Incremental and Differential Backup Basics
If you are in the process of comparing backup systems for your computer data then there are some backup types you should be familiar with. These backup systems include full backups, differential backups and incremental backups. All three of the backup options just mentioned are detailed here and information is also included about how to combine the different backup options for optimal performance.
A full backup is always required as a first step in any backup system. What is meant by a full backup is selecting all your data and both backing up and archiving the whole set. It takes a long time to to a full back up but there is no way around it as it is a vital element of your backup system.
A differential backup is a system that just backs up any data files that have changed since the preceding backup was done on your computer or on your network. A case in point is the following example: the last complete backup of your computer data was done on Monday, when the subsequent daily backup started on Tuesday it would back up only the data that changed between the end of Monday’s backup and and the beginning of Tuesday’s backup. The benefit of this kind of backup system is that when you do a complete restore of your data only the last differential backup needs to be restored which saves a lot of time.
Another type of back up is called incremental and it differs in that it saves numerous backups of your data. Contrary to a differential backup, an incremental backup does not only save the last one. Each original set of data that is backed up gets stored once. Subsequent backups are comprised of only the data that changed in the time between the current and previous backup.
If you are planning on using either a differential or an incremental backup system the best suggestion is to choose one of the following choices. You always back up all of your data whether or not any of your data has changed. The next choice is to combine a full backup with incremental backups. The meaning of this is to fully backup your data on a periodic basis but perform incremental backups on a regular basis. The last option is fully backing up your data on a periodic basis but regularly carry out differential backups. Differential backups preserve all the data that has been altered during the period in between your previous full back and your existing differential backup.
As has been outlined, the three main backup types are full backups, differential backups and incremental backups. A full backup is time consuming but a mandatory part of any type of data backup plan. A differential backup is a method that only backs up data that has changed since your last backup. Last is the incremental backup system which preserves several backups of your data. By choosing a combination of these backups as outlined above, you can leverage the benefits of each to create a back up plan to best secure your computer data.
