Software to use for backup Vendor Supplied Dump Utility Vendor Supplied Tar Utility Gnu Supplied Tar Utility Vendor Supplied Dump Utility Dump usually comes with a system and is the utility that the admin guide recommends for system backup. It has some advantages in that it does dumps by file system. It has the disadvantage for user files that it is not portable between operating systems. Vendor Supplied Tar Utility Tar is delivered with systems and is a good choice for user space dumps. Here is a vendor specific area that can cause you problems.
Some versions have wildly different options.
For example compare the SGI and Solaris lists of options, SGI has about 8 and Solaris has dozens. Gnu Supplied Tar Utility Gnu Tar is not normally delivered with a system. Linux being an exception. It has to be obtained and built. It has the advantage of being the same across platforms if you are managing a multi-platform set of machines.