System Administration Guide, Volume I

Definition: Backing Up and Restoring File Systems

Backing up file systems means copying file systems to removable media (such as tape) to safeguard against loss, damage, or corruption. Restoring file systems means copying reasonably-current backup files from removable media to a working directory.

This chapter describes the commands for scheduled backup and restore operations (ufsdump and ufsrestore); however, there are other commands you can use for copying files and file systems for sharing or transporting files. Table 33-1 provides pointers to all commands that copy individual files and/or file systems to media.

Table 33-1 Commands for Copying Files and File Systems


If You Want To ...	Then Use ...	And Go To ...
Back up complete or individual file systems to a local or remote tape device	ufsdump(1M) command	Chapter 34, Backing Up Files and File Systems (Tasks) or Chapter 36, The `ufsdump` and `ufsrestore` Commands (Reference)
Back up complete file systems for all systems on a network from a server	Solstice Backup^TM software	Solstice Backup 5.1 Administration Guide
Backup and restore a NIS+ master server	nisbackup(1M) and nisrestore(1M) commands	Solaris Naming Administration Guide
Copy, list, and retrieve files on tape Copy, list, and retrieve files on diskette	tar(1), cpio(1), or pax(1) command tar(1) command	Chapter 37, Copying UFS Files and File Systems (Tasks)
Copy master disk to a clone disk	dd(1M) command	Chapter 37, Copying UFS Files and File Systems (Tasks)
Restore complete file systems or individual files from removable media to a working directory	ufsrestore(1M) command	Chapter 35, Restoring Files and File Systems (Tasks)