Dump (Unix) Explained

dump
Developer:	AT&T Bell Laboratories
Operating System:	Unix and Unix-like, MSX-DOS
Genre:	Command

The '''dump''' command is a program on Unix and Unix-like operating systems used to back up file systems. It operates on blocks, below filesystem abstractions such as files and directories. Dump can back up a file system to a tape or another disk. It is often used across a network by piping its output through bzip2 then SSH.

A dump utility first appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.^[1] A dump command is also part of ASCII's MSX-DOS2 Tools for MSX-DOS version 2.^[2]

Usage

dump [-0123456789acLnSu] [-B records] [-b blocksize] [-C cachesize] [-D dumpdates] [-d density] [-f file | -P pipecommand] [-h level] [-s feet] [-T date] filesystem

$ dump -W | -w

See also

• restore (program)
• tar (file format)
• cpio
• rsync

External links

• Home page of the Linux Ext2 filesystem dump/restore utilities

Notes and References

1. Web site: dump.c . Bitsavers' Software Archive . 8 March 2013 .
2. Book: ASCII Corporation . MSX-DOS2 Tools User's Manual by ASCII Corporation . 1993-04-01.