Summary: Cannot backup devices with cpio

From: Nigel Harwood <nharwood_at_cnw06.coles.com.au>
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 1995 11:17:06 +1000 (EST)

Original message:

   We are using DEC OSF/1 V2.1B (Rev. 250.113) on a 2100.

   I am trying to use cpio to do our nightly backups (as we do for
   our other UNIX systems) and have found that cpio under OSF refuses
   to backup device type files (either b or c) with the following
   error:

      special file <ttyqa> not archived

   for example.

   On our other UNIX systems cpio quite happily backs up files such as
   this, in fact this is why we use it over tar etc.

   Can anyone offer a work around or explanation.

   My final resort will probably be to automatically generate a
   device re-creation script and copy that to the tape but it sounds
   a bit messy.

Replies:

   chris_at_lagoon.meo.dec.com (Chris Jankowski)
   Dan Stromberg - OAC-CSG <strombrg_at_hydra.acs.uci.edu>

   It would seem that OSF/1 cpio has been deliberately set up not to backup
   special files. The justification was that cpio shouldn't be used for
   a total system backup (I would have thought you would want to backup new
   special files in your nightly backup?!).

   I was told that GNU tar would backup special files and that GNU cpio might.

   I have confirmed that GNU cpio does and am now happily using that.

Regards
-- 
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<  Nigel Harwood  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
<<  Post: Coles Supermarkets, PO Box 480, Glen Iris 3146, Australia >>
<< Phone: +61 3 829 6090              E-mail: nharwood_at_coles.com.au >>
<<   FAX: +61 3 829 6886                                            >>
Received on Wed Mar 15 1995 - 19:25:49 NZDT

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