In information technology, a backup, or the process of backing up, refers to the copying and archiving of computer data so it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is to back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup.

Backups have two distinct purposes. The primary purpose is to recover data after its loss, be it by data deletion or corruption. Data loss can be a common experience of computer users; a 2008 survey found that 66% of respondents had lost files on their home PC. The secondary purpose of backups is to recover data from an earlier time, according to a user-defined data retention policy, typically configured within a backup application for how long copies of data are required. Though backups represent a simple form of disaster recovery, and should be part of any disaster recovery plan, backups by themselves should not be considered a complete disaster recovery plan. One reason for this is that not all backup systems are able to reconstitute a computer system or other complex configuration such as a computer cluster, active directory server, or database server by simply restoring data from a backup.

Backup is a backup utility made by Apple for Mac OS X. It is available through Apple's MobileMe (formerly .Mac) collection of Internet services. Backup can be used in connection with either a user's online MobileMe iDisk or the Macintosh's CD-RW or DVD-R drive to make safe, archival copies of critical files and folders.

Versions

Backup 2

The initial versions of Backup were regarded as feature-sparse and frequently unstable. However, on November 5, 2003 Apple released Backup 2.0, which added new features and offered greater reliability than its predecessors.

While Backup 2 allowed for the creation of archive copies of important data, overall it only had a basic feature set for backup software.

Backup 3

Apple introduced Backup 3 at the Paris Expo on September 20, 2005 along with other upgrades to .Mac. This version offered more backup settings, such as the ability to back up your mail database.

Time Machine

At the 2006 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced the development of Time Machine, a new backup application which is included in Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard".

Backup is the computing function of making copies of data to enable recovery from data loss.

Backup may also refer to:

Information technology

Electrical power facilities

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