[PLUG] A _vague_ unix question (nee: A _real_ linux question)

Jeme A Brelin jeme at brelin.net
Sat Dec 7 22:18:38 UTC 2002


This has nothing to do with the kernel or its configuration.
I've modified the subject line appropriately.

On Sat, 7 Dec 2002, Rich Shepard wrote:
>   Only nfs-mounted partitions from remote hosts are backed up on the
> server -- the box with the tape drive and BRU. Is the lack of a
> complete backup of the other workstation something that needs to be
> addressed?

I personally don't see why you'd care to back up pre-compiled binaries
that are always available for download or that you already have on
CD.  Restoration time isn't that much greater than re-installation time if
you just accept default options and then restore your settings from
backup.

If you backup /etc and /home and a few bits from /var (and whatever other
little smattering of configuration data you might keep elsewhere), that
should cover you.  A cleverly written tar command line could pack it up
appropriately so that a fresh install can turn into your particular server
with a tape and a single command run from /.

For configuration files, though, you might consider keeping them in a CVS
repository and using Makefiles to control their checkout and placement in
a virgin filesystem.  That way, you could install a new system, check your
config files out of CVS and do "make mail" to rebuild your mail server or
"make rich-desktop" to rebuild your desktop host and so on.  You keep
single copies of the config files that do not vary from host to host.  It
might also be interesting to check in the default configuration files and
simply cut branches in the CVS tree for each host or host type.

J.
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     Jeme A Brelin
    jeme at brelin.net
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