Full, incremental and differential backups I'm confused
I've been trying to understand the TIBX format and now I'm totally confused. In the 2020 manual at (Got a message that I couild not include the hyperlink) is the topic "Full, incremental and differential backups"
The first section is about full and it is clear that each full backup is a separate file and the image reflects such.
The 2nd section is about Incremental and here things start to go off the rails. The first backup is a full BU and is one file (this is Note 1). Now we have Note 2 and it states "tibx, 3.tibx, 4.tibx—files of incremental backup versions".
Elsewhere it states that all of the incremental BUs are part of the FULL backup. But that is not what I understand by note 1 & 2. Furthermore the section 4.TIBX of the graphic image is not correct.
The 3rd section is about the Differential method. Again the Note ! & 2 imply that there is a file for each BU but above the note in the Example section I see "Acronis True Image saves the entire document except the first page stored in the full backup version." So here it does state that the BUs are contained in one file.
As I understand the difference between the incremental and differential
- First you have a full BU
- Incremental are the changes since the last BU either full or incremental, e.g. changes only.
- Differential, first you have a full BU then each differential are all the changes since the initial full BU.
I'm lost as to the value gained by using the differential over the incremental. (Assuming my understanding as stated above is correct).
Then it states "An incremental or differential backup created after a disk is defragmented might be considerably larger than usual. This is because the defragmentation program changes file locations on the disk and the backups reflect these changes. Therefore, it is recommended that you re-create a full backup after disk defragmentation."
It is my understanding that if you are using an SSD drive then you should NOT be running any defragmentation.
Then in the last section, they discuss "Changed Block Tracker (CBT)" This seems to be a more efficient way to be aware of the changes but where is this described and how do I implement this method? I infer that this can be used only if the BUs are locally stored, e.g. this method cannot be used with any remote storage such as the cloud or FTP connection or similar.
Steve, thanks for the KB articles. Some I have read and will now read the others.
I did not realize that windows automatically ran maintenance on the drives.
On my desktop, it was turned ON in the control panel for all of my drives. The comment in the CP window implies that it has been running against my SSD. It is now turned OFF for ALL drives. A few years ago I installed an app that would defrag drives I selected on a schedule. I installed it and I "think" that I did NOT select the SSD drive to be defragmented, therefore I thought all was OK. Great tip, thanks.
I just looked on my desktop and in the installation manual, I created for myself and cannot find anything that I've installed to automatically defrag. I did find some defrag applications that can be used to manually defrag a drive. Perhaps old age is impacting the brain.