The ISS system should be backed up periodically, especially after the initial installation and configuration. Backing up the system after all configuration changes ensures that any restoration from a backup will include the most recent settings. Regular, periodic backups provide another level of safety for preserving data, since each backup includes all data on the system up to the time of the backup.
An ISS workstation can be backed up to Jaz disk with the command jaz backup. This command is a setuid gateway for running /iss/bin/jaz_install backup as the root user without having to be the root user. The backup option indicates that a full copy of the current workstation filesystems will be copied onto a Jaz disk. This is very similar to the normal process of creating a distribution, except a full copy includes all of the data and log files under the /u2 directories. The chapter on Chapter 4 contains some details relevant to creating (installing) a backup onto a Jaz disk.
A Jaz backup disk can be used like a regular distribution. It can be used to boot the system, format the internal workstation disks, and restore a fresh copy of the ISS system onto the workstation. When performing the installation from a backup disk, the full copy option allows all of the data on /u2 to be restored. See Choosing a Full Copy. The installation will still run the configuration steps, which will require entering the configuration parameters as before. See Configuration.