8.3.1 Basic commands for copying a whole subdirectory

If you need to rearrange file structure, move content including file links by:

     Standard method:
     # cp -a /source/directory /dest/directory # requires GNU cp
     # (cd /source/directory && tar cf - . ) | \
             (cd /dest/directory && tar xvfp - )
     If a hard link is involved, a pedantic method is needed:
     # cd /path/to/old/directory
     # find . -depth -print0 | afio -p -xv -0a /mount/point/of/new/directory
     If remote:
     # (cd /source/directory && tar cf - . ) | \
             ssh [email protected] (cd /dest/directory && tar xvfp - )
     If there are no linked files:
     # scp -pr [email protected]:/source/directory \
               [email protected]:/dest/directory

Here, scp <==> rcp and ssh <==> rsh.

The following comparative information on copying a whole subdirectory was presented by Manoj Srivastava [email protected] to [email protected].