Backup Schemes (Full/Differential/Incremental)-Point to Remember




CISA aspirants should understand various backup schemes as follow:

Full Backup- Every time data backup is taken of full database irrespective of earlier backup.

Incremental Backup-Backup is taken only of data changed since last backup (last backup can be either full backup or incremental backup).

Differential Backup-Backup is taken only of data changed since last full backup (last back to be full back-up only).




How to differentiate between Incremental & Differential Backup:




  • Differential Backup
    • Full backup taken at Monday
    • On Tuesday backup taken for changes made after Monday’s backup
    • On Wednesday backup taken for changes made after Monday’s backup (ignoring Tuesday’s backup)
    • On Thursday backup taken for changes made after Monday’s backup (ignoring Tuesday’s  & Wednesday’s backup)
    • On Friday backup taken for changes made after Monday’s backup (ignoring Tuesday’s , Wednesday’s  & Thursday’s backup)
  • Incremental Backup
    • Full backup taken at Monday
    • On Tuesday backup taken for changes made after Monday’s backup
    • On Wednesday backup taken for changes made after Tuesday’s backup
    • On Thursday backup taken for changes made after Wednesday’s Backup
    • On Friday backup taken for changes made after Thursday’s Backup

Storage Capacity for each backup Scheme:




Let us understand requirement for time and media capacity for various schemes for data storage:

-Full Backup- Requires more time and storage capacity as compared to other two schemes.

-Differential- Requires less time and storage capacity as compared to full backup but more time and storage capacity as compared to Incremental.

-Incremental- Requires less time and storage capacity as compared to other two schemes.




Restoration Capability for each backup Scheme:




Let us understand effectiveness of various schemes in case of data restoration: 

-Full Backup- Fastest of all three schemes.

-Differential- Slower than Full backup but faster than incremental.

-Incremental-Slowest of all three schemes.