Linux System Backup Recovery – Command Line Linux System Backup and Recovery

 Even the most robust computer operating system fails.  Linux is not an exception.  In the worst case of failure where the computer could not boot there is no other recourse but to do a system restore from the last backup.  The simplest way to do this would be to use built-in tools with linux.

 The important part is to do a system backup as well as a file backup of the most important files.  Without a backup, the only thing to do after a disaster is to start from scratch by installing linux all over again and re-create all the configurations.

 The system files you need to backup include:  /etc /var /home /root /opt.  The data files also need to be backed up using the linux file backup utility you’ve setup for scheduled backups using cron.

 To backup the system files, you can use either tar or dump.  dump is a utility which copies everything as is and stores it in another file or a tape drive.  Additionally, dump looks at system files and not just data files.  It also has multi-volume spanning.  If the data could not be stored in a single disk or tape, it can be split into multiple volumes.

 To do a bare-metal restore, do a minimum install of linux on the target machine.  Mount a tape drive or any other drive which serves as the source drive from and run the restore command. 

 The “restore" command can run files from a tape drive or across the network.  This gives flexibility with the use of dump.  You are not limited to tape drives.

 Though easier said than done, linux system backup could be done from the command line with linux commands using tar or dump and restore.