[comp.unix.ultrix] Query: Archive utility on Unix ?

aem@aber-cs.UUCP (Alec D.E. Muffett) (03/26/91)

The powers that be at our site (who remember the good old days of
running PDP-11's and a Honeywell L66 as a general university service)
have decreed that the one thing that is missing from our twin Dec 5830
Ultrix-4.1 based user service is - wait for it -

			* AN ARCHIVE UTILITY *

We have about 18Gb of disk spread over two user machines, and we do
backups on two DAT drives, so storage is no problem.  In order to keep
space free we also "cron" a process every so often which compresses any
large file which has not been accessed for 'n' days.  Users seem fairly
happy about this, and some were awestruck at how much f/s they could
save.  We also run a hacked about version of the Gould (Holland) Batch
system for batch & tape management (this satisfies our chemists), and
things are fairly peaceful. 

However, the bosses have decreed we must now have either an archive
service or a damn good argument against one.  It would be nice to have
the ability to invisibly copy stuff on and off tape, but I'm not sure
that most of our users would use it under Unix.  I am equally unsure
whether an archive utility has ever been written for Unix, probably
since Unix has no well defined tape management interface.  I've never
heard of one. 

Therefore:- *** QUESTION ***

Does anyone know of a good, simple, hackable, preferably PD, Archiving
utility for unix ?

Comments about archiving in general would be welcomed, as well as flames
about the subject...  it might prove enlightening to the bosses...  8)

Advthanksance,
			alec 8) 
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