System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems

Backup Interval Terms and Definitions

The following table describes backup interval terms and definitions.

Term 

Definition 

Snapshot 

Creates a temporary image of a file system. 

Full backup 

Copies a complete file system or directory.  

Incremental backup 

Copies only those files in the specified file system that have changed since a previous backup. Incremental backup types include the following: 

  • Daily, cumulative – Copies a day's worth of file changes on Monday. Then, overwrites Monday's backup with file changes from Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on.

  • Daily, incremental – Copies a day's worth of file changes so that you have distinct tapes of Monday's changes, Tuesday's changes, and so on.

  • Weekly cumulative – Copies the files that have changed during the week and includes the previous week's file changes.

  • Weekly incremental – Copies the files that have changed during the week since the previous weekly backup.