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Andrew Fashion
Asked: 2010-12-04 11:34:16 +0800 CST

How can I perform a command on my server so it keeps running when my Wifi drops

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I need to log into my server and tar up a huge directory of about 150GB, but I need to run the command so when I get back home, it's still running.

can I just SSH into my server from my laptop, run the tar command, and head home? how do I check the status of the tar when I get back home, etc...

thank you

ssh tar

3 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    You could first execute screen and then run the command within screen.

    or

    You could run the command using nohup

    I would prefer screen as you can resume the session and see the progress.. When you get home run screen -r and it will "reattach" the session you left on your laptop.

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  2. You need screen, which lets you start one or more shell sessions and then detach from them and reattach to them. If you've never heard of it before, run and read the web page now! It's a fantastically useful tool for just the situation you describe.

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  3. Why not just run your command using at or cron. at is easy but it is not always installed by default, but it should be available from your package manager. Install it then run it like so.

    at HH:MM (time 2 minutes or so in future)

    it will open a shell, type you commands there

    date >/tmp/out 2>&1
tar [your options] >>/tmp/out 2>>&1
date >>/tmp/out 2>>&1

    press control-D and start /etc/init.d/atd. Logoff and check back later. Look at /tmp/out for output log.

    Or you could use cron

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