AWS re/Start Lab · Linux

Working with Files

Create a compressed backup of a folder structure using tar, log the backup with a timestamp, and transfer the backup file to another directory.

Lab Summary

Connected via PuTTY (as described in Lab 225). Created a compressed backup of the CompanyA folder using tar, logged the backup date and file name to a backups.csv file using echo and tee, and transferred the archive to the IA folder.

Backup

Used tar -csvpzf to create a compressed archive of the entire CompanyA folder structure.

Logging

Recorded the backup date, time, and file name in SharedFolders/backups.csv using echo and tee.

Transfer

Moved the backup file to the IA folder with mv, simulating a file transfer to another team.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Detailed record of each task performed during the lab.

01

SSH Connection

  • Connected to the EC2 instance via PuTTY following the process described in Lab 225.
02

Create a Backup

  • Verified the current directory with pwd: /home/ec2-user.
  • Confirmed the CompanyA folder structure with ls -R CompanyA, which showed six subdirectories (Employees, Finance, HR, IA, Management, SharedFolders) with their respective files.
  • Created a compressed backup with tar -csvpzf backup.CompanyA.tar.gz CompanyA.
  • Verified the backup was created with ls: backup.CompanyA.tar.gz appeared alongside CompanyA.
Terminal showing tar backup output
Terminal: tar output listing all files included in the backup archive
The tar flags: -c creates an archive, -s preserves file order, -v shows verbose output, -p preserves permissions, -z compresses with gzip, and -f specifies the output file name.
03

Log the Backup

  • Navigated to CompanyA with cd /home/ec2-user/CompanyA.
  • Created the log file with touch SharedFolders/backups.csv.
  • Wrote the backup record with echo "25 Aug 25 2021, 16:59, backup.CompanyA.tar.gz" | sudo tee SharedFolders/backups.csv.
  • Verified the log content with cat SharedFolders/backups.csv.
Terminal showing backup log content
Terminal: backups.csv content showing the logged backup entry
The tee command writes output to both the terminal and a file simultaneously. The | (pipe) redirects the output of echo into tee.
04

Move the Backup File

  • Confirmed location with pwd: /home/ec2-user/CompanyA.
  • Moved the backup to the IA folder with mv ../backup.CompanyA.tar.gz IA/.
  • Verified with ls . IA: the backup file was now in the IA directory and no longer in the parent folder.
Terminal showing backup file moved to IA folder
Terminal: backup.CompanyA.tar.gz moved to the IA folder

Command Reference

Commands used in this lab for backups and file operations.

cmd

tar

Creates or extracts compressed archive files.

  • -c : Create a new archive
  • -v : Verbose output (list files being processed)
  • -p : Preserve file permissions
  • -z : Compress with gzip
  • -f : Specify the archive file name
cmd

echo

Prints text to the terminal or writes it to a file when combined with redirection.

cmd

tee

Reads from standard input and writes to both the terminal and a file simultaneously.

cmd

| (pipe)

Redirects the output of one command as the input of another. Example: echo "text" | tee file.csv

Key Learnings

What Was Learned

✓
How to create compressed backups of entire folder structures using tar with gzip compression.
✓
How to log backup operations with timestamps using echo and tee.
✓
How to use the pipe (|) operator to chain commands together.
✓
How to transfer backup files between directories with mv.

Technical Conclusion

This lab demonstrated the backup workflow in Linux: archiving data with tar, documenting the operation in a log file, and transferring the backup to a designated location.

In a production environment, these steps would typically be automated with scripts and scheduled using cron jobs. The logging step is important for tracking when backups were made and avoiding unnecessary duplicates.