What is a Differential Backup?
A Differential Backup is a backup strategy that captures all data changes made since the last Full Backup. Unlike Incremental Backup, which only stores changes since the last backup of any type, differential backups accumulate changes over time.
This approach simplifies restoration because only the Full Backup and the latest Differential Backup are required. It is commonly used in Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) strategies.
What is a Differential Backup used for?
Differential backups are used to balance backup speed and recovery efficiency. They provide faster restoration compared to incremental methods while reducing storage requirements compared to repeated full backups.
Organizations use differential backups to support Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) requirements. They are particularly useful in environments where rapid recovery is critical but storage optimization is still a concern.
