Frequently Asked Questions

My email address is below all these questions, which you should read carefully before contacting me!

Part of these questions justify the writing of splitpipe, which is a sad thing, but actually most questions so far have been from people who are convinced nothing should happen for the first time.

  1. Why did you write this program? Don't tar/zip7/vol/dar/sdvdbackup do the same thing?

    No. The unique aspect of splitpipe is that it does not write images to disk first, allowing you to backup a filesystem filled to the brim. If you check carefully, all programs mentioned above do something like splitpipe, but never go all the way. Sdvdbackup comes closest but is horribly slow and hard to understand, at least for me.

  2. I get underruns, and I see most CPU time is spent in gzip, how can I speed it up?

    The --fast option is nice, and does not use much more disk space. To benefit, use: tar cf - / | gzip --fast | splitpipe ….

Feel free to send your questions to bert hubert (ahu@ds9a.nl), but please read the questions above first!