Date: 2011apr17 OS: Linux Q. What's a good way to use tar for backup? A. You can do this:

cd /var tar cvfjh www.tar.bzip2 www

This will backup all your websites into file www.tar.bzip2 (Assuming your websites are under /var/www) Explanation of the options:

c = create v = verbose f = into a file (instead of tape!) j = use bzip2 (which give you the best compression) h = follow symbolic links

Of course, there are other options but these are pretty nice.