Block-Level Incremental Backup v2.6

This section describes the basic concepts of a block-level incremental backup (referred to as an incremental backup). An incremental backup is a unique functionality of BART.

An incremental backup provides a number of advantages when compared to using a full backup:

• The amount of time required to produce an incremental backup is generally less than a full backup, as modified relation blocks are saved instead of all full relation files of the database cluster.
• An incremental backup uses less disk space than a full backup.

Generally, all BART features (such as retention policy management) apply to incremental backups and full backups. See Managing Incremental Backups for more information.