When it comes to data management, awareness of the various backup and recovery strategies is crucial. Many corporations follow strict backup practices to prevent data loss in case of accidental deletion or ransomware attacks. This is to ensure that corporate data can be easily retrieved no matter what happens.
However, certain backup methods may strain IT resources, which could lead to network latency issues or system instability. To solve these issues, you need to implement backup types that meet your requirements.
In this blog post, let’s take a look at three types of backups: full, differential, and incremental backups.
Comparing backup types
| Backup Type | Full | Differential | Incremental |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backed up data | All data | All data since the last full backup | Only modified data |
| Advantages | Comprehensive backup protection | Fast restoration | Does not take up extra space and is time efficient |
| Disadvantages | Time consuming and takes up space | Takes up more space than incremental backups | Requires multiple increments to restore data successfully |
| Backup/Restore | Slow/Fast | Moderate/Fast | Fast/Moderate |
Full Backups
During full backups, source data is replicated to a designated destination (either to an on-prem device or to the cloud). This ensures that a full copy of your data is stored in your selected backup destination. As all your source data is used to create full backups, this type of backup takes the longest time for completion.
Full backups also tend to take up the most storage capacity in your chosen backup storage location. As a result, most users or businesses carry out full backups after a certain period of time. They could choose to schedule full backups weekly, monthly, or even annually.
For example, large corporations may choose to conduct full backups annually, depending on their data protection requirements. Full backups also set the foundation for differential and incremental backups (which we will discuss below).
In the example chart given above, if full backups are made daily, a copy of the same set of data will be replicated and backed up, regardless of whether or not any changes have been made to the same data set since the last backup. As demonstrated with Days 2 and 3, any added changes will also be backed up, in addition to any previously backed up data.
With full backups, data will be replicated without evaluation of whether or not the data has previously been backed up to the source destination.
Differential Backups
Differential backups refer to the process of only backing up data that has been modified since the initial full backup. In the example shown above, even if there are no changes in the coming days, the same set of data will still be included in the backup.
Differential backups can be used to efficiently restore data, in case disaster strikes. This is how it works: a full backup copy will be restored and the latest differential changes will be applied.
As you can see in the example above, on the first day, a full backup will be performed. On subsequent days, differential backups will be performed, which means that only changed data (since the initial full backup) will be backed up.
Incremental Backups
In comparison, incremental backups work to optimize storage space while improving backup speeds. This improves overall backup efficiency. Incremental backups only back up data that has been modified since the last backup, in contrast to differential backups in which all differential data is duplicated and backed up every single time.
When recovering data, the use of multiple increments is required as it builds upon the previously recorded data set that was backed up. If any of the data set becomes corrupted, then data restoration from that point onward may become impossible.
Experience smart data backup with C2 Backup
As a Backup as a Service (BaaS) solution, C2 Backup comes with a large storage capacity and allows you to efficiently back up and safeguard your data directly to the cloud.
By implementing full backups as well as incremental backups, C2 Backup combines the best of both worlds to ensure that users can fully restore their data, including any changes that have been made to their data, since the last incremental backup.
With C2 Backup, users can expect fast data recovery and minimal downtime to ensure business continuity at all times. Safeguard your data in the cloud with C2 Backup today.