Summary

This chapter described the standard copy and backup utilities available in Solaris. It also describes the various types of backup media available. It discussed tar, dd, cpio, and pax, and it described how to use these utilities to copy and restore files, directories, and entire file systems.

This chapter also described how to use ufsdump and ufsrestore to perform regular backups on a system. It described a recommended backup schedule that you can implement to safeguard any system from deliberate or accidental loss of data. This chapter described how to recover data from backup media. It described the procedures to restore single files and entire file systems. The chapter also described how to use fssnap and Solaris Flash archive as further methods to back up information.

Finally, the chapter described methods used to package and compress files (such as zip and jar).

As you're finding out with Solaris, there are often many ways to perform a task. You need to choose the method that best suits your environment. Although all the utilities described in this chapter do a good job of backing up your data, if your company has several servers and large storage pools, you might want to investigate some of the more robust backup packages available from third parties, such as Veritas and Legato. Sun also has a backup product, StorEdge Enterprise Backup, which is an optional package that can be purchased directly from Sun and added into your Solaris operating environment. Most of these add-on packages provide a comprehensive suite of utilities for conducting and managing backups in complex computing environments. In most cases, they allow single-point backupsnot only for Solaris but for other operating systems as well.