System Administration Guide: Basic Administration

Planning Which File Systems to Back Up

You should back up all file systems that are critical to users, including file systems that change frequently. The following tables provide general guidelines on the file systems to back up for standalone systems and servers.

Table 45–2 File Systems to Back Up for Standalone Systems


File System to Back Up	Description	Back Up Interval
root (`/`) – slice 0	This file system contains the kernel and might contain the `/var` directory in which frequently modified files such as mail and accounting are kept.	At regular intervals such as weekly or daily
`/usr` – slice 6, `/opt`	The installation of new software and adding new commands typically affects the `/usr` and `/opt` file systems. `/opt` is either part of root (`/`) or is its own file system.	Occasionally.
`/export/home` – slice 7	This file system contains the directories and subdirectories of all users on the standalone system.	More often than root (`/`) or `/usr`, perhaps as often as once a day, depending on your site's needs.
`/export` , `/var`, or other file systems	During installation of Solaris software, you might have created these file systems.	As your site requires.

Table 45–3 File Systems to Back Up for Servers


File System to Back Up	Description	Back Up Interval
root (`/`) – slice 0	This file system contains the kernel and executables.	Once a day to once a month depending on your site's needs. If you frequently add and remove users and systems on the network, you have to change configuration files in this file system. In this case, you should do a full backup of the root (`/`) file system at interverals between once a week and once a month. If your site keeps user mail in the `/var/mail` directory on a mail server (which client systems then mount), you might want to back up root (`/`) daily (or `/var`, if it is a separate file system).
`/export` – slice 3	This file system can contain the kernel and executables for diskless clients	Once a day to once a month depending on your site's needs. Because the information in this file system contains is similar to the server's root directory in slice 0, it does not change frequently. You need to back up this file system only occasionally, unless your site delivers mail to client systems. Then, you should back up `/export` more frequently.
`/usr` – slice 6, `/opt`		Once a day to once a month depending on your site's needs. These file systems are fairly static and need to be backed up once a week to once a month.
`/export/home` – slice 7	This file system contains the home directories of all the users on the system. The files in this file system are volatile.	Once a day to once a week.