git, hardlinks and backups

git, hardlinks and backups

[Pavel Machek]

Hi!

I know this may be stupid, but...

I'm backing up my linux kernel trees, and found out that backup (done
by rsync) is twice as big as original. That's quite bad... it is
because git uses hardlinks heavily but rsync can't preserve them.

I'm pretty sure someone hit this before... what is the trick?
								Pavel
-- 
(english) http://www.livejournal.com/~pavelmachek
(cesky, pictures) http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/picture/horses/blog.html

Re: git, hardlinks and backups

[Adrian Bunk]

On Mon, Jul 10, 2006 at 09:57:27PM +0200, Pavel Machek wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> I know this may be stupid, but...
> 
> I'm backing up my linux kernel trees, and found out that backup (done
> by rsync) is twice as big as original. That's quite bad... it is
> because git uses hardlinks heavily but rsync can't preserve them.
> 
> I'm pretty sure someone hit this before... what is the trick?

$ rsync --help | grep "preserve hard links"
 -H, --hard-links            preserve hard links
$ 

> 								Pavel

cu
Adrian

-- 

       "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out
        of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days.
       "Only a promise," Lao Er said.
                                       Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed

Re: git, hardlinks and backups

[Pavel Machek]

Hi!

> > I know this may be stupid, but...
> > 
> > I'm backing up my linux kernel trees, and found out that backup (done
> > by rsync) is twice as big as original. That's quite bad... it is
> > because git uses hardlinks heavily but rsync can't preserve them.
> > 
> > I'm pretty sure someone hit this before... what is the trick?
> 
> The -H option of rsync?

Okay, I was blind, sorry.

For those who made same mistake... utility called freedups should be
able to clean that up.
								Pavel


-- 
(english) http://www.livejournal.com/~pavelmachek
(cesky, pictures) http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/picture/horses/blog.html

Re: git, hardlinks and backups

[Rutger Nijlunsing]

On Mon, Jul 10, 2006 at 09:57:27PM +0200, Pavel Machek wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> I know this may be stupid, but...
> 
> I'm backing up my linux kernel trees, and found out that backup (done
> by rsync) is twice as big as original. That's quite bad... it is
> because git uses hardlinks heavily but rsync can't preserve them.
> 
> I'm pretty sure someone hit this before... what is the trick?
> 								Pavel

Why can't rsync preserve them? Doesn't 'rsync --hard-links' work?
(however, it can only work if you rsync all paths at once so rsync
gets to see that the inodes match)

-- 
Rutger Nijlunsing ---------------------------------- eludias ed dse.nl
never attribute to a conspiracy which can be explained by incompetence
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