[Techtalk] backup - tar

[Devdas Bhagat]

On 30/08/04 12:04 -0700, Maria McKinley wrote:
> 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 &

Can you run tar in the foreground?

tar -cjvf /dev/nst0 --atime-preserve /home

I like putting it in a cronjob, so that the output gets reported as an
email.

> 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 

http://www.amanda.org/

http://www.linux-backup.org/

There is also the Veritas client, if you want to spend the money.

> 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?

Tape has worked for me in the past.
I follow a two level backup strategy:
1> backup to local IDE disk for quick recovery.
2> Dump the disk to tape with tar.

Devdas Bhagat