Re: Backup, what system files are *really* important?

Stuart McGraw wrote:

[...]

since the rpm database was still intact, I was able
to "rpm --verify" all my packages, identify those
with missing /var files and reinstall just those
rpms.

Congratulations on your recovery.

Which leads to my question... Are there certain
files and directories that should be saved because
they are unusually important and can help recover
from common problems, without backing up *all* the
system files? In my case above, having the rpm
database was critical. I backup config files in
/etc and elsewhere that I've modified. Are there
other *really* important system files I should be
saving?

One can argue that /etc is mandatory for any backup
which is intended to back up the system itself.

If you are comfortable with reinstall of the exact
same version of the system itself, then here are
some hints of what to back up...

Typical root level directories one might find are

/bin system user programs, not needed
/boot system boot programs & config, not needed
/dev in modern systems, managed by udev & not needed
/etc system configuration, needed
/home user data files, not needed (for the system)
/initrd system files, not needed
/lib loadable libraries, not needed
/lost+found file system recovery, not needed
/media mount points, not needed
/mnt used for temp mount point, not needed
/opt possibly empty, not needed
/proc not a real directory, not needed
/root root's home directory, not needed
/sbin system maintenance programs, not needed
/selinux contains some configuration files, needed
/sys not a real directory, not needed
/tmp no useful information, not needed
/usr perhaps needed, if /usr/local contains stuff
/var perhaps needed

Incidentally, making a correct backup which is a true atomic event
is not something easy to do with the system in "normal operating
mode". I use single user mode, unmount all file systems (except
for / being mounted ro) and do an fsck before doing backups. I then
mount all file systems I want to back up ro (except the one to receive
the actual backup, if any) and do the backup with everything static.

Mike
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