Backup & Recovery (Rsync/Tar/Dd)
Stop relying on mtime for your backups
🧩 The Challenge
Everyone thinks rsync is doing a great job until they realize a bunch of files had their metadata touched without the content changing, forcing a massive, useless re-transfer. It’s infuriating when you’re pushing gigabytes over a congested VPN tunnel and your backup takes three times longer than it should.
đź’ˇ The Fix
Switch your check to use checksums instead of relying on file modification times or sizes. It keeps your syncs honest by verifying actual data parity.
rsync -avc --delete /source/ /destination/⚙️ Why It Works
This tells the tool to calculate an MD5 hash for every file on both sides before deciding to move data. Because it checks the content, you’re safe even if the timestamps are totally out of whack.
🚀 Pro-Tip: Don’t run this on massive high-speed NVMe arrays unless you enjoy watching your CPU usage spike for no reason.
Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 11/7/2026