it, or have 
recommendations on what other backup software is truly dependable for linux?

thanks,
maria