Automatic Backups

Automatic Backups

You can use the cron utility to automatically back up filesystems at predetermined times. The backup media must be already mounted in the drive, and, if you want this to be truly automatic, it should have enough capacity to store all the data being backed up on a single piece of media. If all the data doesn't fit, then someone must manually change backup media.

Here is an example cron command to back up the /usr/src hierarchy to /dev/tape (tape drive) every morning at 03:00 using bru:

0 3 * * * /usr/sbin/bru -c -f /dev/tape /usr/src

Place this line in a crontabs file, such as /var/spool/cron/crontabs/root.

This sort of command is useful as a safety net, but you should not rely on automatic backups. There is no substitute for having a person monitor the backup process from start to finish and properly archive and label the media when the backup is finished. For more information on using cron to perform jobs automatically, see "IRIX Admin: System Configuration and Operation."