Dump and restore are two Linux utilities that help ensure reliable backups. From utility installation to restoring file systems, this tutorial is for Linux users of all levels.
The dump utility is a simple, powerful backup tool from the early days of Linux. Where most backup programs operate on a per-file basis, dump backs up specific file systems.
A tool such as tape archiver, or tar, can be pointed at a directory of files and told to create an archive of that resource. That function has its place, but dump operates on a broader scale. The proper tool depends on the backup goal and, ultimately, the restore requirements.
Dump offers a huge advantage over cpio, tar and other similar utilities due to how it handles incremental backups. Once a full backup is run, incremental backups just copy files that have changed or been created since the full backup. This makes subsequent backup jobs run more quickly — an advantage on slower machines with large file systems.
Dump has a few specific features that set it apart, as well as some key system requirements to note. Dump requires ext2, ext3 or ext4 file systems. This could be a compatibility concern on some modern distributions that use the XFS file system.
