What is the difference between sync and backup

When it comes to recovering data, there are marked differences between sync and share services and backup recovery. When it comes to sync and share, most often you can only recover data over the internet. While syncing and backup strategies can work well in unison, a backup solution will always reign supreme.

In fact, industry experts recommend having a total of three copies of backed up data, each stored differently:. From drive failures to malicious attacks on your information, you can never be too careful. And, without backing up your critical data, it may be impossible to access or recover your information in the event of accidental or malicious activity that impacts your organization.

Without a plan in place, your data is at risk. When their luxury hotel client experienced server failure, TekConcierge kept the business running with Datto SIRIS, avoiding downtime and lost profits for the client. The purpose of IT disaster recovery testing is to discover flaws in your disaster recovery DR plan, so you can resolve them before they impact your ability to restore operations. The shift to Infrastructure as a Service IaaS is building momentum as it allows businesses to avoid CapEx spending on hardware and software.

As a practical example of the differences between a backup and a sync, imagine having a PC and an external hard drive used for back-ups. On Monday you create a file titled "A" on the PC. On Tuesday you create a file titled "B" on the PC. On Wednesday you delete file "A" on the PC.

You then either back up daily, or sync daily. If you back up daily, then at the end of Monday you copy file "A" to the external drive. Both the PC and external drive have file "A. Both the PC and external drive now have files "A" and "B. There is no need to resubmit your comment. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Written by : Gillian Douglas.

User assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury. You agree that we have no liability for any damages. Storage Devices and Locations Backup Methods Backing up data was primarily an enterprise process, until the nineties when personal computers and mobile devices became accessible to the average person.

The four most common backup methods [vi] are: Full Backup Stores a copy of all data and usually runs according to a predefined schedule. Incremental Backup Only new or changed files are copied since the last backup, which saves on storage space and bandwidth; however this requires more computing resources as files need to be compared before copying.

Differential Backups Stores new and changed files since the last full backup was run. Virtual Full Backup A database is used to manage data backups by making a full replica of the source data once as long as the target location does not change or is removed. Synchronization Scenarios Since the early s, file synchronization solutions have become more popular among consumers but also used extensively in business environments to ensure selected data, in different locations, have identical and most recent files.

Data Recovery File synchronization simply copies data being created or modified to another device or location, so the disadvantage here is not being able to roll back to a point in time before the data was lost, like you would when restoring from a backup. Speed One of the main benefits of syncing versus backup is that less files are copied every time you run a sync and unchanged files are not copied needlessly.

In Summary There are a multitude of backup solutions available that usually depend on budget, security, ease of use, and time. Additional points to consider are: What type of data is being backed up i. How often will the data need to be accessed? How long do the backups need to last? Author Recent Posts. Gillian Douglas. Latest posts by Gillian Douglas see all. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. What is the difference between sync-ing my iPhone and backing-up my iPhone? Ask Question. Asked 10 years, 3 months ago. Active 6 years, 4 months ago. Viewed 74k times. Is there an Apple webpage with the definitive word on this? Thanks, No One in Particular. Improve this question. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes.