If you're skeptical about the reliability of the binary patching technology, don’t be. This advanced technology has been the only choice for IBM, Microsoft, Novell, and many other hardware and software companies needing to update commercially distributed software. First Backup tightly integrates this existing technology into a high performance backup application.

While many backup services offer a Delta Block Differential Technology, DON’T BE FOOLED! Comprehensive studies have clearly shown that the advanced Binary Patching technology utilized in First Backup significantly reduces bandwidth and server storage requirements. The older Delta Block Differential method, utilized by other backup services, can not come close to the optimizations in First Backup.

Filters
A filter consists of a collection of file types that can be “included” or “excluded” from a backup set. A single filter can be applied to multiple directories, and directories can contain more than one filter. Whenever a backup is performed, the filters are evaluated and files are included and excluded based on the filter properties. First Backup provides some predefined filters that can be downloaded and run with the client application. Additional filters can be easily created and managed with the Filter Wizard. Use of filters enables a First Backup subscriber to optimize the amount of data sent to the server by selecting only the file types necessary for backup.

Backup Sets
Backup sets are used to allow one or more collections of files to backup at different times. For example, one backup set could be created for accounting data, and another set for important data that may change daily. A user may want to backup their important data daily or even hourly, while the accounting data might only be backed up at the end of the week or end of the month. Backup sets are a combination of selected directories, individual selected files, and directories with filters. By utilizing backup sets, First Backup subscribers have more control over their data and the efficiencies of their backups.

Schedules
Backups can be performed at specific intervals by using schedules. While there are many scheduling options, schedules can be easily created by using the Schedule Backup Wizard.

Data Compression
Full backup files, as well as old versions of files that are used in the incremental binary patching backup process, are compressed to save space. The time it takes to do a backup is affected by the time it takes to compress the backup files. The slower the compression speed, the smaller (or more efficient) the file which is produced. First Backup enables our customers to adjust the compression efficiency to meet their individual requirements.

Redundant File Optimization
Many corporations have devised a standard installation for every desktop to minimize technical support. In addition, organizations may share common files (sales presentations, price lists, etc) that may also be stored locally on each desktop. Since these programs and files are readily available, the backup software can be configured to backup only the files that are unique to each user. This is accomplished by using the Redundant File features, which will automatically exclude the standard files from the backup set. This optimization can significantly reduce the total storage space required on the server and increase the speed of each user’s backup. When it comes time to recover from a hard drive failure, the standard image is combined with all of the unique files that have been backed up to quickly rebuild the user’s entire computing environment.