rsync(1) and the -l(inks) option

[Steve Bertrand]

I am confused as to the -l option with rsync.

If I am to not use this option, does this mean that any symlinks will
be followed, and the entire directory structure of the location
pointed to by the link will be copied? eg...

# rsync -acr /home/steve steve at server.com:/home/steve/backup

If /home/steve had a symlink: /home/steve/tmp -> /var/tmp

would all the contents of /var/tmp be copied to the destination?

Now, what would be the best set of options to use if I want to
``clone'' one server onto another server so that everything is exactly
the same?

Tks,

Steve