Linux and Unix

Many methed exist for backing up file system data on UNIX . The ufsdump command is a powerful backing up a single filesystem to a file on disk.

 The ufsdump command can be intimidating For simple backups, most options are not relevant. For instance, to backup the /usr filesystem to a file called /data/usr.ufs, use this command:


ufsdump 0f /data/usr.ufs /usr

Linux is just a kernel

Linux is just a kernel, all linux distributions includes GUI system plus GNU utilities plus installation & management tools plus Vi editiors and various application like Open office org and firefox  however, Most  Unix operating system consider as complete operating system as every thing come from a single source or a single vendor.

as i explained earlier linux just like a kernel and linux distribution makes it complete usable operating system by adding various applications like media player, open office and firefox.

Linux History

Unix:
The Unix operating system was conceived and implemented in 1969 at AT&T's Bell Laboratories in the United States by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna. Unix derived its name as a joke and reference to an experimental OS that was slow and ineffective called MULTICS. It was first released in 1971 and was initially entirely written in assembly language, a common practice at the time. Later, in a key pioneering approach in 1973, Unix was re-written in the programming language C by Dennis Ritchie, (with exceptions to the kernel and I/O). The availability of an operating system written in a high-level language allowed easier portability to different computer platforms and, with a legal glitch forcing AT&T to license the operating system's source code, Unix quickly grew and became widely adopted by academic institutions and businesses.
GNU:
The GNU Project, started in 1983 by Richard Stallman, had the goal of creating a "complete Unix-compatible software system" composed entirely of free software. Work began in 1984. Later, in 1985, Stallman created the Free Software Foundation and wrote the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL) in 1989. By the early 1990s, many of the programs required in an operating system (such as libraries, compilers, text editors, a Unix shell, and a windowing system) were completed, although low-level elements such as device drivers, daemons, and the kernel were stalled and incomplete. Linus Torvalds has said that if the GNU kernel had been available at the time (1991), he would not have decided to write his own.
MINIX:
MINIX was an inexpensive minimal Unix-like operating system, designed for education in computer science, written by Andrew S. Tanenbaum. As of version 3, MINIX is free and redesigned also for “serious” use.
In 1991 while attending the University of Helsinki, Torvalds, curious about the workings of operating system kernels and frustrated by the licensing of MINIX limiting it to educational use only (which prevented any use in a commercial fashion) began to work on his own kernel which eventually became the Linux kernel.
Torvalds began the development of Linux on MINIX and applications written for MINIX were also used under Linux. Later Linux matured and it became possible for Linux to be developed under itself. Also GNU applications replaced all MINIX ones because, with code from the GNU system freely available, it was advantageous if this could be used with the fledgling OS. Code licensed under the GNU GPL can be used in other projects, so long as they also are released under the same or a compatible license. In order to make the Linux kernel compatible with the components from the GNU Project, Torvalds initiated a switch from his original license (which prohibited commercial redistribution) to the GNU GPL Developers worked to integrate GNU components with Linux to make a fully functional and free operating system.