Practical UNIX

Backing Up User Files

Backing up files means to make copies of those files so that the files can be recovered later if needed. The files may be copied to the hard disk, but more often backups are made to tape or disk so that your data is protected if the hard disk is physically damaged. Backups can be done over a network to a tape drive on a different system. Archiving is another word for backing up. Files backed up onto tape or disk are called archive copies of your data. These tape or disk archives can also be used to transfer copies of your data to another system.

This section discusses how a user can back up files, either to protect the data or to transfer it to another system. The root user can back up the entire system. This chapter also ...