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Archive advantage over backup?

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What is the advantage of an archive over a backup for cloud storage. I understand the purpose of backup (more frequent file changes) and of archive (infrequent file changes) but is there any benefit in space or cost in choosing the archive when storing on the Acronis Cloud?

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Stewart, welcome to these public User Forums.

A couple of initial caveats first.  I don't use the archive feature and don't store backups in the Acronis Cloud!

My understanding of archive is that its key purpose is to free up space by moving selected data from the local disk drive and storing it in the Cloud.  One reason I don't use this feature is simply that I don't want to do this, i.e. not move my data into any remote Cloud and lose ultimate control over it.  I may just be a little paranoid but that is my choice.

With a backup, the source data stays where it is, i.e. on the local disk and a copy of that data is stored in the destination location, be that Cloud or NAS or USB drive etc.  If storing anything in any Cloud then I would strongly recommend using a strong encryption password to protect that data from any outside attack vector.  Acronis do not provide 2FA or MFA for your Cloud credentials / your Acronis Account user email and password.  If this get compromised then anything in the Cloud is at risk unless encrypted and as reported in another forum topic, there is the risk that a hacker could trigger Acronis to create a non-encrypted backup to the Cloud remotely via the Online Dashboard and expose your data in that way!

See forum topic: Keep ACPHO backups localized only with no cloud storage access for more on the 2FA / MFA exposure!

Steve, many thanks for the welcome and the link to the 2FA topic.

There are always two ways of compromising your data; one for it to fall into the wrong hands and the other of loosing access to it. Both could happen if security is breached. I back up exclusively photographs to Acronis cloud. If someone gains access to those, they will be sorely disappointed. If my house burns down I will still have access to the photos in the cloud. Yes, I could place a physical copy of the data in a bank vault, but that is a nuisance to do regularly.

If Acronis archive was more efficient in space than backup then I would use that for most of my photos and just keep a backup of the current and prior year. So far I have not discovered if that is the case, hence the forum question.

 

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Hello everyone,

The primary advantage of an archive over a regular backup is that it is designed to take up less space while still retaining important data. This is achieved by compressing and deduplicating the data, which means that only unique data is stored, and redundant data is removed.

In terms of cost, there may be some advantages to using an archive rather than a backup in certain situations. Since archives are typically smaller than backups, they may require less storage space, which could translate into lower storage costs over time. Additionally, since archives are designed for long-term storage, they may be less expensive to maintain over time compared to backups, which may require more frequent updates.

That being said, the choice between using an archive or a backup ultimately depends on your specific needs and the frequency of your data changes. It is also worth noting that both backup and archive are crucial for ensuring data protection and recovery, and should not be seen as mutually exclusive options.

Hope this helps, and feel free to reply here or contact our support team if you have any further questions or concerns https://kb.acronis.com/content/8153 .

Thanks!