Differentiating the various types of data backup

Differentiating the various types of data backup

For years, keeping your business data safe from man-made or natural disasters, corruption, and loss has been a top priority for IT support providers. While these professionals make the job look easy, implementing an effective and efficient set of backup operations for your small- or medium- business (SMB) can be challenging.

Creating a backup essentially means making a copy of your important data so that a specific application or file can be restored once that data is deleted, corrupted, lost, or if a disaster occurs. Backing up data is but one part in a disaster protection plan, and may be accomplished through several methods. Managed IT services (MSP) providers like Complete Technology offer several types of backup operations. Here are some options you can choose from:

File-only backup

This operation covers the basics. Your files are transferred to a server hard drive, which is either cloud-based or on-premises. If your computer is connected to the backup server, you can easily and quickly restore any necessary files.

Full backup

As its name implies, this form of backup duplicates all your data to another storage device, which can be a CD or DVD, or even tape media. The main advantage of performing a full backup is faster data restoration since you have a copy of everything in another media. The downside to this is the time it will take to perform a full backup, as well as the demand for more storage space. This is often the reason why a full backup is only run periodically.

Incremental backup

This operation only copies the data that has changed since your last backup. The altered time stamp on files is normally used and compared to the last backup's timestamp. Your backup application will record and track the time and date that your last activity occurred and then sync the files accordingly.

Since incremental backup only duplicates data that has been modified since the last backup, it can be run regularly, with the most recent changes. The advantage of this operation is that it completes faster, and requires less storage space for the backup.

Differential backup

When this backup operation is run for the first time, it acts like an incremental backup where only the data modified from the previous activity will be backed up. Each time it is performed thereafter, it will carry on copying all data that has been altered since that last activity. This will result in a backup that stores more data compared to an incremental operation, yet is typically less than a full operation. Differential backups need more storage space and time to finish than incremental backups (less storage space and time than a full backup).

Infrastructure backup

This operation combines virtualization with backing up IT infrastructure. For instance, your MSP can make virtual desktops that are not operational or used until a disaster occurs. If a disaster strikes and your workforce can't go to the office, the MSP will boot up the virtual desktops and servers so employees can connect to them remotely.

Our experts at Complete Technology can assist your company with your backup and recovery operations. Our company redefines IT services for customers in Kansas City by allowing them to focus on their business, not on IT distractions. Get in touch with us today, and we’ll give you a free consultation to help you make the best business decision.

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