I have searched for this topic on the mailing list and on Google without finding anything. Is this already a well known issue?
The problem is that rsync does not preserve ext2-4 attributes (even when using the -a, -A, and -X flags). Note that these are different from extended attributes: Extended attributes are manipulated using programs such as getfattr and setfattr (on Unix-like systems), whereas ext2-4 attributes are manipulated by programs such as lsattr and chattr. These attributes include features like "don't update atime" or "immutable". Here's an example (run as the superuser, so permissions aren't an issue). A file x has no special attributes, then the "i" attribute is added and verified to be present. rsync then copies x to y, but the "i" attribute is not set for y: # lsattr x --------------e---- x # chattr +i x # lsattr x ----i---------e---- x # rsync -a -A -X x y # lsattr y --------------e---- y What is the reason for this behavior? Is there any way for rsync to preserve these attributes? If not, how can rsync be used to make a reliable complete system backup? Thanks, Alan Stern -- Please use reply-all for most replies to avoid omitting the mailing list. To unsubscribe or change options: https://lists.samba.org/mailman/listinfo/rsync Before posting, read: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html