What the dump command backs up

What the dump command can back up

The dump command backs up data so that it can look the same when restored as it did when it was backed up.

The dump command can back up the following objects:

A file
A directory
A qtree
An entire volume

In addition to backing up data in files, the dump command can back up the following information about each file, as applicable:

UNIX GID (Group ID), owner UID (User ID), and file permissions
UNIX access, creation, and modification time
File type
File size
DOS name, DOS attributes, and creation time
Windows NT Access Control Lists (ACLs)
Qtree information

Dump command data format

The data is written to tape in a format compatible with the standard BSD-dump format. This means that you can restore Network Appliance dump tapes using the Solaris ufsrestore command. The only data that you cannot restore with this command is the CIFS (Windows NT) attributes, because Solaris does not support them. However, the data itself is accessible.

Dump and restore permissions limitations

If you dump a file that has only Windows NT permissions and restore it into a UNIX-style qtree or volume, the file gets the default UNIX permissions for that qtree or volume.

If you dump a file that has only UNIX permissions and restore it into an NTFS-style qtree or volume, the file gets the default Windows permissions for that qtree or volume. Other dumps and restores preserve permissions.