My goal is to regularly pack the most important files on a server into a tar.gz file. In order to automate this I am using a cronjob to execute a script:  $ crontab -l # blablabla * * * * * /home/backup/run_backup.sh &gt;&gt; /home/backup/output.txt    For debugging reasons, I am currently running the job every minute.  As far as I can judge, it is not a cron problem, since the job executes every minute and runs as root (whoami in the script prints root).  The script that is running looks as follows:  #!/bin/sh -l  echo "Starting ..."  DATE=`date '+%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S'` BACKUP_PATH="backups/$DATE.tar.gz"  # MAKE BACKUP OF ENTIRE DATABASE echo "Backing up database ..." DATABASE_BACKUP_PATH="/home/backup/mysql.sql" docker exec central-mysql sh -c 'exec mysqldump --all-databases -uroot -p"xxx"' &gt; "$DATABASE_BACKUP_PATH"  # MAKE ARCHIVE echo "Creating tar archive ..." tar -vczf "$BACKUP_PATH" \         /home/database/docker-compose.yml \         /home/docker_res_usage.sh \         /home/gitlab/docker-compose.yml \         /home/gitlab/data/git-data/repositories \         /home/mailserver/docker-compose.yml \         /home/mailserver/mail/dkim \         /home/mailserver/rainloop/_data_/_default_/configs/application.ini \         /home/mailserver/rainloop/_data_/_default_/domains \         /home/mailserver/readme.md \         /home/php7-apache-alpine \         /home/sftp \         /home/traefik \         /home/websites \         "$DATABASE_BACKUP_PATH"  # CLEAN-UP echo "Cleaning up ..." rm "$DATABASE_BACKUP_PATH"   The docker command runs without problem, creating a .sql file. However, the tar command starts to list the first few files, and then just stops somehow. output.txt looks like this:  Cleaning up ... Starting ... Backing up database ... Creating tar archive ... /home/database/docker-compose.yml /home/docker_res_usage.sh /home/gitlab/docker-compose.yml /home/gitlab/data/git-data/repositories/ /home/gitlab/data/git-data/repositories/websites/ /home/gitlab/data/git-data/repositories/websites/sbpp.git/ /home/gitlab/data/git-data/repositories/websites/sbpp.git/config /home/gitlab/data/git-data/repositories/websites/sbpp.git/HEAD /home/gitlab/data/git-data/repositories/websites/sbpp.git/hooks /home/gitlab/data/git-data/repositories/websites/sbpp.git/info/ /home/gitlab/data/git-data/repositories/websites/sbpp.git/info/exclude Cleaning up ...   Question: Are there known reasons for tar to just stop compressing? Do you see errors in my script?  The strange thing about it is that when I run the script manually, it works just fine. Is it a cronjob thing after all? Do I have permission problems, even though I am running as root?
This is a  about using cron &amp; crontab.   You have been directed here because the community is fairly sure that the answer to your question can be found below. If your question is not answered below then the answers will help you gather information that will help the community help you. This information should be edited into your original question.  The answer for 'Why is my crontab not working, and how can I troubleshoot it?' can be seen below.  This addresses the cron system with the crontab highlighted.
Unable to log out of chat. I attempted to log out with the following actions:    This accomplished absolutely nothing since I remained logged in after clicking "log out" on the confirmation page. I then tried logging out of Stack Exchange from one of the network sites and repeated the steps above. The results were the same. I remained logged in no matter which combination of steps I performed.  In fact, the only way I could log out at all was to clear all of the cookies that were set. Windows Spotlight Source and Save locations? Where are the images from  coming from?  Where are they being saved on my system?  Is there any way for me to point this at my own source of images? UK visit visa: What documents prove genuine relationship with the visitor? 'apt-get' does not work with Proxy For the command   sudo apt-get update   I get following error:  W: Failed to fetch http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/maverick-updates/multiverse/binary-i386/Packages.gz   407  Proxy Authentication Required (The ISA Server requires authorization to fulfill the request. Access to the Web Proxy filter is denied. )   I am running Ubuntu 10.10 installed on Windows XP using VirtualBox. For Internet connections I am using proxy server with an authentication. I tried to use gnome-network-proxy tool to set proxy settings system-wide.   After that /etc/environment has been updated by http_proxy variable with the format http://my_proxy:port/, there were no authentication data.  I checked this with Firefox. Browser asked my for login and password and everything was working fine. It was unfortunately not the case for apt-get. I have also tried to do as described . Unfortunately it does not work.  May it be somehow related to the fact that a proxy is in a Windows domain, any ideas?  My proxy name is http-proxy. Is '-' a special character here? Algebric proof for the identity $n(n-1)2^{n-2}=\sum_{k=1}^n {k(k-1) {n \choose k}}$ Prove the identity:  $$n(n-1)2^{n-2}=\sum_{k=1}^n {k(k-1) {n \choose k}}$$  I tried using the binomial coefficients identity $2^n = \sum_{k=1}^n {n \choose k}$  but got stuck along the way. I replaced a non-protected receptacle with a GFCI type and now my circuit tester trips the GFCI as soon as it is plugged in.  The receptacle tested fine before replacement, ground, neutral, hot, etc.  I've double checked the hot/neutral/ground connections.  I've also tried it with the downstream load disconnected.   The GFCI trips the moment I plug in my circuit tester (before pushing the test button).  Otherwise things check out OK.  I can plug in a power tool without it tripping.  Also, the integrated test/reset button work correctly.   I've read that the integrated test button is the only one that truly matters. Is this correct or should I be concerned? I'm sure a home inspector will red flag this if their tester has the same result.  Update  My tester is by "Commercial Electric".  The tester is one of the palm sized three prong type with three leds to indicate the condition of the circuit and a button on top to test GFCI. It's new from the local box store. Is there a benefit to using one over the other? In Python 2, they both seem to return the same results:  &gt;&gt;&gt; 6/3 2 &gt;&gt;&gt; 6//3 2 I’m looking for a word I’m struggling to remember that refers to a job or role which is inconsequential and usually created in order to install someone in a company, not based on their merit.  An example would be creating a vague new role for a friend’s son. The word I’m looking for refers to the actual job itself - it’s a noun that would replace the ‘job’ (e.g “they put so and so’s cousin in a ____”).   I believe the word may not be a strictly formal or technical word but I don’t think it was slang. Geomagnetic reversal? I have always been told that the geomagnetic field acts "as if" there were a bar magnet inside the Earth. I now this is not true, but I feel that knowing what is actually going on would help me understand the answer to the question that I'm about to ask:  Why does geomagnetic reversal happen? Is it something gradual or relatively fast?  (What is the origin of the geomagnetic field? Can we answer my questions starting from this mechanism? In books the equation for length contraction is derived by supposing that the velocity of the spacecraft is the same for both observers. So the question is that, is the velocity really the same for both observers? Whereas there must be some trouble in the velocities noted by observers. I mean: If the observer on the spacecraft measures the velocity of the spacecraft to be $v$ then is it possible for the other observer to measure the same velocity from the Earth? Update iOS 5.1.1 on iPad 1 to at least iOS 6 About embryonic and genetic evidence of evolution? My question here is about evidence for evolution from Embryology and from Genetics.  Mammals do have similar Embryos, but is it the case that for each species there is an embryonic development that occurs in earlier species, has such relationship been observed? What I mean for example if we generally conceive of having species$Sp_1,Sp_2,...,Sp_n$ where each $ Sp_{i+1}$ being evolved from $Sp_i,$ then is it the case that the embryonic development stages of $ Sp_{i+1}$ contains some of the embryonic development stages of all of its ancestor species.  Similar question to 1 but regarding Genetics, is it the case that every species has a genetic thumbprint of its ancestors that lie there in the non-functional sections of its DNA, i.e. is it the case that all the genetic history of our evolution is recorded in the non-functional section of our DNA. So do human DNA have some portions of the DNA of some dinosaurs for example? I updated a virtual machine running Ubuntu server 15.04 to the just released new stable 15.10.  There were no apparent problems, but after reboot the machine lost its network connection. lspci showed the correct card and lsmod proved that the driver had been loaded.  Hints about editing or removing /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules did not succeed (still no network, no new file), the famous /lib/udev/write_net_rules did not even exist.  I don't have much clue regarding udev and systemd, so it took me some time to find in /sys/class/net that the network interface name changed. It became ens32, which was renamed from eth0. After I changed /etc/network/interfaces network communication was enabled again.  But - why does this happen at all? And if it happens, shouldn't the interfaces file be updated automatically?  Now that I deleted the virtual network card and created another one, eth0 becomes eno16777728, which is not so, uhm, nice.  Should this behaviour (at least that of the upgrade procedure) be reported as a bug?  Furthermore, is /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules obsolete now? And (although only partly related) what about /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-cd.rules?)  Edit - additional question (after accepted answer) The dependency of /etc/network/interfaces from the actual interface name bothered me. I tried a new installation of *ubuntu in another virtual machine. To my surprise, /etc/network/interfaces contained a reference to the loopback device only. However, with my original VM this change prevented the network to come up. So what else do I need to change?  Edit Well, from another test I found that a new Ubuntu Server has the network interface card in /etc/network/interfaces, while XUbuntu has not. Maybe it is using network-manager or something else. Identify story: Overpopulation problem causes people to live one day a week This story is about a man that is able to live every day of the week, while everybody else has a single day of wakefulness assigned to them. Due to overpopulation, each human spends 6 out of 7 days of the week in stasis, and has jobs assigned to them in daily shifts. 1/7 of the population works on Monday. 1/7 works on Tuesday, &amp; so on. The main character has found away to circumvent the process and illegally live out his days consecutively by skipping the stasis program that is imposed on the general population and by working a different job everyday. Can somebody name this scifi story? Script to Notify me when something happens on a shared directory The situation is:  I have a shared directories from many other machines where other users work on.  I need to be notified whenever a user create, modify or delete a directory or file from his local directory which I share using smb...  It looks like the folder actions in the MAC systems..  Is there a software that do that?!  If there is no such application, any help in writing a script for that is appreciated..  Thanks in advanced... Splitting a semicolon-separated string to a dictionary, in Python Earth moves how much under my feet when I jump? If I'm standing at the equator, jump, and land 1 second later, the  Earth does NOT move 1000mph (or .28 miles per second) relative to me,  since my velocity while jumping is also 1000mph.   However, the Earth is moving in a circle (albeit a very large one),  while I, while jumping, am moving in a straight line.   How much do I move relative to my starting point because of this? I  realize it will be a miniscule amount, and not noticeable in practise,  but I'd be interested in the theoretical answer. How do you correctly use a meat thermometer? Deleting multiple elements from a list Ability to give away iOS application, usually for sale I am wondering if it's possible to do "mass giveaways" on the AppStore, without lowering, changing or otherwise changing the listed application.  Is it possible to distribute hundreds to, potentially, thousands of promo codes, legally, while still leaving the "normal" distribution channel of purchasing the app open?  An example of the above would be selling physical items in a store which have a bundled digital component available. Essentially you buy a product in a store, which comes "bundles with a free app" (BB and Android have already been dealt with, iOS is unclear). It would be nice to give the option to have a promo code in the box, that the user can then use to get the application for free. Is this possible?