Incremental Backup (Definition)

An incremental backup stores only those files that have been changed since the last incremental or full backup.

Incremental backups are the quickest to perform, since they store the smallest number of files. However, they create complexity during restoration. For full restoration, the last full backup needs to be restored, followed by each incremental backup in sequence since the last full backup. In addition, a media failure in restoring one incremental backup will cause problems restoring subsequent incremental backups.