sjb@piglet.UUCP (Seth J. Bradley) (09/10/87)
CTAR - A COMPREHENSIVE FLOPPY/TAPE ARCHIVE UTILITY "Compress your files as you back them up with ctar!!" I) INTRODUCTION Ctar is an fast, fully featured, comprehensive floppy/tape archive utility that compresses files as it backs them up. The average compression is 40-60%, with reports of up to 95% compression on large database files. Ctar is a coined abbreviation for "compressed tar". Ctar, fully compatible with all versions of tar, has many additional features as well as being faster. Ctar is what tar should have been. Ctar used in the Master Backup mode will archive entire file systems including device files, links, symbolic links, named pipes, and empty directories. This allows the transfer of entire file systems between computers as well as easy restoration of a system from a hard disk crash. Used in the Incremental Backup mode, ctar will only backup files changed since the last Master Backup. This decreases the size and time of backups considerably since only changed files are backed up. Restoring a file system is simple: restore the Master Backup, then restore the last Incremental Backup overlaying files that have changed. Dostar is the identical product under MS-DOS. Dostar will read any version of tar on floppy diskettes (360k, 720k, and 1.2Mb) and restore to the DOS file system. Dostar will do automatic expansion of compressed files as well as automatic file conversion from Xenix to Dos. As a stand alone product, Dostar is faster than Fastback (11Mb in 8 minutes). Dostar backups can be read with tar or ctar. II) FEATURES * Compresses files as it backs up (40-90%) * Master and Incremental backups available * Entire file system including device files, symbolic links, * Spans multiple volumes named pipes, and empty directories * Backup verification * Locks files (write only) when backing up * Floppy(360-720-1.2Mb)/Tape/Bernoulli compatible * Non destructive restore option * Runs with any standard Xenix/Unix driver * Backs up in multiuser mode or in background * Fully compatible with all versions of tar * Large blocking factor: 127 (Intel) or 2048 (Motorola/Vax) * Very fast (250% faster than dump) * File tagging group option available * Sister product Dostar available under MS-DOS (Identical product- fully compatible floppies) * Handles files that lengthen or shorten during backup * Rapid listing of archived files on floppy (skips headers) * Add additional files to end of archive * Exclude directory option * Automatic DOS->UNIX/XENIX pathname,filename, file conversion * Volume number checking on restoring files III) AVAILABILITY * SCO XENIX - IBM AT/XT, AT&T 6300, TANDY 3000HD * ALTOS XENIX- 586/986, 586T/986T, 686, 1086, 2086 * MICROPORT SYSTEM V/AT- IBM AT * ULTRIX- VAX 11/780, MICROVAX * NCR TOWER (UNIX V) * TANDY 6000 (XENIX 3.X) * TI Business-Pro Professional (XENIX V) * ONYX * IBM PC/XT/AT as Dostar (MS-DOS 2.x,3.x) * AT&T 6300, 7300, 3B2 (UNIX V) IV) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION New releases of ctar and Dostar will be made available to registered users for a minimal charge of $7.00. Ctar can be ported to any XENIX 3.X, XENIX V , or UNIX V system. The porting fee is $75.00 plus phone expenses. Call MED-FLEX (Phone: 803 626-8203) for more information regarding porting. V) COSTS AND ORDERING INFORMATION Ctar is available in binary form for only $64.00. This price includes a "tar" format floppy disk with ctar, on line manual in the UNIX man format, ctar.hints a compendium of hints, ideas, tips, and shell scripts, etc. Dostar is available for $64.00. The combination is available for $89.00. When ordering please specify the machine type and CPU type (8086,8286, Motorola 68020) and operating system. Please include $3.00 for shipping and handling and 6% sales tax if ordering from California. Send your check or money order to Bradley Marketing, P.O. Box 2211, Modesto, CA 95351 (Phone 209-571-0801) UUCP: uunet!lll-winken!csustan!piglet!sjb