Step 5: Which Backup Type is Best?

There are four common backup types which are generally used in most backup programs and protocols. A type of backup actually defines how data is copied from source to destination, and lays the groundwork for a data repository model (or, how the backup is stored and structured on the chosen medium or storage location).
Here below are basic explanations for each of the four common data backup types, which you may walk your participants through:

Full Backup
The starting point for all other types of backup, containing all the data in the selected folders and files. Because full backup stores all files and folders, frequently enacting full backups results in faster and simpler restore operations.

Differential Backup
This backup type contains all files that have changed since the last Full Backup. The advantage of a differential backup is that it shortens restore time compared to a full backup or an incremental backup, as it works only with data that has been altered.

Incremental Backup
Stores all files that have changed since the last Full or Differential, or previous Incremental Backup. The advantage of an incremental backup is that it takes the least time to complete. This can also make historical versions of your data available – OSX’s Time Machine is an example of a popular Incremental Backup tool.

Mirror Backup
Identical to a full backup, with the exception that the files are not compressed in .zip files (as they might normally be) and they cannot be protected with a password. A mirror backup is most frequently used to create an exact, mirror-image copy of the source data.