Microsoft Word Hardware Reconfiguration Methodology V final2

Data accuracy and relevancy

It is important to determine how accurate the data to be backed up must be prior to performing any backup. Consider the following:

1. 
   Is the exactness of the data important? Must if be exactly as it appeared on disk? If so then DD should be used to acquire a bit-copy image.
   

2. 
   Are raw partitions to be backed up? If so, raw partitions must be bit-copied to ensure accuracy as there is no recognizable filesystem on them; DD should be used for such a situation.
   

3. 
   Are the filesystems too large to be backed up to one media? If so, then the backup should be done using a multivolume capable tool or script. Furthermore, the multivolume backup should contain all the data from that specific filesystem.
   
4. 
   Does the backup device support CRC or error checking when writing data? When reading data? Can the backup tool perform CRC or error checking? Can it deal with errors and if so, how? How much data will be lost if bad blocks are found on the media.
   

5. 
   Does the backed up data contain all the same filesystem attributes as the original data? Does the tool understand how to treat extended filesystem attributes?
   

6. 
   Can the backup tool accept user-provided input for determining which files to backup?
   

7. 
   If disk exactness is not necessary then the tools Dump, Tar, or Cpio can be used.
   

6.