One-step tarring/scp (was Re: [ale] hardware to back up a Dell laptop)

[Brian Pitts]

Geoffrey wrote:
  > It really all depends on what you're looking for.  With tar, you can
> retain a history through multiple tar balls.  With rsync, you'll 
> certainly gain speed over sending the same data over multiple times.

You can retain a history using rsync's --link-dest option. This is the 
basis of rsnapshot, dirvish, and the other snapshot-style backup scripts 
that are mentioned here from time to time.

http://www.mikerubel.org/computers/rsync_snapshots/

-Brian