BackupChanges – backup changed files

When you deal with a lot of file modifications every single day, there comes a need to do incremental backup. Its features make backing up important files way easier.

It is but normal for companies to process a lot of files in a single workday. These may be files that contain mundane information about the companies’ operations and such. Or, these may contain very important and classified information about the clients of the companies themselves. Such would be the case of an accounting firm, for the files contained in its very own database and network would bear sensitive information about the clients that it represents. The files may contain the clients’ social security information, credit card details, and more. Imagine how devastating it would be to lose all of this information, whether intentional or unintentional. Thus, there is a need for companies to perform data backups. And for companies that deal with a lot of files and information in a single workday, there is a need to do incremental backup – backup changed files, in laymen’s terms.

There are indeed a lot of methods to conduct data backups. However, when it comes to choosing which particular method to go for, this would depend on the needs, as well as the operations, of the company. Your choices include full backup, mirror backup, differential backup, and incremental backup. When numerous files are dealt with, incremental backup is the ideal choice.

But why not the other methods? What sets apart incremental backup then? Here is a rundown on the other methods that to not make great choices here.

First off, a full backup is recommended when only a small number of files need to be backed up in a single workday. Backing up just a few files will not consume that much time at all, so conducting a full backup will not be too difficult. Two tapes are needed here so that you can use them alternately. This way, if one of the tapes turns out to be defective, then you would have the other tape to turn to. The mirror backup is conducted the way you would the full backup. The only difference here is that the files are not compressed anymore when you do the mirror backup. Also, you won’t be able to protect the backup files with a password because this feature is no longer offered.

The differential backup, on the other hand, is better for companies that deal with a lot of data. This is actually a supplementary method to the full backup. What happens here is that a full backup is conducted preferably on a Friday night, and the differential backup is then made on another weeknight. This way, only the files that have been modified are saved through the differential backup. However, the archive attribute is not reset to its original state. This means that when you conduct your next backup, all the files that have been modified since the last full backup will be saved all over again. This means double the time and the hassle, and the backup size will become larger and larger until your perform another full backup.

This makes incremental backup more efficient. The archive attribute here is reset to its original state so you won’t have to save file changes over and over again. Thus, only the modified files since that last full backup or incremental backup are saved. Incremental backup – backup changed files – indeed the ideal choice, especially when you’re dealing with a huge amount of files every single day at the office.