Backup Software
Computer Science: OCR A Level, topic 2.2.6
Backup Software
We store so much vital data on computers that losing this data could have catastrophic consequences.
Purpose of backup software
- Backup software creates a copy of important data, so that it can be stored in an external location.
- Having multiple copies of the data means that if something happens to one of the copies, we can restore it using another.
Full backup
- A full backup is where a copy is made of everything on the system onto the backup media.
- Full backups are slow processes and take up a lot of space.
- It is very easy to restore a system from a full backup.
Incremental backup
- An incremental backup is where only the files that have changed since the last backup are copied.
- Incremental backups are faster and use less space.
- It is more difficult to restore a system from incremental backups because:
- The most recent full backup must be applied.
- Every incremental backup since then must then be applied in the correct order.
Test yourself on Backup Software
How to Perform a Restore from Incremental Backups
Which of these statements are true of full backups compared to incremental?