dumping file system subtree (/var)

[Wojciech Puchar]

> When I originally set up my SSD, the stuff I was following indicated there was no need to put anythng on a separate filesystem.  I'm now trying to build a backup system on a usb drive and I want a separate /var and /tmp.
>
> I had originally set the nodump flag on /tmp and /var, so my snapshot is empty for those.
>
> I don't think there's any reason to preserve /tmp, but is there any good way to copy /var from the running system on the SSD to another filesystem (and still preserve everything, including flags)?  My impression is both mksnap_ffs and dump should only be used on a complete filesystem, not a subtree.
>
> Or do I need to unset the nodump flag on /var, make a snapshot of /, take a dump :-), and then split the /var out upon restore?
>
> And would it be wise to repartition the SSD to put /var and /tmp on their own partitions?
>
i really have no idea why you just don't dump it all? restore have -i 
option that allow you to partially restore files from a dump.

I have SSD, single partition and i use dump to backup it to external hard 
disk.


alternatively - use tar.