Linux - SoftwareThis forum is for Software issues.
Having a problem installing a new program? Want to know which application is best for the job? Post your question in this forum.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Our company uses rsync to backup data between our servers. Does anyone know of any file formats which rsync cannot deal with when it does incremental backups? With incremental backups, it obviously just appends changes/new bits to a file, so is there a chance that it cannot deal with a particular file type?
For example, it works fine with MS Word/Excel etc. Does it work fine with Illustrator/Paint shop etc files, which are images, instead of words?
What about more business critical files like our Sage accounts files and payrol files? Can rsync still append incremental changes without corrupting a file?
I would like to hear anyones experiences on whether they have ever come accross files which rsync cannot incrementally backup.
With incremental backups, it obviously just appends changes/new bits to a file, so is there a chance that it cannot deal with a particular file type?
I don't think that's true. When backup software (or rsync in this case) runs an incremental backup, when it detects that a file has changed it grabs the entire file. It doesn't take only the changed piece of it.
In light of this, rsync should have no trouble with any of the files you've described. There is always one way to be really sure: test it.
Maybe I mean differential in that case (but I'm sure it is incremental). I do know that we backup Outlook.pst files and they are not all resent each evening. Only the new information is added onto the existing backup file.
I am not familiar with Outlook.pst files - perhaps they're ASCII text and taking only part of the file is feasible. In any case, rsync will take the whole file.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.