VPS Backup Strategy: Full Backup or Incremental Backup?
Many VPS users take backups, but because they don't use the right backup strategy, they either incur unnecessary disk costs or their data recovery time is far too long. Choosing the right backup strategy is based on balancing storage cost + backup time + restore time + data loss risk (RPO).
Backup Types
| Backup Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Full Backup | A complete copy of all data |
| Incremental Backup | Files changed since the last backup |
| Differential Backup | Files changed since the last full backup |
| Snapshot | An instant image of the disk |
Storage Space Comparison
Scenario:
- 100 GB of data
- 5 GB daily change
- 7-day retention
| Method | Space |
|---|---|
| Full | 700 GB |
| Incremental | 135 GB |
| Differential | 205 GB |
Backup Duration
| Method | Duration |
|---|---|
| Full | ~11 min |
| Incremental | ~30 sec |
| Differential | ~4 min |
Restore Duration
| Method | Duration |
|---|---|
| Full | ~11 min |
| Incremental | ~40 min |
| Differential | ~15 min |
RPO & RTO
| System | RPO | RTO |
|---|---|---|
| Blog | 24 hours | 4 hours |
| Corporate | 12 hours | 2 hours |
| E-commerce | 1 hour | 30 min |
| SaaS | 15 min | 15 min |
Incremental Backup with rsync
rsync -avz --delete /var/www /backup/
Cron:
0 2 * * * rsync -avz --delete /var/www /backup/
Full Backup (tar)
tar -czf /backup/full-$(date +%F).tar.gz /var/www
Cron:
0 3 * * 0 tar -czf /backup/full-$(date +%F).tar.gz /var/www
Backup Strategy
| Day | Backup |
|---|---|
| Sunday | Full |
| Other days | Incremental |
Additional:
- Offsite backup is mandatory
- Restore tests must be performed
Production Scenario
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Disk | 350 GB | 120 GB |
| Backup time | 90 min | 15 min |
| Restore | 45 min | 50 min |
The 3-2-1 Rule
- 3 copies
- 2 different media
- 1 offsite
Risks
- Incremental chain can break
- Backup may be on the same disk
- Tests may not be performed
Conclusion
Best strategy:
Weekly Full + Daily Incremental + Offsite Backup
CTA
For professional backup and VPS management, you can use a managed service.