Acronis True Image is a popular backup and recovery software that offers various backup strategies, including incremental and differential backups. These backup types are designed to optimize storage space and backup speed by only capturing changes made since the last backup. Here’s an overview of incremental and differential backups in Acronis True Image:
1. **Full Backup:**
– A full backup is a complete copy of all selected data at a specific point in time.
– It takes longer to create and requires more storage space than incremental or differential backups.
2. **Incremental Backup:**
– An incremental backup captures only the changes made since the last backup, regardless of whether it was a full or incremental backup.
– It reduces the backup time and requires less storage space compared to full backups.
– Each incremental backup is dependent on the previous backup. To restore data, you need the last full backup and all subsequent incremental backups.
3. **Differential Backup:**
– A differential backup captures the changes made since the last full backup.
– It requires more storage space than incremental backups but less than a full backup.
– Each differential backup contains all changes made since the last full backup. To restore data, you need the last full backup and the most recent differential backup.
4. **Backup Chains:**
– In both incremental and differential backups, Acronis True Image creates a backup chain. A backup chain consists of a full backup and subsequent incremental or differential backups.
– If any backup in the chain is missing or damaged, it may affect the ability to restore data.
5. **Choosing Between Incremental and Differential Backups:**
– Incremental backups are generally faster and require less storage space compared to differentials.
– Restoring from incremental backups may take longer because you need all the incremental backups in the chain.
– Differential backups may be faster to restore since you only need the last full backup and the most recent differential backup.
6. **Scheduled Backup Plans:**
– Acronis True Image allows users to set up scheduled backup plans, which can include a combination of full, incremental, or differential backups.
7. **Retention Settings:**
– Users can configure retention settings to manage how long backups are kept. This includes the ability to automatically delete older backups to save storage space.
When using Acronis True Image, it’s important to understand the differences between incremental and differential backups and choose the strategy that best fits your needs based on factors such as backup speed, storage space, and restore time.
