What is "incremental backup"

n. (context computing English) a backup method where only the information that changed since a previous backup is saved

An incremental backup is one that provides a backup of files that have changed or are new since the last backup; it is one that backs up only the data that have changed since the last backup — be it a full or incremental backup. An incremental backup is a backup of latest changes since the last backup (any level) so that when a full recovery is needed the restoration process would need the last full backup plus all the incremental backups until the point-in-time of the restoration. Incremental backups are often desirable as they consume minimum storage space and are quicker to perform than differential backups. The purpose of an incremental backup is to preserve and protect data by creating copies that are based on the differences in those data and thus minimize the amount of time needed to perform the backup. With incremental backups, successive copies of the data contain only that portion that has changed since the preceding backup copy was made.