On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 09:14:51 +1200 Roger Searle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I need to be confident that I am backing up all my "important stuff", but am > not really sure what that might be. In windows I can quickly add a bunch of > folders to a backup job and know that I've got everything in case of a total > failure. But what should I back up in linux? The home folder, of course, > and all my data files on a fat32 partition that I am accessing on windows as > well (which includes my email folders). I realise that there is > (thankfully) no registry, but where are all the settings stored? (1) Always at least, depending on what you've changed in your system since its installation: /etc > Is there an equivalent of the "documents and settings" folders? (1). /home > What is a "best practice" for this type of backup? > (1) but, is there ever "a best" or only different points of view, perceptions? (-: > And how to do this? Create tar files and gzip them? Is that "required > knowledge"? Or are there better tools? 1) find+cpio (for example, touching a reference file you can do incremental backups with them: $ touch /backup/home_full $ find /home -print | cpio -o > backup_archive (whatever you want, in Unix, always be an archive!) Later ... $ touch /backup/home_incr_1 $ find /home/ -newer /backup/home_full -print | cpio -o > backup_archive_1 )-from "Essential System Administration, Frisch, 2nd Ed." or 2) dump/restore. 0) cp -a being the worst is the best to recover sometimes (-:. System administration information, the more you know, the better bet you'll make. > Then of course I need to automate this. Cron jobs? Yes. -juan
