How Synthetic Full Backup Works
A traditional full backup takes all the necessary data and stores it. While this method is helpful for creating initial backups and ensuring that you have complete access to your data, the process takes time, storage space, and large amounts of bandwidth to complete, making it inefficient to conduct constantly.
Incremental and differential backups work to counter this problem by saving changes made in the applicable data that have occurred since previous backups. These methods are easier to conduct on a regular basis due to their quick upload times and low data use, but they have several avenues for complications when it comes to restoring data.
Synthetic full backup method combines full and incremental options into one comprehensive backup method. Using an incremental backup approach, synthetic full backup compares the active data to that in the backup when you need to perform another full backup. From there, it only saves the changes made since the previous backup, much like incremental and differential. However, unlike these methods, it then takes the changes and adjusts it into a complete full backup file, without needing to upload the entirety of the data again.
Why Synthetic Full Backup Is Helpful
As mentioned, one of the problems with traditional full backup is the amount of time it takes to backup every piece of applicable data to the system. This makes it difficult to conduct regularly enough to achieve a fully efficient backup system. However, differential and incremental backup methods are not without potential recovery issues.
Synthetic full backup reduces the amount of data uploaded when creating a backup file. With less data transferring and only changed and new files moving into the backup, the time to create a full backup reduces. You can also better utilize your bandwidth, another detriment of the traditional full backup method.
With these time, data, and bandwidth considerations, synthetic full backup becomes a viable option for always having a complete version of your data ready to restore in the event of an error or emergency. Without the worry of a missing backup file impairing your recovery, present concerns with incremental or differential methods, synthetic full backup provides an enhanced way to keep your data protected on a more frequent basis.
Synthetic Full Backup With CloudBerry Backup and Wasabi Hot Storage
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