Glossary of backup terms

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The subject of computer backups is rife with jargon and highly specialized terminology. This page is a glossary of backup terms that aims to clarify the meaning of such jargon and terminology.

Contents

Terms and definitions

3-2-1 Rule (or 3-2-1 Backup Strategy)

The idea that a minimal backup solution should include three copies of the data, including two local copies and one remote copy. [1]

Backup policy

an organization's procedures and rules for ensuring that adequate numbers and types of backups are made, including suitably frequent testing of the process for restoring the original production system from the backup copies.

Backup rotation scheme

a method for effectively backing up data where multiple media are systematically moved from storage to usage in the backup process and back to storage. There are several different schemes. Each takes a different approach to balance the need for a long retention period with frequently backing up changes. Some schemes are more complicated than others.

Backup site

a place where business can continue after a data loss event. Such a site may have ready access to the backups or possibly even a continuously updated mirror.

Backup software

computer software applications that are used for performing the backing up of data, i.e., the systematic generation of backup copies. See also: List of backup software.

Backup window

the period of time that a system is available to perform a backup procedure. Backup procedures can have detrimental effects to system and network performance, sometimes requiring the primary use of the system to be suspended. These effects can be mitigated by arranging a backup window with the users or owners of the system(s).

Copy backup

backs up the selected files, but does not mark the files as backed up (reset the archive bit). This is found in the backup with Windows 2003.

Daily backup

incremental backup of files that have changed today

Data salvaging/recovery

the process of recovering data from storage devices when the normal operational methods are impossible. This process is typically performed by specialists in controlled environments with special tools. For example, a crashed hard disk may still have data on it even though it doesn't work properly. A data salvage specialist might be able to recover much of the original data by opening it up in a clean room and tinkering with the internal parts.

Differential backup

a cumulative backup of all changes made since the last full backup. The advantage to this is the quicker recovery time, requiring only a full backup and the latest differential backup to restore the system. The disadvantage is that for each day elapsed since the last full backup, more data needs to be backed up, especially if a majority of the data has been changed.

Disaster recovery

the process of recovering after a business disaster and restoring or recreating data. One of the main purposes of creating backups is to facilitate a successful disaster recovery. For maximum effectiveness, this process should be planned in advance and audited.

Disk cloning

the process of copying the contents of one computer hard disk to another disk or to an image file (see disk image below) for later recovery.

Disk image

single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive.

Full backup

a backup of all (selected) files on the system. In contrast to a drive image, this does not included the file allocation tables, partition structure and boot sectors.

Hot backup

a backup of a database that is still running, and so changes may be made to the data while it is being backed up. Some database engines keep a record of all entries changed, including the complete new value. This can be used to resolve changes made during the backup.

Incremental backup

a backup that only contains the files that have changed since the most recent backup (either full or incremental). The advantage of this is quicker backup times, as only changed files need to be saved. The disadvantage is longer recovery times, as the latest full backup, and all incremental backups up to the date of data loss need to be restored.

Media spanning

sometimes a backup job is larger than a single destination storage medium. In this case, the job must be broken up into fragments that can be distributed across multiple storage media.

Multiplexing

the practice of combining multiple backup data streams into a single stream that can be written to a single storage device. For example, backing up 4 PCs to a single tape drive at once.

Multistreaming

the practice of creating multiple backup data streams from a single system to multiple storage devices. For example, backing up a single database to 4 tape drives at once.

Normal backup

full backup used by Windows Server 2003.

Near store

provisionally backing up data to a local staging backup device, possibly for later archival backup to a remote store device.

Open file backup

the ability to back up a file while it is in use by another application. See File locking.

Remote store

backing up data to an offsite permanent backup facility, either directly from the live data source or else from an intermediate near store device.

Restore time

the amount of time required to bring a desired data set back from the backup media.

Retention time

the amount of time in which a given set of data will remain available for restore. Some backup products rely on daily copies of data and measure retention in terms of days. Others retain a number of copies of data changes regardless of the amount of time.

Site-to-site backup

backup, over the internet, to an offsite location under the user's control. Similar to remote backup except that the owner of the data maintains control of the storage location.

Synthetic backup

a restorable backup image that is synthesized on the backup server from a previous full backup and all the incremental backups since then. It is equivalent to what a full backup would be if it were taken at the time of the last incremental backup.

Tape library

a storage device which contains tape drives, slots to hold tape cartridges, a barcode reader to identify tape cartridges and an automated method for physically moving tapes within the device. These devices can store immense amounts of data.

Trusted paper key

a machine-readable print of a cryptographic key.

Virtual Tape Library (VTL)

a storage device that appears to be a tape library to backup software, but actually stores data by some other means. A VTL can be configured as a temporary storage location before data is actually sent to real tapes or it can be the final storage location itself.

See also

Related Research Articles

In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", whereas the noun and adjective form is "backup". Backups can be used to recover data after its loss from data deletion or corruption, or to recover data from an earlier time. Backups provide a simple form of disaster recovery; however not all backup systems are able to reconstitute a computer system or other complex configuration such as a computer cluster, active directory server, or database server.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">File system</span> Format or program for storing files and directories

In computing, a file system or filesystem is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to control how data is stored and retrieved. Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one large body of data with no way to tell where one piece of data stopped and the next began, or where any piece of data was located when it was time to retrieve it. By separating the data into pieces and giving each piece a name, the data are easily isolated and identified. Taking its name from the way a paper-based data management system is named, each group of data is called a "file". The structure and logic rules used to manage the groups of data and their names is called a "file system."

Data loss is an error condition in information systems in which information is destroyed by failures or neglect in storage, transmission, or processing. Information systems implement backup and disaster recovery equipment and processes to prevent data loss or restore lost data. Data loss can also occur if the physical medium containing the data is lost or stolen.

A remote, online, or managed backup service, sometimes marketed as cloud backup or backup-as-a-service, is a service that provides users with a system for the backup, storage, and recovery of computer files. Online backup providers are companies that provide this type of service to end users. Such backup services are considered a form of cloud computing.

Extensible Storage Engine (ESE), also known as JET Blue, is an ISAM data storage technology from Microsoft. ESE is the core of Microsoft Exchange Server, Active Directory, and Windows Search. It's also used by a number of Windows components including Windows Update client and Help and Support Center. Its purpose is to allow applications to store and retrieve data via indexed and sequential access.

In computing, data recovery is a process of retrieving deleted, inaccessible, lost, corrupted, damaged, or formatted data from secondary storage, removable media or files, when the data stored in them cannot be accessed in a usual way. The data is most often salvaged from storage media such as internal or external hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), USB flash drives, magnetic tapes, CDs, DVDs, RAID subsystems, and other electronic devices. Recovery may be required due to physical damage to the storage devices or logical damage to the file system that prevents it from being mounted by the host operating system (OS).

Continuous data protection (CDP), also called continuous backup or real-time backup, refers to backup of computer data by automatically saving a copy of every change made to that data, essentially capturing every version of the data that the user saves. In its true form it allows the user or administrator to restore data to any point in time. The technique was patented by British entrepreneur Pete Malcolm in 1989 as "a backup system in which a copy [editor's emphasis] of every change made to a storage medium is recorded as the change occurs [editor's emphasis]."

A virtual tape library (VTL) is a data storage virtualization technology used typically for backup and recovery purposes. A VTL presents a storage component as tape libraries or tape drives for use with existing backup software.

IBM Storage Protect is a data protection platform that gives enterprises a single point of control and administration for backup and recovery. It is the flagship product in the IBM Spectrum Protect family.

Veritas Backup Exec is a data protection software product designed for customers with mixed physical and virtual environments, and who are moving to public cloud services. Supported platforms include VMware and Hyper-V virtualization, Windows and Linux operating systems, Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Storage, among others. All management and configuration operations are performed with a single user interface. Backup Exec also provides integrated deduplication, replication, and disaster recovery capabilities and helps to manage multiple backup servers or multi-drive tape loaders.

In computer science, storage virtualization is "the process of presenting a logical view of the physical storage resources to" a host computer system, "treating all storage media in the enterprise as a single pool of storage."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office</span> Data protection software for personal users

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is a software package produced by Acronis International GmbH that aims to protect the system from ransomware and allows users to backup and restore files or entire systems from a backup archive, which was previously created using the software. Since 2020, Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office includes malware and Zoom protection. The software is used by technicians to deploy operating systems to computers and by academics to help restore computers following analysis of how viruses infect computers.

An incremental backup is one in which successive copies of the data contain only the portion that has changed since the preceding backup copy was made. When a full recovery is needed, the restoration process would need the last full backup plus all the incremental backups until the point of restoration. Incremental backups are often desirable as they reduce storage space usage, and are quicker to perform than differential backups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time Machine (macOS)</span> Backup software application developed by Apple and distributed as part of macOS

Time Machine is the backup mechanism of macOS, the desktop operating system developed by Apple. The software is designed to work with both local storage devices and network-attached disks, and is most commonly used with external disk drives connected using either USB or Thunderbolt. It was first introduced in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, which appeared in October 2007 and incrementally refined in subsequent releases of macOS. Time Machine was revamped in macOS 11 Big Sur to support APFS, thereby enabling "faster, more compact, and more reliable backups" than were possible previously.

NTBackup is the built-in backup application introduced in Windows NT 3.51 and included in Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. NTBackup comprises a command-line utility and a set of wizard interfaces that provide multiple options to create, customize, and manage backups, and it is integrated with Shadow Copy and Task Scheduler. NTBackup creates backups in a proprietary BKF file format to external sources including floppy disks, hard drives, tape drives, and ZIP drives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backup and Restore</span> Primary backup component of Windows Vista and Windows 7

Backup and Restore is the primary backup component of Windows Vista and Windows 7. It can create file and folder backups, as well as system images backups, to be used for recovery in the event of data corruption, hard disk drive failure, or malware infection. It replaces NTBackup, which has been part of Windows since Windows NT 3.51. Unlike its predecessor, it supports CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays discs as backup media.

Catalogic DPX is an enterprise-level data protection tool that backs up and restores data and applications for a variety of operating systems. It has data protection, disaster recovery and business continuity planning capabilities. Catalogic DPX protects physical servers or virtual machines on VMWare vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisors, supports many database applications, including Oracle, SQL Server, SharePoint, Exchange, and SAP HANA. DPX supports agent-based or agent-less backups. Users can map to and use a backed up version of the database if something goes wrong with the primary version. DPX is managed from a single console and catalog. This allows for centralized control of both tape-based and disk-based data protection jobs across heterogeneous operating systems. DPX can protect data centers, remote sites and supports recovery from DR. DPX can protect data to disk, tape or cloud. It is used for various recovery use cases including file, application, BMR, VM or DR. DPX can spin up VMs from backup images, recover physical servers, bring up applications online from snapshot based backups, it can be used to recover from Ransomware.

NetVault is a set of data protection software developed and supported by Quest Software. NetVault Backup is a backup and recovery software product. It can be used to protect data and software applications in physical and virtual environments from one central management interface. It supports many servers, application platforms, and protocols such as UNIX, Linux, Microsoft Windows, VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, NDMP, Oracle ACSLS, IBM DAS/ACI, Microsoft Exchange Server, DB2, and Teradata.

Disk-based backup refers to technology that allows one to back up large amounts of data to a disk storage unit. It is the technology which is often supplemented by tape drives for data archival or replication to another facility for disaster recovery. Additionally, backup-to-disk has several advantages over traditional tape backup for both technical and business reasons. With continued improvements in storage devices to provide faster access and higher storage capacity, a prime consideration for backup and restore operations, backup-to-disk will become more prominent in organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veeam Backup & Replication</span> Backup and disaster recovery software

Veeam Backup & Replication is a proprietary backup app developed by Veeam for virtual environments built on VMware vSphere, Nutanix AHV, and Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisors. The software provides backup, restore and replication functionality for virtual machines, physical servers and workstations as well as cloud-based workload.

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