How To Use rsync Command In Linux With Examples

ZACH | April 23, 2011

For organization and companies, data is most important for them, even specially E-commerce business, data is very critical to them. Rsysnc is tool or software which helps taking backup of critical data over the network. It also network protocol for Unix-like and Windows systems that synchronizes files and directories from one system to another system over the network. Rsysnc can copy or display directory and copy files. Rsysncd listens the defaults TCP port 873, copying files via a remote shell such as rsh or ssh. Rysync package must be installed on both remote system as well as local machine.

The main advantages of the rsysnc is :

Speed: initially copies the whole content between local and remote system. Next time, it transfers only the changed blocks or bytes to the destination.

Security: encrypted form of data can be transferred using ssh protocol.

Less Bandwidth: rsysnc uses compression and decompression of data block by block at both the end.

Syntax:
#rsysnc [options] source path destination path

Example: 1

[root@localhost /]# rsync -zvr /home/aloft/ /backuphomedir
building file list … done
.bash_logout
.bash_profile
.bashrc
sent 472 bytes received 86 bytes 1116.00 bytes/sec
total size is 324 speedup is 0.58

In above command rsysnc uses –z for enable compression, -v for verbose, -r for recursive. Here above command synchronizes two directory /home/aloft/ and /backuphomedir in local system.

Example: 2

[root@localhost /]# rsync -azvr /home/aloft/ /backuphomedir
building file list … done
./
.bash_logout
.bash_profile
.bashrc

sent 514 bytes received 92 bytes 1212.00 bytes/sec
total size is 324 speedup is 0.53

Above example we used –a option, -a option does, preserve owner and groups, it preserve timestamp, symbolic links, permission, recursive mode.

Example: 3

root@localhost /]# rsync -avz /home/aloft/ azmath@192.168.1.4:192.168.1.4:/share/rsysnctest/
Password:

building file list … done
./
.bash_logout
.bash_profile
.bashrc
sent 514 bytes received 92 bytes 1212.00 bytes/sec
total size is 324 speedup is 0.53

Above command allow you synchronize between localmachines to remote machine. You can see , while synchronizing files to another system, it asks password. While doing synchronization with the remote server, you need to specify user name and IP or Hostname of the remote system.

Example: 4

[root@localhost /]# rsync -avz azmath@192.168.1.4:192.168.1.4:/share/rsysnctest/ /home/aloft/
Password:
building file list … done
./
.bash_logout
.bash_profile
.bashrc
sent 514 bytes received 92 bytes 1212.00 bytes/sec
total size is 324 speedup is 0.53

Above command will synchronizes files from remote to local system

Example: 5

[root@localhost backuphomedir]# rsync -avzi /backuphomedir /home/aloft/
building file list … done
cd+++++++ backuphomedir/
>f+++++++ backuphomedir/.bash_logout
>f+++++++ backuphomedir/.bash_profile
>f+++++++ backuphomedir/.bashrc
>f+++++++ backuphomedir/abc
>f+++++++ backuphomedir/xyz

sent 650 bytes received 136 bytes 1572.00 bytes/sec
total size is 324 speedup is 0.41

Above command helps to find any differences in the files or directories between source and destination

Tags: rsync command, rsync command in linux, rsync copy