Managing Linux® Systems with Webmin™ System Administration and Module Development

14.1. Introduction to Backups with Dump

There are many ways of backing up a UNIX system—you can just copy files to another directory, use the tar command to create an archive file or write to a tape device, or use the dump family of commands. Although copying or using tar is easier, only dump can preserve all file types (such as named pipes and symbolic links) and file information (such as ACLs and attributes). It can do this because it has a more sophisticated knowledge of the underlying filesystem than other backup programs.

Another unique advantage of the dump program is its support for backup levels. If you are regularly backing up the same directory, instead of writing all files to the backup device every time, you can choose to save only ...