BitBackup Information
BitBackup technology was introduced in version 9.0 of Mirrored Storage software. This technology substantially reduces the time it takes to do an online backup of large data files.
It accomplishes this by storing a complete reference copy of all backed up files in a local disk cache of the appliance. It then uses the contents of this cache during subsequent backups to identify individual records that have changed. The software then backs up only these records. This results in shorter backup times and reduced storage requirements on the offsite server.
Testimonial"With their approach we are able to send just a fraction of the changed data and it finishes in just minutes." Source: IT Service Professional |
How It Works BitBackup technology can substantially reduce the amount of time it takes to perform an online backup of a large file. It does this by identifying and archiving only the records within the file that have changed since the last time a complete backup of the file was performed. For example, consider the case where a critical database of customer records is updated daily. Over time, this file will tend to grow large. However, the amount of data added or deleted on any day may be just a few records. With a traditional approach to backups, if even a single record in a file changes, a complete copy of the entire file must be transferred to the server. This complete backup could take many hours to perform and result in substantial usage of offsite storage for each copy of the file maintained. When performing a BitBackup, a complete file backup is performed the first time. But, on subsequent backups, the software determines the records that have changed since the initial backup and transmits only the changed records (plus some administrative information) to the offsite storage server. Since the size of the changed records is likely to be much smaller than the size of the entire file, a BitBackup may take just a few minutes to complete. In cases where multiple file copies are maintained, BitBackup technology reduces the use of disk space on the offsite storage server. BitBackup technology makes extensive use of a local reference disk cache. It also has built-in management intelligence to determine whether it is appropriate to transmit file changes, or to “roll forward” and perform a complete backup of a data file. Databases, Outlook personal storage files (email), large documents and any other data files, which change only modestly each day, are ideal candidates for a BitBackup. Offsite Backup Server |
Industry Statistics
30% chance that you will have a corrupted file within a one-year time frame.
Source: Boston Computing Network, Data Loss Statistics