Some backup utilities in Linux and their usage
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dump---suitable for archiving the entire file system
tar,cpio,afio--suitable for archiving specific files or directories.


dump & restore
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Dumping file system
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dump 0uf   /dev/nst0  /home
dump 0uf bkpfile_name /home

0--level full backup
u--update /etc/dumpdates
f--archive file.


Restoration
-----------
cd /directory where to  restore
eg:cd /home

restore rf /dev/nst0
restore rf bkpfile_name

r--Extract the contents of the whole archive in the current directory.
f--archive file.

tar
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Backing up
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tar cvf /dev/nst0   /home
tar cvf bkpfile_name /home

Restoration
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tar xvf /dev/nst0
tar xvf bkpfile_name


cpio
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Creating Archive
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find /home | cpio -o -H tar -F /dev/nst0
find /home | cpio -o -H tar -F bkpfile_name
find /home | cpio -o -H tar > bkpfile_name

Restoring Archive
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cpio -imv -F /dev/nst0
cpio -imv -F bkpfile_name

o--create archive
H--format
F--archive file name
i--restore archive
m--preserve modification time
v--verbose
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cpio works like tar but it can read input from the "find" command. This is nifty feature. For example you can find out all *.c files and backup with cpio command.# find / -name "*.c" | cpio -o --format=tar > c-file.backup.tar
# find / -iname "*.pl" | cpio -o -H tar > perl-files.tar

You can also specify file name using -F option:# find / -iname "*.pl" | cpio -o -H tar -F perl-files.tar
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Backup /home dir, to remote system tape drive:
# find /home | cpio -o -H tar -F user@backup.nixcraft.in:/dev/nst0 --rsh-command=/usr/bin/ssh