SPLITPIPE(1) Manual Page

NAME

splitpipe - spread piped input over a number of volumes (DVD's, CD's etc)

SYNOPSIS

splitpipe -o command [--buffer-size, -b] [--debug, -d] [--help, -h] [--label, -L] [--no-prompt, -n] [--verbose, -v] [--version] [--volume-size, -s]

DESCRIPTION

splitpipe(1) accepts input, either from files, pipes or sockets and, using a large buffer for performance reasons, outputs it over one or more volumes. Volumes can be DVD's, CD's, floppies, hard disks or files.

This allows the operator to make, for example, tar(1) archives larger than a single DVD.

Volumes contain markers to signify which backup session they belong to, and their order in the set. Furthermore, a running checksum is kept to guarantee data integrity.

For the benefit of numbering volumes, the environment variable SPVOLNUM is defined to be the volume number, starting at 1. This variable is visible for the output program.

Volumes created by splitpipe(1) can be read by joinpipe(1)

EXAMPLES

To backup /home to one or more DVDs:

# tar cz /home | splitpipe -s dvd  -o 'growisofs -Z /dev/dvd=/dev/stdin'

To restore:

# joinpipe /dev/dvd | tar xzf -

To store to numbered files of at most 50 megabytes each:

# tar cz / | splitpipe -s 50000 -o 'cat > backup.$SPVOLNUM'

OPTIONS

--buffer-size, -b
Configures the size of the buffer between input and output. In megabytes. Defaults to 10.
--debug, -d
Give large amounts of debugging output, possibly damaging performance
--help, -h
Print a helpful message
--label, -L
Assign a label to this session.
--ouput program, -o
This specifies a script, either shell, or a program that is called for each volume. Mandatory.
--verbose, -v
Be verbose, but not overly so.
--version
Print version information
--volume-size, -s
Sets the maximum size of volume output to this number of kilobytes. Alternatively, a preset size may be specified. Currently defined volume sizes are: floppy, cd, cd-80, cdr-80, dvd and dvd-5. Run splitpipe --help for the most up to date list.
--no-prompt, -n
Do not prompt the user to change volumes. Mostly useful when writing to files, but might also come in handy with automated disk changers.

BUGS

Does not yet allow retrying failed output, even when the failed data is still available in the ringbuffer.

AUTHOR

Written by Netherlabs Computer Consulting BV, bert hubert, <ahu@ds9a.nl>

RESOURCES

Website: http://ds9a.nl/splitpipe

SEE ALSO

joinpipe(1), splitpipe(5)

COPYING

Copyright © 2005 Netherlabs Computer Consulting. Free use of this software is granted under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2.