The first step is to select the backup device. The options available are:

• 1/4 inch cartridge tape-drive

• 4 mm DAT drive

• 8 mm (Exabyte) tape drive

• DLT (Digital Linear Tape), etc.

• selected a 4 mm DAT drive, and was given options of using a 2 GB DDS1 drive, a 4 GB DDS2 drive, or 12 GB drives.

You need to specify the appropriate device names in the /dev directory. In our case, we have st0 for the rewinding device and nst0 for the non-rewinding device. The install script makes the appropriate entries in the /etc/brutab file.

Now we’ll proceed to install XBRU, the X11 front-end to BRU. For this, you should have TCl version 7.6 and Tk version 4.2 or higher.

If you want to exclude files from the backup, you should enter these in the /etc/bruxpat file. Also, backups can be either to a backup device or a file.

To back up files, use the command:

cd /;bru -cvf /dev/tape ./files_to_backup

BRU doesn’t store absolute pathnames unless specifically asked to. By default, everything’s stored relative to "./".

On completion of the backup, BRU rewinds the tape and runs an autoscan to verify the media. This is one feature that could save you a lot of grief.

To restore files from the tape, use

bru -xvf /dev/st0 ./files_to_restore

BRU also has an extensive set of command line options.

If you’re not comfortable with text-based command lines, there’s the graphical front-end that you can use.

Executing XBRU brings up a simple, easy-to-use screen. Three levels of backup are possible with XBRU—full, level 1, and level 2.

If you’re logged in as root, choosing Full does a full backup of the system. Level 1 backs up files modified since the last Full backup, and Level 2 backs up files modified since the last Level 1 backup. There’s a message bar at the bottom of the screen that describes the action associated with each button.

Select the files or directories you want backed up and press Start Backup. You can choose more options here. For example, you could chose compression, maintain log files, etc. The restore screen is very similar to the backup screen.

BRU is a very powerful backup program with a lot of flexibility. It supports CRC-error detection and verification after each backup session to ensure that the media is not bad. BRU also has a scheduler to manage long-term backup strategies and can handle tape autoloaders for multi-tape backups. It backs up all types of files—device files, pipes, links, etc. An invaluable tool in your journey with Linux.