Synthetic Full Backup (Legacy Backup Format)
This article applies to the legacy backup format only. For the information about synthetic full backup in the new backup format refer to another article
A synthetic full backup is a type of backup that creates a full backup using in-cloud data copying, significantly improving speed and efficiency by saving time and reducing network traffic. This method combines synthetic incremental backups with in-cloud data copying, where data is copied on the cloud side only, making it much faster than traditional full backups from an endpoint to cloud. Synthetic full backup for legacy backup format is a combination of full and block-level backups.
How Synthetic Full Backup Works
The first (initial) backup is always a full backup of selected dataset. Synthetic full backup is an advanced way to perform subsequent full backups.
Running a full backup from time to time is advised for all backup types.
Synthetic full backup works as follows:
- Checks if any parts of files on the backup storage (i.e. already uploaded) correlate to those you are about to upload
- Copies that existing data inside the storage to generate a new full backup
- Uploads only new blocks of data from computer to the backup storage
Synthetic Full backup type is supported for:
- Image-Based Backup
- Storage providers:
- Amazon S3
- Wasabi
Enable synthetic full backup on the Advanced Options step of a legacy image-based backup wizard in the Backup Agent for Windows.