What is Full Backup?

A full backup is a backup of every file on a file system, whether that file has changed or not.

Full backup alternatives

The alternatives to a full backup are incremental backup and differential backup.

When to choose full backup

It would be ideal to make full backups all the time, because they are the most comprehensive and are self-contained. However, the amount of time it takes to run full backups often prevents us from using this backup type. Full backups are often restricted to a weekly or monthly schedule, although the increasing speed and capacity of backup media is making overnight full backups a more realistic proposition. If you have the time to perform them, full backup offer the best solution in data protection. In effect, a single backup can provide the ability to completely restore all backed-up files.

Best solution about full backup

A full backup should be performed weekly or monthly on production systems, along with daily differential backups. It would be best to build full backups at all time, since they are the most complete and are self-reliant. On the other hand, the total time it takes to execute full backups often stops us from using this backup mechanism. Full backups are normally limited to a weekly or monthly timetable, even though the escalating pace and storage capacity of backup media is making quick full backups a more practical proposal.

A full backup should also be performed before any major planned changes to a system. However, full backups have a noteworthy security concern. Every full backup encloses a complete replica of the data. If the backup media were to be illegitimately accessed or stolen, the unauthorized person would then have admittance to your complete data.

Full backup overview
Advantage with full backup mechanism is that the restoration process takes minimum time.

Disadvantages of full backup – the backup process is very time consuming and the storage space requirements are quite high.