With rsync over HTTP you can configure both of these via a web portal.Ī benefit of rdiff over rsync is that rdiff will always maintain versions of a file, whereas rsync always maintains the most recent version. With rsync you are able to configure both the source and destination. When the files get to the destination they are simply stored. With rdiff, you will be able to configure a source to select which files to backup, and direct them to a storage destination.
With all of these, we will assume that a generic software will be using these algorithms. The metrics that we will be using are as follows: Manageability, Useability, Reliability, Security and Performance. I feel as if rsync over HTTP is worth looking at, since it opens up many possibilities for improving backups as a whole. With rsync backups the delta is merged at time of backup, meaning that the destination will contain complete files that you can open and use.įor the purpose of this article I will compare metrics between three backup scenarios: rdiff backup, rsync backup, and an rsync backup over HTTP. This means that on the destination, you will only contain delta files.
If you look at the destination of both of these backups, you will see very different results.Īn rdiff backup does not merge the delta during backup, it does it during restore. However, this final step is very important when you understand what ramifications it has. As you can see from above they are virtually identical with the exception of the final step. Of course there are many other differences between the two but the general concept holds. Simply put, differential backups are more encompassing, take longer to backup, and are quick to restore whereas incremental backups are more precise, are quicker to backup, but take longer to restore.
This means that if I run a full backup on Monday, my Thursday incremental backup is only Monday to Thursday, and my Incremental backup on Sunday is only Thursday to Sunday. Every backup after that only transfers what has changed since the last backup, be that a full backup or an incremental backup. With incremental backups, I start with a full backup. Incremental backups improve on this idea. If I then decide to do another Differential backup on Sunday, this will contain all changes made from Monday to Sunday. For example, if I make a full backup on Monday and I run a differential backup on Thursday, it will contain any changes I have made between Monday and Thursday. When discussing file-level backup types, there are two main school of thoughts: Differential and Incremental.ĭifferential backups start by first making a full backup, and then each backup after that transfers only what has changed until you decide to do a full backup again. Comparing rsync With Other Technologies Understanding File-Level backups