Which command would you use to back up files over a network?

Using the rsync command to back up files over a network is an effective choice due to its versatile and efficient features. Rsync is specifically designed for transferring and synchronizing files between different locations, whether on the same machine or over a network. It supports copying files to and from remote servers, allowing for backups to be performed seamlessly across different systems.

One of the key advantages of rsync is its ability to perform incremental backups. This means that after the initial backup, rsync will only transfer the differences between the source and the destination, which significantly reduces the amount of data that needs to be transferred during subsequent backups. Additionally, rsync offers options for compression, encryption, and preserving file permissions, which makes it a robust choice for network file backups.

Other commands, such as cp, are primarily utilized for copying files within the same system and do not have built-in mechanisms for network operations. The mv command is used for moving files rather than backing them up, which means it would not maintain a copy at the source. The ls command, on the other hand, is for listing directory contents and has no file transfer or backup capabilities.

Thus, rsync stands out as the most suitable command for backing up files over a network because of its