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)
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