Incremental backup is a continuous data protection strategy that backs up only changes made to user data files or system files. It is combined with periodic full system backup and is used to recover from system failure or accidental data deletion. There are different versions of this strategy, each with its advantages and disadvantages.
An incremental backup is a type of strategy that is often chosen by information technology administrators, home business owners, and personal computer users to preserve the existence and integrity of data. When only changes that have occurred to user data files or files that make up a system are backed up, it is called an incremental backup. The changes are the “increments”. This is a form of continuous data protection so that system recovery can be performed in the event of a system failure and accidental data deletion. System recovery is made possible using the media on which the necessary data copies have been stored by implementing the incremental backup strategy.
The files that change on a system can be those produced with programs. For example, when someone writes and saves a letter using word processing software, it creates what is generally known as a user data or user file. Changes can also be made to the files that make up the operating system itself, as well as the files of the software programs that run under it. While an incremental backup strategy may be chosen by someone responsible for ongoing data protection, it is almost always combined with the periodic performance of a full system backup.
Administrators of medium to large systems typically choose to perform a daily incremental backup to preserve data that has changed or been created, along with a weekly backup of the entire system. There are several versions of this type of strategy, and each version has advantages and disadvantages. One version stipulates that each incremental backup references the original full system so that system recovery requires only the media that contains the full system and the most recent incremental backup. If you are backing up your data to tapes, that would mean working with only two tapes to recover from a system failure. The downside of this version of an incremental backup is usually found on heavily used systems where there are many files that may be very large in size.
Another version of this type of backup strategy has increments refer to previous increments rather than the entire system. While this strategy takes less time because there is less data on each tape or backup media type you choose, it is not without its drawbacks. A full system restore would require working with more than two datasets. It would require running every set of user files, system files, and any changes made after the data loss.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
