copying files into a gzip 1

[Hondy]

Hi

I'm sure this is easy but I'm a noob at this Linux command stuff.

What I would like to do is basically:

Copy \var\myfiles\*.* to \var\myfiles\backup\myfiles.gzip, including all subdirectories.

I will then use this on a cron job shell script on a daily basis which I have worked out already. I'm using Centos btw.

Thanks

 

[TonyGroves]

The normal method is to use tar:
[tt]
tar -czf /var/myfiles/backup/myfiles.tar.gz /var/myfiles/
[/tt]
That will copy the entire directory into a tar archive file, then compress it using gzip. .tar.gz is the standard extension for a gzipped tar file.

 

[Hondy]

Thanks Tony!

 

[TonyGroves]

Hold on a sec. You're creating the backup file inside the directory you're backing up? I don't think that can be done, or if it can it's dodgy practice. You'd need to create it somewhere else.

While you're at it, you might like to consider moving /var/myfiles to something like /var/local/myfiles. The Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) only allows a small defined set of /var subdirectories.