When using differential backups, what factor is likely to increase compared to incremental backups?

When using differential backups, what factor is likely to increase compared to incremental backups?

• A. Backup duration
• B. Larger backup size
• C. Networking requirements
• D. Backup times

Answer: (B)

The choice of larger backup size as the correct answer can be understood by looking at how differential backups work in relation to data changes. In a differential backup, all the changes made since the last full backup are captured each time a differential backup is created. This means that if there are multiple changes made to the data after the last full backup, each subsequent differential backup will include all those changes, which can accumulate over time.

In contrast, incremental backups only capture the changes made since the last backup of any type, whether full or incremental. This means that each incremental backup tends to be smaller in size because it only includes the most recent changes. Therefore, as more changes occur between full backups, the size of the differential backups increases with each new backup created, as they are adding all changes since the last full backup rather than just the most recent ones.

This accumulation of data in differential backups results in larger file sizes compared to the usually smaller, more granular incremental backups, which only store the changes from the last backup. Hence, the factor that is likely to increase when using differential backups, in comparison to incremental backups, is the backup size.