tar(1) also dates back to Version 6 of ATT
Unix (circa 1975). tar(1) operates in cooperation with
the filesystem; tar(1) writes files and directories to
tape. tar(1) does not support the full range of options
that are available from cpio(1), but tar(1)
does not require the unusual command pipeline that
cpio(1) uses.
Most versions of tar(1) do not support backups across the
network. The GNU version of tar(1), which FreeBSD utilizes, supports
remote devices using the same syntax as rdump. To tar(1)
to an Exabyte tape drive connected to a Sun called komodo, use:
/usr/bin/tar cf komodo:/dev/nrst8 . 2>&1.
For versions without remote device support, you can use a pipeline
and rsh(1) to send the
data to a remote tape drive. (XXX add an example command)