How would I go about reinstalling the packages in the event of disaster? What if my packages are a combination of slink, potato, etc.? -chris
On Thu, 3 Aug 2000 kmself@ix.netcom.com wrote: > On Wed, Aug 02, 2000 at 05:28:14PM +0100, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Debian Potato (Frozen) with Slink KDE. > > > > I want to be able to backup my linux system to scsi tape (nst0) > > such that, if my hard drive falls into little pieces one bright > > sunny day, I can boot from a rescue floppy and restore the lot > > onto a new drive without having to re-install anything. > > > > I plan to use afio for the backup in conjunction with the > > Tomsrtbt rescue floppy (an amazing piece of work). > > afio is a good choice. I use tar. It's prevelant, though slightly less > robust. > > > Most parts of the system are straightforward and I could include > > mount point directories, such as /cdrom, as long as there is > > nothing actually mounted then they would, at least, be > > automatically re-created. > > > However, if you do have something mounted beneath a mount point it > generally *will* be backed up. You'll end up with a rather redundant > copy of that CDROM you left in the drive last night. > > > I wouldn't need to backup /tmp. > > > What about /dev? Could the device files be backed up without > > backing up the contents of the said devices? I did see once that > > Midnight Commander could copy a complete linux system onto > > another partition so I assume that backing up the /dev directory > > could be done. > > GNU tar handles /dev files properly, though strictly you don't need to > back this up. See below. > > > I'm assuming that the contents of /proc, including any > > sub-directories, are generated each time at startup and all that > > would need to be done would be to re-create the actual directory. > > In general, you don't *need* to back up anything that's a standard part > of the system. This would include: > > System directories: /bin /sbin /dev /lib /usr /initrd > > Each of these contains *only* files added by the distribution, and > for which your backups can't necessarily be trusted to restore to > proper state. An OS reinstall is appropriate (and buys you an > upgrade, if desired). The information will be correctly created. > Generally, you don't need to back up these trees. > > > Temporary fils: /tmp > > This is flushed by the system on each reboot anyway (watch your > boot messages). Backups unnecessary. > > > Secondary mount points: /mnt /net > > YMMV, but you generally won't want to back up arbitrary remote > filesystems, and frequently don't need to back up removable devices > (floppy, cdrom, zip, jaz, mo) mounted under /mnt or another mount > point. Backups probably irrellevant. > > > Virtual FS and recovery: /proc /lost+found > > /proc is a virtual filesystem. It doesn't actually "exist" in a > sense of storage, it's an interface to kernel-space data and state. > It isn't "created" at boot, it's probably more accurate to say that > information under /proc is made available on demand. /lost+found is > where lost clusters are placed by e2fsck. Generally you're not > interested in these (though YMMV). Backup unnecessary and possibly > impossible. > > > Stray links: /opt > > If you've implemented /opt as a link to /usr/local, you don't need > to back it up seperately. If you've created a seperate filesystem, > ask yourself why, move everything in it to /usr/local, create an > appropriate link, and remove /opt from your backup schedule. Backup > a sign of poor FS layout (IMVAO). > > > Persistant system state: /var > > There are parts of /var you'll want to keep, much of it you can > discard. See the example below for more guidance. Note that you > *will* want to save anything relating to your packaging system > (there are apt and dpkg trees under /var), duplicates of system > files under /var/backups, system logs, and possibly web space. > There are arguments on both sides of archiving spools (print, mail, > news, squid, fax, etc.). I choose not to. Backups on a selected > basis. > > > Stuff you *REALLY* want to save: /etc /root /usr/local /home > > This is the non-distribution, non-remote, non-volatile, valuable > part of your system. Hard-won configurations, local apps and > data, and user space. Backups mandetory. Early and often. > Validate your backups. > > > My own system backup script follows. This is for an aging single-user > Linux box, and is run typically every few days. Fits well on a single > 2.0 GB SCSI DAT-90 DDS tape, with 1 2.4 GB and 2x 2.1 GB disks. > > -------------------- <begin system-backup> -------------------- > #!/bin/bash > > # Create backups of /etc, /home, /usr/local, and... > > mt rewind > tar cvf /dev/nst0 /etc > tar cvf /dev/nst0 /root > tar cvf /dev/nst0 /home > tar cvf /dev/nst0 /usr/local > > # and selected /var directories > tar cvf /dev/nst0 /var/backups > tar cvf /dev/nst0 /var/cache/apt > tar cvf /dev/nst0 /var/lib > tar cvf /dev/nst0 /var/log > tar cvf /dev/nst0 /var/www > -------------------- <end system-backup> -------------------- > > -- > Karsten M. Self <kmself@ix.netcom.com> http://www.netcom.com/~kmself > Evangelist, Opensales, Inc. http://www.opensales.org > What part of "Gestalt" don't you understand? Debian GNU/Linux rocks! > http://gestalt-system.sourceforge.net/ K5: http://www.kuro5hin.org > GPG fingerprint: F932 8B25 5FDD 2528 D595 DC61 3847 889F 55F2 B9B0 >
