Technical data

Using BACKUP
11.12 Understanding BACKUP Tape Label Processing
Assuming the volume labels of the tapes you use match the corresponding labels
on the command line, BACKUP continues processing until it completes the
operation or runs out of volume labels. If you do not specify enough labels on the
command line to complete the operation or if the tape loaded does not have an
ANSI label, BACKUP prompts you to enter a label for the tape in the drive.
If you use blank tapes or tapes that you intend to overwrite, use the
/IGNORE=LABEL_PROCESSING qualifier. This suppresses the previous
BACKUP message, which normally occurs if BACKUP encounters a non-ANSI-
labeled tape during a save operation.
For more information about the /EXACT_ORDER, /IGNORE, and /LABEL
qualifiers, refer to the OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference
Manual.
11.13 Backing Up Files and Directories
This section explains copying files, backing up files and directories, comparing
files, and creating and listing BACKUP journal files.
Note
When you use the Backup utility with files, BACKUP processes relative
version -0 as if it were 0, saving the most recent version instead of the
earliest version of the file for processing.
11.13.1 Copying Files to Other Files
You can copy files using BACKUP. The copy function of the BACKUP command
differs from the DCL command COPY because it preserves certain file information
such as the version number, creation dates, revision dates, and protection codes
(although, by default, the owner UIC of the copies is the UIC of the current
process). Also, unlike the DCL command COPY, you can use BACKUP to copy
entire directory trees, maintaining the directory structure.
How to Perform This Task
To make identical disk-to-disk copies of files, use the following format:
BACKUP input-specifier output-specifier
Examples
1. The following command copies the file EMPLOYEES.DAT in the current
directory to the directory [BATES.TEST]:
$ BACKUP EMPLOYEES.DAT USER1:[BATES.TEST]EMPLOYEES.DAT
2. You can also create copies of entire directory trees. For example:
$ BACKUP USER1:[BATES...] USER2:[BATES...]
This command re-creates the directory structure of user BATES on the disk
named USER2:
3. The following command copies all files in the directory tree [LYKINS...] to the
directory tree [OWLCR...] on the same disk:
11–24 Using BACKUP