System information

Chapter 4 Managing Your Server 53
Backing Up and Restoring the Server
You can back up server files automatically using Time Machine. It’s a comprehensive
backup solution for the system. It automatically makes a complete backup of all files on
the system to either a locally attached external hard drive or a remote network file
system. It also keeps track as files are created, updated, or deleted over time. Time
Machine backs up the changes and creates a history of the file system that you can
navigate by date. You can use its intuitive time-based visual browser to search back
through time to find and restore any files that were backed up.
You can set up a list of folders and disks that you want excluded from backup. Time
Machine automatically excludes temporary and cache files located in /tmp/, /Library/
Logs/, /Library/Caches/, and /Users/username/Library/Caches/.
You set backup options in the Time Machine pane of System Preferences. You use the
Time Machine application to restore files. You can also restore the entire system to a
previous state using the Installer. For information about backing up and restoring with
Time Machine or the Installer, open System Preferences and then use the Help menu.
Note: You can restore a standard or workgroup configuration from a Time Machine
backup, but may not be able to completely restore advanced settings changed with
Server Admin.