Chapter 4. Archive management: Backing up or copying entire file systems
This chapter covers
- Why, what, and where to archive
- Archiving files and file systems using tar
- Searching for system files
- Securing files with object permissions and ownership
- Archiving entire partitions with dd
- Synchronizing remote archives with rsync
Through the book’s first chapters, you learned a lot about getting around both safely and efficiently in a Linux environment. You also learned to generate base working environments using the wonders of virtualization. From here on in, I’ll focus on building and maintaining the infrastructure elements you’ll need to get real stuff done.
Building IT infrastructures without a good backup protocol is like mortgaging your home to invest in your brother-in-law’s, can’t-go-wrong, cold fusion invention. You know the odds are that it won’t end well. But before you can properly back up file systems and partitions, you’ll need to understand exactly how file systems and partitions work. After that? What tools are available? When should each be used, and how will you put everything back together again if disaster strikes? Stay tuned.