Synthetic backup

A synthetic backup is a full or differential backup that the Unitrends system synthesizes by superimposing the incremental backups on the last successful full backup. It then uses the synthesized backups to create recovery points. After the system creates a synthesized full backup, it uses this backup as a reference point when determining whether the client’s protected data has changed and a differential or incremental backup needs to be run.

The Unitrends system uses the following factors to determine when to create a synthetic backup:

     Amount of data being protected on the backup system

     Number of days from the last full backup

     Number of incremental backups since the last full backup

     Load on the system

Synthetic backups are created only for file-level backups and backups of VMware and Hyper-V clients. Synthetic backups are system-side only and do not impact the clients or networks. The diagram below illustrates a synthetic backup. For additional information about synthetic backups, see KB 980.

 

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