On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:48:09 -0500, forgottenwizard wrote:

> > I'd say you _need_ /dev /proc and /sys.  
> I'd like to know why. Some of the files in /proc change often, and cause
> rsync a problem. sys doesn't cause these problems, though.

You definitely don't want to backup /proc and /sys as they are virtual
filesystems. /sys is fairly static but /proc changes all the time as it
contains details on processes and the contents of memory. /dev/is also
dynamic, but there are a couple of files in the /dev mountpoint that
are needed before udev starts, and are no longer accessible via /dev/on a
running system. One way of getting at these, and excluding /proc and /sys
is to bind mount / elsewhere.

mount --bind / /mnt/root

Then backup /mnt/root.

Alternatively, keep copies of the needed /dev files (null and console
IIRC) and backup root with rsync's -x option (or -l if you are using
tar). rsync also supports the use of include and exclude lists, so you
can put a list of what you don't need: /tmp, /var/tmp, /usr/portage, etc,
in a file to exclude them all from the backup.


-- 
Neil Bothwick

Crash: (v.) to terminate a program in the usual fashion, i.e. by locking
up the computer or setting fire to the printer. (n.) the process of such
termination.