How to Perform Synology NAS Incremental Backup

Network Attached Storage (NAS) provides a centralized data storage location over a network. Synology NAS, in particular, has gained popularity among business users due to its ability to offer not just centralized storage but also the capability to build a private cloud for file storage, backup, and sharing.

Users usually choose incremental backup to back up their Synology NAS. This article will introduce the incremental backup process in detail and guide you on how to perform incremental backup for Synology NAS with the help of the Todo Backup Enterprise tool.

What is incremental backup?

Incremental backup is a backup method that only backs up files that have changed since the last backup, regardless of whether it was a full backup, an incremental backup, or a differential backup.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Incremental Backup

Advantages: **Efficiency:** Incremental backups are faster and more efficient than full backups, as they only back up data that has changed since the last backup. **Storage utilization:** They consume less storage space because duplicate data is not copied. **Bandwidth usage:** They require less network bandwidth, making them ideal for environments where network bandwidth is a concern.

**Disadvantages:** **Longer Recovery Time:** Since the system must process each incremental backup sequentially, restoring from incrementals usually takes longer than restoring from a full backup. **Risk of Data Loss:** If any incremental backup in the series is damaged, corrupt, or missing, it can result in incomplete data recovery. **Complexity:** Managing incremental backups can be more complex, as they rely on the preceding backups.

Perform Synology NAS Incremental Backup with Todo Backup Enterprise

Famous for its user-friendliness and reliability, Todo Backup Enterprise can help you securely and swiftly back up your Synology NAS. Follow this step-by-step guide to perform an incremental backup: 1. First, install and launch Todo Backup. Click on "Create Task" in the top left corner, then select "File Backup".

Next, find your NAS device and select the files or folders you want to back up.

Third, click on Browse... to choose where to save your backup. You can keep it on your local device or on a cloud service.

Select the storage path for Synology incremental backup with Todo Backup tool

Furthermore, there are options that allow you to customize your backup settings. You can use the Schedule Name and Description to distinguish your backup tasks. The Backup Schedule option lets you set up regular backup tasks to run on demand, daily, weekly, or monthly. You can also choose between Full, Incremental, or Differential backup types based on your needs. The Backup Cleanup option helps optimize storage space usage. You can also utilize the Backup Cleanup option to optimize the utilization of your storage space. Additionally, the Backup Options provide more features to refine and enhance your backup tasks, such as performance tuning and encryption options.

Finally, click Start to begin backing up your Synology NAS.

Perform Incremental Backups on Synology NAS with Hyper Backup

Hyper Backup is an integrated application on Synology that allows users to manually or schedule backups of data on their Synology NAS. With this tool, you can perform incremental backups and save them to local shared folders, remote servers, and the cloud. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to perform an incremental backup: 1. **登录到 DSM (DiskStation Manager):** - Open a web browser and enter your Synology NAS's IP address in the address bar. - Log in using your Synology account credentials. 2. **开启 Hyper Backup:** - In DSM, click on the "Package Center" icon in the control panel. - Search for "Hyper Backup" in the "All" tab and click "Install" to install the application if it's not already installed. 3. **创建备份任务:** - Once Hyper Backup is installed, click on its icon in the control panel. - Click the "Create Task" button on the right side of the screen. 4. **设置备份任务名称与描述:** - Enter a name and description for your backup task, which will help you identify it later. 5. **选择源文件或文件夹:** - Under "Source", select the files or folders you want to back up. You can choose from various locations like shared folders, volumes, or specific applications. 6. **设置目标位置:** - Under "Destination", choose where you want to store the backup. Options include local shared folders, remote Synology NAS, or cloud services like Amazon S3, Google Drive, or Microsoft Azure. 7. **配置备份计划:** - In the "Schedule" section, set up when you want the backup to run. You can choose between daily, weekly, or monthly schedules, and specify the time. 8. **选择备份类型:** - In the "Backup Settings" section, select "Incremental" as the backup type. This ensures only changes since the last backup are saved, reducing storage usage. 9. **启用版本保留策略 (optional):** - If desired, configure "Version Control" to limit the number of backup versions kept. This helps manage storage space. 10. **确认设置并启动备份:** - Review your settings and click "Create" to create the backup task. - To start the backup immediately, click the "Run Now" button next to the newly created task. Remember to monitor the backup progress and check for any errors. Once completed, you'll have an incremental backup of your data that saves storage space while keeping track of changes over time.

First, install and launch Hyper Backup. Click the + button in the bottom left corner, then select Data Backup Task to launch the Backup Wizard.

Second, choose a backup destination. You can store your backup data on your Synology, a file server, or a cloud service. Select a save path to proceed.

Third, choose Create Backup Task, and then select your Synology NAS. Choose the data you want to back up, then click Next.

Select the specific data on your Synology NAS to back up with Hyper Backup:

After the above steps, a Backup Settings window will appear for you to complete the configuration based on your needs.

Next, set your Rotation Settings. Backup rotation is very personal and will ultimately decide how many versions of this archive you can/want to keep. Click on Enable Backup Rotation and configure it to your liking.

Once all steps are completed, your backup task is configured. Proceed to perform an incremental backup to your Synology NAS directly.

Conclusions

Backup is an essential method to protect data from unexpected loss. Considering that Synology NAS, as a centralized data storage location, is often at risk of data loss, it is recommended for users to back up important data. Todo Backup Enterprise, with its comprehensive features catering to diverse needs, is one of the best backup tools available.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Perform Incremental Backup on Synology NAS with UTF-8 Encoding

1. Is Synology Drive backup incremental?

Synology Drive Client supports incremental backups. After the initial full backup, subsequent backups only capture changes made to files and folders. This is achieved through methods such as file-level deduplication and version control.

2. Does Synology Hyper Backup perform incremental backup?

Hyper Backup performs block-level incremental backups, which back up only the blocks of data that are modified or newly added to files after the first backup, instead of the entire file.

What are the pros and cons of incremental backups?

Advantages: Because they back up only what has changed since the last backup, incremental backups take less time to create and require less storage space.

Drawback: It requires a full backup plus several incremental backups to restore all data, so the backup restore process can be slow. Also, if one of the subsequent backups in the chain is corrupted, all subsequent images based on that backup become unusable.

**4. What is the difference between incremental and differential backups?** Both incremental and differential backups are backup strategies designed to reduce the time and storage space required for full backups. Here are the main differences: - **Incremental Backup:** In an incremental backup, the system backs up only the files or data that have changed since the **last full backup.** This means that each incremental backup contains only the additions or modifications made since the last full backup. It saves time and storage because only a small amount of data needs to be backed up. However, during recovery, you need to apply the full backup and all relevant incremental backups in sequence. - **Differential Backup:** A differential backup backs up all files that have changed since the **last full backup,** not just the changes made in the incremental backups. Compared to incremental backups, differential backups include more data with each backup. When restoring, you would need the full backup and the last differential backup, which is generally faster than restoring multiple incremental backups. In summary, incremental backups focus on preserving the **changes** since the last full backup, while differential backups keep all the **modified** files. The choice between the two mainly depends on the recovery strategy and storage efficiency considerations.

An incremental backup saves all files changed since the last backup, whether that was a full or an incremental one. This means it takes up less space and executes faster than a full backup. A differential backup, on the other hand, saves all files changed since the last full backup, regardless of any other differential backups made in the meantime. This makes it more space-consuming and slower to execute than an incremental backup.