Backup & Recovery (Rsync/Tar/Dd)

Stop your rsync jobs from hitting the wall when the network hiccups

🧩 The Challenge

You know that feeling when you’re 90% through a 200GB sync over a flaky connection and the link drops, forcing you to start the whole nightmare from scratch? I’ve lost entire weekends to that exact loop before realizing I was doing it wrong.

💡 The Fix

Just tack on the partial flag so rsync keeps the temporary files around. It saves you from burning more bandwidth than you actually need to.

rsync -avP --partial-dir=.rsync-partial source/ destination/

⚙️ Why It Works

Setting a dedicated partial directory keeps those unfinished file chunks out of your main destination until the transfer actually hits 100%. It’s a total lifesaver when your network decides to act up in the middle of the night.

🚀 Pro-Tip: Always include –append-verify if you’re resuming big files, just to make sure the bits actually match.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 8/22/2026