Backing Up the Target Systems

Backing Up the Target Systems

Although backing up the target is not requirement for installation, it is strongly recommended. The Personal System Administration Guide describes general backup procedures and using System Manager to perform backups. Other programs you can use to make backups are backup, bru, cpio, and tar. For more information, see ''IRIX Admin: Backup, Security, and Accounting'' and section 1 of the IRIX reference pages for these programs.

Consider backing up these files:

User files that are created or copied to the target. Any file on the target that was not put there during the software installation process is considered a user file.
Configuration files that contain information unique to the target system or the site. These files are created during installation but are likely to be modified after they are installed. The unique information in these files is not destroyed during an installation. However, the pre-installation copy of these configuration files is helpful if you decide to go back to the earlier software release after installation. You can identify modified configuration files with this command:
# showfiles -c -m -s
Use this command to back up the configuration files onto tape:

# showfiles -c -m -s | tar cv -
Use this command to retrieve specified configuration files from tape and overwrite existing files:

Note: If you follow these instructions, you will overwrite the installed configuration file. Refer to "Managing Configuration Files" for more information on how configuration files are handled during installations.
# tar xv files
Use this command to retrieve all configuration files from tape and overwrite existing files:

# tar xv