Offsite Backup
Offsite backup, also known as remote backup, is the process of backing up important computer data and files to a server or other storage device located in a separate physical location. Typically, offsite backup or remote backup software is installed on the resource which houses the original data store. Files are selected, a schedule is set, and the offsite backup begins, typically with an initial ‘full’ backup to the offsite server.
Once the full backup has run, many offsite backup software packages enable the user to switch to incremental backups afterwards. Incremental offsite backup sessions contain only the changed files, or changes within those files, instead of entire new versions of the changed files. For offsite backups, this incremental sub-file backup is a true benefit, and minimizes the length of the backup sessions.
Other benefits of incremental offsite backup include a fairly dramatic reduction in bandwidth usage as compared to normal file-level backups. Less bandwidth is used because less data is being sent from the client to the offsite backup server in each session. Since most offsite backups occur during off hours, or at night, bandwidth and system resources are not at a premium.
Hard disk space on the offsite backup server is also conserved, as only the changed bits of files are transferred to the offsite server with each session. The difference here can be illustrated by a comparison between five daily versions of an entire 50 MB file (250 MB)
as compared to the same five sessions which contain only the daily incremental changes 5 sessions x 2 MB (10 MB) for the same data set, using file vs. bit level offsite backup. The better remote backup and offsite backup software programs enable the user to define what type of file transfer technology is used on a per client basis.
Remote Backup Systems is a great resource for information about offsite backup and remote backup software. Having created the world’s first commercial offsite backup software back in 1987, we have been developing and marketing remote online backup software since then. RBackup offsite backup software is, by far, the world’s most popular, secure, and automated online backup software.
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