alternative to `tar`

[Les Mikesell]

Dave Ihnat wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 04, 2008 at 04:54:03PM +0100, Guillaume wrote:
>> actually, I use the tar utility to backup my fedora box to a file...
>> ...
>> Is there a way to speed up the restore process with any options to
>> tar, or, any other command utility to use for my backup.
> 
> Hmm...dunno if it'll be any faster, but you could try cpio.  It's another
> old standby, and uses a different directory structure.  But it sounds
> like you're dealing with a lot of data, so there are still a lot of bytes
> to slap around.
> 
> Others have mentioned rsync.  If you want actual backup, take a look at
> Amanda, but be prepared--it's relatively complex.
>

My favorite is backuppc (http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/), which has 
several advantages that apply to this scenario.  First, even though it 
may take some time to set up, it is a 'start and forget' program that 
normally needs no attention and will send you an email when things go 
wrong.  Second, it stores the backups compressed and links duplicate 
files (whether from subsequent backups or different targets) to save 
additional space.  Third, it provides a handy web server for browsing 
through the backup history and doing restores with random access, either 
back to the source machine or downloaded through the browser interface.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
     lesmikesell at gmail.com