Backup software

Backup software is software designed to backup data for the purpose of having a second copy of an original source in case of damage to the original data source.

Key features of backup software

There are several features of backup software that make it more effective in backing up data.

Volumes

The ability to split the backup into volumes is useful for many reasons. First, backups are often best stored off site, in case of natural disaster or fire destroying both the copy and the original. Having the data split into volumes on removable media, such as CDs, is often easier and less expensive than hard drives or servers.

Second, volumes allow backup duplication in a piecemeal fashion and allows for the checking of each segment, such as via a hash function, to ensure the components of the backup have not been damaged.

Data compression

Since hard drive space has cost, compressing the data will reduce the size allowing for less drive space to be used to save money.

Remote backup

Several factors have contributed to a surge in the use of remote or offsite backup of data to geographically distant sites.

The rapid growth of data and its importance to business
The rapid adoption of high-speed broadband internet
The falling price of disk drive technology
The rise of risks such as hackers, hurricanes, viruses, hardware failure

These structural changes present opportunities for young startups, such as NetMass and Novastor, which are serving this growing market with next-generation backup technologies that automatically backup data to offsite data centers (sometimes called vaults) via the Internet. Many banks, stock exchanges, and other large institutions often do this to ensure data integrity.

Access to open files

Many backup solutions offer a plug-in for access to exclusive, in use, and locked files.

Incremental backups

Backup solutions generally support incremental backups in addition to full backups, so only material that is newer or changed compared to the backed up data is actually backed up, in order to dramatically increase the speed of the backup process.

Schedules

Backup schedules are usually supported to reduce maintenance of the backup tool and increase the reliability of the backups.

Free and open source software

Generic tools

Backup suites

Major commercial software vendors