Commands for Copying File Systems

When you need to back up and restore complete file systems, use the ufsdump and ufsrestore commands described in Chapter 36, The ufsdump and ufsrestore Commands (Reference). When you want to copy or move individual files, portions of file systems, or complete file systems, you can use the procedures described in this chapter as an alternative to ufsdump and ufsrestore.

Table 37-1 describes when to use the various backup commands.

Table 37-1 When to Use Various Backup Commands

If You Want To ...	Then Use ...	Reference
Back up file systems to tape	ufsdump	"How to Do Backups on Cartridge Tape"
Restore file systems from tape	ufsrestore	"How to Restore a Complete File System"
Transport files to other systems	pax, tar, or cpio	"Copying Files and File Systems to Tape"
Copy files or file systems to disk	dd	"How to Clone a Disk (dd)"
Copy files to diskette	tar	"How to Copy Files to a Single Formatted Diskette (tar)"

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Note -

Do not restore files in the /tmp directory even temporarily. The /tmp directory is usually mounted as a TMPFS file system and it does not support UFS file system attributes such as ACLs.

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Table 37-2 describe various backup and restore commands.

Table 37-2 Summary of Various Backup Commands

Command Name	Aware of File System Boundaries?	Support Multi-Volume Backups?	Physical or Logical Copy?
volcopy	Yes	Yes	Physical
tar	No	No	Logical
cpio	Yes	Yes	Logical
pax	Yes	Yes	Logical
dd	No	Yes	Physical
ufsdump/ufsrestore	Yes	Yes	Logical

The following sections describe the advantages and disadvantages of each method and provide examples of how to use the commands.