Backup, i.e. backup, is data that are to be used to restore the original content, e.g. the drive in case of its loss or damage. That's why it's worth taking care of its quality.
Basic types of backup
In general, there are four basic backup types: full, differential, incremental and synthetic. This division takes into account the range of data to be copied.
The most common full backup is simply a complete backup of all data. After a serious system error or other failure, you only need to restore data from this backup. In this case, the backup will be done the longest of all and will take up the most space on the media (each file is copied regardless of whether it has been changed or not). The advantage of this is that you will recover the data faster than other options. The second type of backup called differential, differential or cumulative. It involves backing up only the data that has been modified since the last full backup. Such a copy takes up relatively little space, but in order to recover the whole set of data you will need to use the last full and the latest differential backup. In the case of incremental or incremental backups, data that has been changed since the last full or incremental backup is copied. The time it takes is very short, but playback of the system is quite tedious. To do this you will need the last full backup and all incremental backups made afterwards. A synthetic backup is a backup of all data, but not based on the current state of the system, but on all other most recent backup types.
How often should I back up/back up?
It is best when you have new data that you want to save. Data transfer applications or cloud services will make it much easier - just once you set them up. But do the backup at least once a year - that's why the world's backup day was created.
How much space for backup?
It is up to us to decide how much space we need for data backup. When selecting capacity, it is a good idea to have at least three full copies on the drive. If the data we want to protect together are to be e.g: 500GB, it is best to choose a 2TB drive.
Backup programs
A data backup program can only make copies at the user's request, or it can do so automatically in real time. It can allow you to save and encrypt data on an external storage medium, or to transfer a copy to the cloud. It is also possible to backup data to a network drive or to an additional drive mounted in the computer, designed to store the backup.
Programs usually work intelligently. They only copy files that have been created or changed since the last backup and that are located in folders designated by us. As a result, it takes a relatively short time to make copies.
In general, no copy of system files is made, only those created by the user. In addition, backup programs often compress data, which reduces the size of the backup file and therefore requires less space to store it.