Per-file compression withgzip,bzip2,lzo,xz orlzma (as opposed to compressing the whole archive). An individual can choose not to compress already compressed files based on their filename suffix.
Fast-extracting of files from anywhere in the archive
Fast listing of archive contents through saving the catalogue of files in the archive
Optional public key encryption and signature (OpenPGP)
Live filesystem backup: detects when a file has been modified while it was read for backup and can retry saving it up to a given maximum number of retries
Hash file (MD5,SHA1 orSHA-512) generated on-fly for each slice, the resulting file is compatible withmd5sum orsha1sum, to be able to quickly check each slice's integrity
Filesystem independent: it may be used to restore a system to a partition of a different size and/or to a partition with a different filesystem[5]
A text-mode browser/extractor: plugin for dar files in mc (Midnight Commander).
A scheduler / command-line frontend known as SaraB allows theTowers of Hanoi,Grandfather-Father-Son, or any custombackup rotation strategy, and modifications are available forPAR file support. Extended versions known as bzSaraB and baras are also available.