1. Full Backup
A complete copy of all selected data is taken.
✅ Pros: Simplifies recovery, standalone backup.
❌ Cons: Time-consuming, high storage usage.
2. Incremental Backup
Only data that has changed since the last backup (of any type) is copied.
✅ Pros: Saves time and storage.
❌ Cons: Recovery can be slow, as multiple backups must be restored sequentially.
3. Differential Backup
Captures all changes since the last full backup.
✅ Pros: Faster recovery than incremental backups.
❌ Cons: Larger than incremental backups over time.
4. Synthetic Full Backup
A combination of full and incremental backups, creating a new full backup without copying all data again.
✅ Pros: Faster than a fresh full backup.
❌ Cons: Requires more processing power.
5. Mirror Backup
A real-time, identical copy of the source data.
✅ Pros: Immediate access to latest data.
❌ Cons: No historical versioning, accidental deletions are mirrored.
6. Snapshot Backup
Captures the state of a system or storage at a specific moment (e.g., VM snapshots, ZFS snapshots).
✅ Pros: Instant recovery, minimal performance impact.
❌ Cons: Can be storage-intensive if not managed properly.
7. Continuous Data Protection (CDP)
Tracks and saves every change in real-time.
✅ Pros: Near-zero data loss.
❌ Cons: Requires high-performance storage and bandwidth.
8. Cloud Backup
Data is backed up to remote cloud storage services.
✅ Pros: Offsite protection, scalable.
❌ Cons: Dependent on internet speed and provider reliability.
9. Local vs. Offsite Backup
- Local Backup: Stored on on-premises devices (e.g., NAS, external drives). Faster recovery but vulnerable to disasters.
- Offsite Backup: Stored in a remote location (e.g., cloud, tape storage). Safer but may have higher latency for recovery.