Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Thursday 11 March 2010 11:56:56 pm Mike McCarty wrote: > Typical root level directories one might find are > > /bin system user programs, not needed > /boot system boot programs & config, not needed > /dev in modern systems, managed by udev & not needed > /etc system configuration, needed > /home user data files, not needed (for the system) > /initrd system files, not needed > /lib loadable libraries, not needed > /lost+found file system recovery, not needed > /mediamount points, not needed > /mnt used for temp mount point, not needed > /opt possibly empty, not needed > /proc not a real directory, not needed > /root root's home directory, not needed > /sbin system maintenance programs, not needed > /selinux contains some configuration files, needed > /sys not a real directory, not needed > /tmp no useful information, not needed > /usr perhaps needed, if /usr/local contains stuff > /var perhaps needed /srv ? Best, :-) Marko -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Friday 12 March 2010 12:59, Stuart McGraw wrote: find /etc -type f -name \*.conf /home anaconda-ks.cfg Plus any specific apps, data & configs unique to that system -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On 03/12/2010 10:11 AM, Craig White wrote: > On Fri, 2010-03-12 at 10:59 -0700, Stuart McGraw wrote: >> On 03/11/2010 09:02 PM, Craig White wrote: >>> On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 22:32 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:54 -0700, Craig White wrote: > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 20:13 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: >> On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:29 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote: >>> Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists. >>> >>> Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information >>> that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system >>> is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config >>> would also be in /var. Not so? >> >> /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed >> via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV. >> > > what about /var ? > > /var/www/html > /var/www/named > /var/lib/dhcpd > /var/lib/imap > /var/cache/samba > > come immediately to my mind I don't run public services on my personal machine so much of that doesn't matter to me. Plus anything with "cache" in its pathname is excluded by my backup script as a matter of course. I do back up /var/log though. You never know. >>> >>> yeah but if it's a samba server... unfortunate that redhat packagers >>> chose to use /var/cache/samba for important files >> >> I backup /etc/samba/smb.conf (the only file there I've >> modified.) There are less than a dozen samba users here. >> I have notes about how to add them using pdbedit. Since >> this was how I set up samba originally, I am assuming >> that redoing the same process will produce the same >> results including the stuff in var/cache/samba? >> Am I missing something? > > well it appears that they finally moved the contents of what used to be > in /var/cache/samba to /var/lib/samba (yeah) but the contents are all of > the internal tdb (trivial data base) files that samba uses for things > like policies created by pdbedit, share information, etc. If you are > running a samba server, you should be backing those up. Historically, I've used a script that walks down /etc/passwd and picks up all the home directories, sorts them, then uniqs them and I make sure those get backed up. I also back up /etc and /var (except /var/log). Then again, depending on your backup media, there's no reason to not back up the entire system (excluding transient trees such as /proc, /dev and the like). I do so using rsync to a server on my LAN (prophead) which has a 500GB USB drive formatted with ext3 mounted at /media/500GB-Drive with a directory called "Backups" on it. Prophead's /etc/rsyncd.conf file contains: uid = root gid = root use chroot = yes [backup] comment = Backup directory path = /media/500GB-Drive/Backups hosts allow = 192.168.1.52 192.168.1.53 read only = no Start up rsync in daemon mode: # rsync --daemon and it's ready to go. The clients (the machines being backed up) run this script: #!/bin/bash # Back up system to a specific directory given on the command # line. Excludes the /proc, /sys, /dev and /media directories MYHOST=`hostname` TODAY=`date +%d-%b-%Y` if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then TGT="$MYHOST-BackUp-$TODAY" else TGT=$1 fi rsync -avXA --exclude-from=/etc/skipdirs.rsync / \ prophead::backup/$TGT The content of the "/etc/skipdirs.rsync" file on the clients is: /proc/* /sys/* /dev/* /media/* I make this a free gift to all. It's quick and dirty, but it gets the job done. "If it's stupid and it works, it ain't stupid!" Note: You'll get SELinux alerts on the rsync server when you do the backup from the client (the /media/500GB-Drive/Backup directory won't have the correct SELinux contexts), so put SELinux in permissive mode on the server before you tell the client to back up. -- - Rick Stevens, Systems Engineer, C2 Hosting ri...@nerd.com - - AIM/Skype: therps2ICQ: 22643734Yahoo: origrps2 - -- -Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.- -- -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Fri, 2010-03-12 at 10:59 -0700, Stuart McGraw wrote: > On 03/11/2010 09:02 PM, Craig White wrote: > > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 22:32 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > >> On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:54 -0700, Craig White wrote: > >> > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 20:13 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > >> > > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:29 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote: > >> > > > Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > >> > > > > > >> > > > > I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists. > >> > > > > >> > > > Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information > >> > > > that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system > >> > > > is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config > >> > > > would also be in /var. Not so? > >> > > > >> > > /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed > >> > > via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV. > >> > > > >> > > >> > what about /var ? > >> > > >> > /var/www/html > >> > /var/www/named > >> > /var/lib/dhcpd > >> > /var/lib/imap > >> > /var/cache/samba > >> > > >> > come immediately to my mind > >> > >> I don't run public services on my personal machine so much of that > >> doesn't matter to me. Plus anything with "cache" in its pathname is > >> excluded by my backup script as a matter of course. > >> > >> I do back up /var/log though. You never know. > > > > yeah but if it's a samba server... unfortunate that redhat packagers > > chose to use /var/cache/samba for important files > > I backup /etc/samba/smb.conf (the only file there I've > modified.) There are less than a dozen samba users here. > I have notes about how to add them using pdbedit. Since > this was how I set up samba originally, I am assuming > that redoing the same process will produce the same > results including the stuff in var/cache/samba? > Am I missing something? well it appears that they finally moved the contents of what used to be in /var/cache/samba to /var/lib/samba (yeah) but the contents are all of the internal tdb (trivial data base) files that samba uses for things like policies created by pdbedit, share information, etc. If you are running a samba server, you should be backing those up. Craig -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On 03/11/2010 09:02 PM, Craig White wrote: > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 22:32 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: >> On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:54 -0700, Craig White wrote: >> > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 20:13 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: >> > > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:29 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote: >> > > > Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: >> > > > > >> > > > > I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists. >> > > > >> > > > Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information >> > > > that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system >> > > > is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config >> > > > would also be in /var. Not so? >> > > >> > > /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed >> > > via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV. >> > > >> > >> > what about /var ? >> > >> > /var/www/html >> > /var/www/named >> > /var/lib/dhcpd >> > /var/lib/imap >> > /var/cache/samba >> > >> > come immediately to my mind >> >> I don't run public services on my personal machine so much of that >> doesn't matter to me. Plus anything with "cache" in its pathname is >> excluded by my backup script as a matter of course. >> >> I do back up /var/log though. You never know. > > yeah but if it's a samba server... unfortunate that redhat packagers > chose to use /var/cache/samba for important files I backup /etc/samba/smb.conf (the only file there I've modified.) There are less than a dozen samba users here. I have notes about how to add them using pdbedit. Since this was how I set up samba originally, I am assuming that redoing the same process will produce the same results including the stuff in var/cache/samba? Am I missing something? > also remembered... > > /var/lib/mysql > /var/lib/pgsql > (database users... not necessarily 'public' services) Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Anything I explicitly touch I keep some form of record of to allow me to recreate the change later (or at least that is my intent.) For example, config files in /etc, /var/lib/pgsql, var/lib/named, etc are under revision control with the VCS repository getting backuped. The backup scripts dumps a reloadable copy of my significant postgresql databases for backup. Changes made by gui I note in a notes file. I really wish the docs for gui tools would explicitly document what files they change. So for things that I explicitly modify, I have a good record (I hope) of how they have been changed. I am mainly concerned with things like the rpm database which get changed indirectly but which (as turned out in my case) is very useful to have when there are problems because it allowed checking the integrity of the rest of the system. (Of course, everything is useful under some failure scenario but I don't want to back up every- thing, so some discrimination needs to be applied.) -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On 03/11/2010 06:07 PM, Mike McCarty wrote: > Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: >> On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:29 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote: >>> Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists. >>> Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information >>> that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system >>> is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config >>> would also be in /var. Not so? >> >> /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed >> via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV. > > Ok, that corresponds to my thinking. So, anything in /opt either > isn't part of the *system* backup but part of the *data only* > backup, and doesn't configure the system, or if Fedora decides > to start putting some stuff in there, then I think the config > would go into /var. > > That's why I listed /opt as "not necessary" for a *system only* > backup. I would put it on *data only* backups, as defined by > the OP, since it shouldn't contain any configuration data used > by the OS, as opposed to later installed stuff not necessary for > boot, mounting NFS, DHCP, SELinux setup, etc. Yes, the above is consistent with my intent too. In my OP I meant "user" files in a very general sense to be anything created independently (roughly) of stuff installed from Fedora or 3rd party software packages, which would include things I put in /usr/local, /opt, etc. I have relatively little software in either of those directories and I keep the distribution packages for them along with build notes so they can be reinstalled if necessary. Since my backup media is DVD, I am trying to limit the size of backups by not backing up stuff that can be restored from other sources and most of the system files seem to be in that category. But I don't want to be so nit-picky that I screw myself and have to do a full reinstall when that could have been avoided had I had a backup copy of file X. Thanks for all the suggestions. -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 15:21 -0700, Stuart McGraw wrote: > Yesterday I had a little accident when I accidentally > deleted an unknown number of files in /var. Since I haven't seen anyone else mention it, I will: The chances of that happening are drastically reduced when you don't run as the root user unless you absolutely have to. And when you do, be very careful with wildcards and graphical file managers. -- [...@localhost ~]$ uname -r 2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686 Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I read messages from the public lists. -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 22:09 -0600, Rick Sewill wrote: > Did they move /var/named to /var/www/named? nope... pebkac ;-) Craig -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
> > > > /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed > > via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV. > > > > what about /var ? > > /var/www/html > /var/www/named > /var/lib/dhcpd > /var/lib/imap > /var/cache/samba > Did they move /var/named to /var/www/named? At one time I needed to do my own DNS and have a /var/named laying around. I guess it depends what's in the /etc/named.conf file. Probably all of /var/lib should be examined -- I don't know where asterisk, mysql, or other packages keep their data. And /var/spool/cron -- if you have any user cron jobs. All of /var/spool should be examined for directories to back up. And ... /sbin/ifup-local and /sbin/ifdown-local if you have those files. Those files, if present, are referenced from files in the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts directory. I'm sure there's a good reason those files are in /sbin; I wish they were in /usr/local/sbin. And consider /root -- it's up to you whether you want to back this up And /boot/grub/grub.conf -- /etc/grub.conf is a symbolic link. I dual boot so my grub.conf has other boot directives in it. Hopefully, /etc/grub.conf is the only symbolic link to worry about. I did "find /etc -type l" and grub.conf was the only symbolic link pointing to something I needed to worry about. I'd check for symbolic links in the directories you back up. Do hard links cause backup problems? Are there any hard links one has to worry about when doing backups? At this moment, I can't think of any. I haven't had to create any block or character special files in the /dev directory in a while. I suggest you keep a text file detailing any special /dev files you might have created. I am thinking of the case where you are doing something with a device driver for something that is not supported in FC12. Hopefully, this won't apply. I'd keep a text file detailing anything like this in my /root. Finally, I'd examine the sub-directories in /usr/src. Before FC12, my webcam wasn't supported. I kept source code in /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES for building a driver for my webcam. You may have something in /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES or /usr/src/redhat/RPMS that you need to add to FC12. If possible, keep information in a text file describing where you got the code rather than try to back up /usr/src/redhat...but as a last resort, be prepared to back up stuff, if necessary. I'd actually keep a text file detailing any changes I make that are not part of standard Fedora. It's easier to go to a text file where I keep a list of things from livnia or source files I need to get something working that isn't supported, then to discover something is missing and have to remember where I got it and how I had to install it. I'd also generate a text file, on a regular basis, yum list all > /root/yum-list-$(date '+%Y%m%d').lst so I have a list of Fedora packages that were in my system. -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 22:32 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:54 -0700, Craig White wrote: > > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 20:13 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > > > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:29 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote: > > > > Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > > > > > > > > > > I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists. > > > > > > > > Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information > > > > that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system > > > > is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config > > > > would also be in /var. Not so? > > > > > > /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed > > > via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV. > > > > > > > what about /var ? > > > > /var/www/html > > /var/www/named > > /var/lib/dhcpd > > /var/lib/imap > > /var/cache/samba > > > > come immediately to my mind > > I don't run public services on my personal machine so much of that > doesn't matter to me. Plus anything with "cache" in its pathname is > excluded by my backup script as a matter of course. > > I do back up /var/log though. You never know. yeah but if it's a samba server... unfortunate that redhat packagers chose to use /var/cache/samba for important files also remembered... /var/lib/mysql /var/lib/pgsql (database users... not necessarily 'public' services) Craig -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:54 -0700, Craig White wrote: > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 20:13 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:29 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote: > > > Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > > > > > > > > I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists. > > > > > > Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information > > > that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system > > > is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config > > > would also be in /var. Not so? > > > > /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed > > via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV. > > > > what about /var ? > > /var/www/html > /var/www/named > /var/lib/dhcpd > /var/lib/imap > /var/cache/samba > > come immediately to my mind I don't run public services on my personal machine so much of that doesn't matter to me. Plus anything with "cache" in its pathname is excluded by my backup script as a matter of course. I do back up /var/log though. You never know. poc -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 20:13 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:29 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote: > > Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > > > > > > I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists. > > > > Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information > > that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system > > is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config > > would also be in /var. Not so? > > /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed > via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV. > what about /var ? /var/www/html /var/www/named /var/lib/dhcpd /var/lib/imap /var/cache/samba come immediately to my mind Craig -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:29 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote:
>> Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
>>> I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists.
>> Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information
>> that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system
>> is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config
>> would also be in /var. Not so?
>
> /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed
> via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV.
Ok, that corresponds to my thinking. So, anything in /opt either
isn't part of the *system* backup but part of the *data only*
backup, and doesn't configure the system, or if Fedora decides
to start putting some stuff in there, then I think the config
would go into /var.
That's why I listed /opt as "not necessary" for a *system only*
backup. I would put it on *data only* backups, as defined by
the OP, since it shouldn't contain any configuration data used
by the OS, as opposed to later installed stuff not necessary for
boot, mounting NFS, DHCP, SELinux setup, etc.
Mike
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Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 18:29 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote: > Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: > > > > I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists. > > Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information > that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system > is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config > would also be in /var. Not so? /opt (and /usr/local) are likely to contain stuff that wasn't installed via rpm or yum, thus needs to be preserved. That's all. YMMV. poc -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
>
> I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists.
Is /opt really likely to contain some configuration information
that a reinstall wouldn't set up? ISTM that, if the system
is "modern" enough to use /opt for its install, then its config
would also be in /var. Not so?
Mike
--
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You have found the bank of Larn.
I speak only for myself, and I am unanimous in that!
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Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
On Thu, 2010-03-11 at 15:21 -0700, Stuart McGraw wrote: > I currently backup user only my user files with the > understanding that if I lose important system files, > I will reinstall the system from distribution media. > > Yesterday I had a little accident when I accidentally > deleted an unknown number of files in /var. But > since the rpm database was still intact, I was able > to "rpm --verify" all my packages, identify those > with missing /var files and reinstall just those > rpms. > > Which leads to my question... Are there certain > files and directories that should be saved because > they are unusually important and can help recover > from common problems, without backing up *all* the > system files? In my case above, having the rpm > database was critical. I backup config files in > /etc and elsewhere that I've modified. Are there > other *really* important system files I should be > saving? I back up all of /etc and /usr/local. Also /opt if it exists. poc -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?
Stuart McGraw wrote:
[...]
> since the rpm database was still intact, I was able
> to "rpm --verify" all my packages, identify those
> with missing /var files and reinstall just those
> rpms.
Congratulations on your recovery.
> Which leads to my question... Are there certain
> files and directories that should be saved because
> they are unusually important and can help recover
> from common problems, without backing up *all* the
> system files? In my case above, having the rpm
> database was critical. I backup config files in
> /etc and elsewhere that I've modified. Are there
> other *really* important system files I should be
> saving?
One can argue that /etc is mandatory for any backup
which is intended to back up the system itself.
If you are comfortable with reinstall of the exact
same version of the system itself, then here are
some hints of what to back up...
Typical root level directories one might find are
/binsystem user programs, not needed
/boot system boot programs & config, not needed
/devin modern systems, managed by udev & not needed
/etcsystem configuration, needed
/home user data files, not needed (for the system)
/initrd system files, not needed
/libloadable libraries, not needed
/lost+found file system recovery, not needed
/media mount points, not needed
/mntused for temp mount point, not needed
/optpossibly empty, not needed
/proc not a real directory, not needed
/root root's home directory, not needed
/sbin system maintenance programs, not needed
/selinuxcontains some configuration files, needed
/sysnot a real directory, not needed
/tmpno useful information, not needed
/usrperhaps needed, if /usr/local contains stuff
/varperhaps needed
Incidentally, making a correct backup which is a true atomic event
is not something easy to do with the system in "normal operating
mode". I use single user mode, unmount all file systems (except
for / being mounted ro) and do an fsck before doing backups. I then
mount all file systems I want to back up ro (except the one to receive
the actual backup, if any) and do the backup with everything static.
Mike
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Backup, what system files are *really* important?
I currently backup user only my user files with the understanding that if I lose important system files, I will reinstall the system from distribution media. Yesterday I had a little accident when I accidentally deleted an unknown number of files in /var. But since the rpm database was still intact, I was able to "rpm --verify" all my packages, identify those with missing /var files and reinstall just those rpms. Which leads to my question... Are there certain files and directories that should be saved because they are unusually important and can help recover from common problems, without backing up *all* the system files? In my case above, having the rpm database was critical. I backup config files in /etc and elsewhere that I've modified. Are there other *really* important system files I should be saving? -- users mailing list users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
