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Path: utzoo!yunexus!geac!syntron!jtsv16!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!killer!pollux!dalsqnt!usl!usl-pc!jpd
From: jpd@usl-pc.usl.edu (DugalJP)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions,comp.unix.microport
Subject: Re: dump/restore
Keywords: cpio is not a real backup program
Message-ID: <77@usl-pc.usl.edu>
Date: 27 Oct 88 19:43:55 GMT
Article-I.D.: usl-pc.77
References: <178@celerity.UUCP> <12433@steinmetz.ge.com>
Reply-To: jpd@usl-pc.UUCP (DugalJP)
Organization: Univ. of Southwestern La., Lafayette
Lines: 26

In article <12433@steinmetz.ge.com> davidsen@crdos1.UUCP (bill davidsen) writes:
>  Since you're summary was "cpio is not a real backup program" I have to
>ask "why not?" I go between SysIII, SysV, micropost, xenix, Ultrix and
>SunOS using cpio, and it seems real enough for general use. If there's a
>problem you have, warn us about it.

Having seen the dreaded "Out of phase, get help" message one too many
times, I no longer use cpio for system backups.  Dump/restore lets
me skip over tape errors, resync, and access the remainder of a tape
[this is the most often error I encounter].  If I get a write error on
an output tape, Dump will let me rewrite that reel without having to
start from the beginning reel (cpio would have died horribly!).

Cpio has its uses, but (in my opinion) producing reliable system backups
is NOT one of them.

-- James Dugal,	N5KNX		USENET: ...!{dalsqnt,killer}!usl!jpd
Associate Director		Internet: jpd@usl.edu
Computing Center		US Mail: PO Box 42770  Lafayette, LA  70504
University of Southwestern LA.	Tel. 318-231-6417	U.S.A.

-- 
-- James Dugal,	N5KNX		USENET: ...!{dalsqnt,killer}!usl!jpd
Associate Director		Internet: jpd@usl.edu
Computing Center		US Mail: PO Box 42770  Lafayette, LA  70504
University of Southwestern LA.	Tel. 318-231-6417	U.S.A.