Backups: More Than Just a Backup
It is generally known when setting up a company computer system, that a system for backing up data is needed. It can be the difference between having an hour’s worth of downtime and needing to recreate a year’s worth of work. What you may not know are the different types of backups: full, incremental, and differential. The key question then becomes which solution is right for your situation.
Full Backup:
A full backup is the most commonly known backup. As the name suggests, it is a complete backup of all of the source data whether it was from a hard drive, CD, DVD, or any other type of media. The greatest advantage of a full backup is having a complete set of data in a single location. On the flip side, having a complete set of data in a single location, takes up more space.
Incremental Backups:
An incremental backup’s starting point is the same as a full backup. The difference between a full backup and an incremental backup is what happens when a second, third, or fourth backup is performed. A full backup is a complete copy of the dataset and gives you two, three, or four copies of your data. An incremental backup takes the first backup and only adds what has changed within it.
Differential Backups:
Differential backups are similar to incremental backups. The main difference is that each time a differential backup is ran, think third, fourth, hundredth backup, it copies all the data that has changed since the previous full backup. From a storage standpoint, it takes up less space than a full backup, but more than an incremental backup. It also has quicker recovery time than a full backup but longer than an incremental backup.
Regardless of which backup type is performed, the important thing is to have one. It’s a vital key to keeping your business afloat. Reach out to us at Fortitude Technology to discuss which backup type is best for you and how we can keep you in business.
