Our IT providers are probably tired of telling us that we need to back up our data, but they still tell us again and again. The threat of being hacked or asked for ransom at the risk of losing sensitive information is way too real. We might even come across malware that could corrupt our information. And sometimes, even we ourselves could mishandle valuable digital assets.
Losing data can cause damage that we cannot reverse even if we tried out best. Therefore, considering these scenarios, it only makes sense that we should back up our data, just as the IT providers tell us. So, let us learn more about the types of backups and the reasons for getting a backup in detail here.
In this part, let us look at the types of data backups, and in the next one, we can check out the reasons.
Full backups
A full backup entails moving the entire system’s data set to a different partition or an external device. Here, a full copy of the chosen data volume is made; this copy needs a lot of free disc space to be stored properly. A daily backup of the complete system is also impractical because it takes a lot of time.
The majority of businesses schedule full backups once a day, once a week, or twice a biweekly, with incremental or differential backups performed in between. The size of the business largely determines how frequently full backups are performed.
Mirror backups
A complete backup and a mirror backup are similar. The source data set is copied precisely, but just the most recent version of the data is retained in the backup repository—different versions of the files are not tracked.
Direct access to backup files without requiring a restore procedure is made possible by the fact that all backup files are stored independently rather than in a single compressed/encrypted container file. The mirror backup file “mirrors” the source data. The mirror backup then replicates just changed files.
Incremental backups
An efficient substitute for a full backup is an incremental backup. Only data that has changed since the last backup is intended to be backed up using this configuration. As a result, it only preserves information that has been changed or added to the volume of data already there.
Given that it uses fewer system resources, this approach is more effective. The sets require less time to back up because they are smaller than the volume set. The drawback is that each incremental backup is reliant on the previous one.
It suggests that any loss or damage to one of the sets could result in partial data recovery. Recovery time is also impacted by the number of backup sets that are present.
Differential backups
As it starts with a full backup and then only saves the changes made to that source volume, a differential backup is comparable to an incremental backup in this regard.
The manner in which these changes are preserved is different, though. While incremental backups save all changes since the last backup, differential backups only save changes made since the most recent full backup.
The backup sets in this configuration rely on the full backup from which they were derived rather than on one another. They have a substantially faster recovery time because they only have two backup sets. Better data protection and a reliable disaster recovery solution are provided by this.
These are the different types of backups we can choose from. Which one do you think is more suitable for your company? Also, stay tuned for the next part to know the critical reasons why businesses absolutely have to have a data backup.