Uploading incremental changes to site or incremental backup - BackupChanges

BackupChanges Screenshot There are two problems that webmaster or simple user might face every day. First, it is necessary to backup file, sure you run some backup program but what about fast incremental backup? Which will backup only changes that were made today? Second, the problem which most webmasters face. You do a lot of work with your web-site and you should upload changes online, you have two options - upload whole site or upload just changes. That's where webmaster face the problem of finding and managing of changed files.

We at AKS-Labs.com are have developed the new project called BackupChanges, the project will help uses with changes and incremental backup.

The BackupChanges software is automatic software for backup of changed or new files. The variety of settings allows specifying what files to backup, where put them and how to run backup quickly every time you need. The software is great choice for changed files management, in a case there is a need to backup files, upload changed documents to the web or send changed files to colleague.

With BackupChanges one can specify files that need to be copied into archive. Typically, it is enough to specify the source folder and nothing else. There are also many options to fine-tune the backup, for instance, user can specify the include and exclude file mask. Resulted files will be packed into archive, so there is also an option to specify how to keep files in archive, e.g. using relative path or absolute path.

As the program focuses on changed and new files niche, there is a possibility to specify the time period for which changed files should be copied to archive. The easiest way is to use some predefined intervals, for instance for last 3 days. If necessary, the precise date and time interval can be specified. The predefined choices include minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years.

Resulted file archive is a zip file, which can be managed with any popular archiving software or server-based file manager. The name of resulted file can be generated automatically using the source folder name and date/time stamp. As for destination directory user have an opportunity to add more than one record. This is useful, if the changed files should be sent to flash-drive for emergency backup, to hard drive for long-term backup and a copy to the desktop, for future uploading online or sending to co-worker.

All these features might sound complicated to use every day, so there is one extremely useful feature. Once user fine tuned the backup project as needed, the batch file can be generated. Next time the user will need a backup, he or she will simply run the batch file. All necessary parameters will be passed to the program automatically. In this way managing new or changed files is as easy as one click.

What possible applications are there for this program? Who might need this software?

The BackupChanges software will find useful anyone who involved in document management process. For instance, software developers might exchange some source codes, while powerful CVS system might not be suitable for project scale, the automated exchange of changed files will significantly simplify the process.
Web-masters or web-designers use web authoring software to manage files off-line. Actually, there are a lot of files, pictures, scripts, pages, and so on. Most of them are small, but still required to be uploaded to the web-server. With BackupChanges the upload process is much easier, as uploading one big archive and then unpacking it online is less time consuming than uploading smaller files.

Finally, there is a possibility of data loss. Sure, today hard drives are much more reliable, but most data losses occurs due to user's action, e.g. making some wrong changes to file, accidently deletion of the files and so on. With BackupChanges dropping a copy of work project to the flash drive is really easy.

Incremental Backup – Backup Changed Files Made Easier

Incremental backup benefits When you deal with a lot of file modifications every single day, there comes a need to do incremental backup. Its features make backing up important files way easier.

It is but normal for companies to process a lot of files in a single workday. These may be files that contain mundane information about the companies’ operations and such. Or, these may contain very important and classified information about the clients of the companies themselves. Such would be the case of an accounting firm, for the files contained in its very own database and network would bear sensitive information about the clients that it represents. The files may contain the clients’ social security information, credit card details, and more. Imagine how devastating it would be to lose all of this information, whether intentional or unintentional. Thus, there is a need for companies to perform data backups. And for companies that deal with a lot of files and information in a single workday, there is a need to do incremental backup – backup changed files, in laymen’s terms.

There are indeed a lot of methods to conduct data backups. However, when it comes to choosing which particular method to go for, this would depend on the needs, as well as the operations, of the company. Your choices include full backup, mirror backup, differential backup, and incremental backup. When numerous files are dealt with, incremental backup is the ideal choice.

But why not the other methods? What sets apart incremental backup then? Here is a rundown on the other methods that to not make great choices here.

First off, a full backup is recommended when only a small number of files need to be backed up in a single workday. Backing up just a few files will not consume that much time at all, so conducting a full backup will not be too difficult. Two tapes are needed here so that you can use them alternately. This way, if one of the tapes turns out to be defective, then you would have the other tape to turn to. The mirror backup is conducted the way you would the full backup. The only difference here is that the files are not compressed anymore when you do the mirror backup. Also, you won’t be able to protect the backup files with a password because this feature is no longer offered.

The differential backup, on the other hand, is better for companies that deal with a lot of data. This is actually a supplementary method to the full backup. What happens here is that a full backup is conducted preferably on a Friday night, and the differential backup is then made on another weeknight. This way, only the files that have been modified are saved through the differential backup. However, the archive attribute is not reset to its original state. This means that when you conduct your next backup, all the files that have been modified since the last full backup will be saved all over again. This means double the time and the hassle, and the backup size will become larger and larger until your perform another full backup.

This makes incremental backup more efficient. The archive attribute here is reset to its original state so you won’t have to save file changes over and over again. Thus, only the modified files since that last full backup or incremental backup are saved. Incremental backup – backup changed files – indeed the ideal choice, especially when you’re dealing with a huge amount of files every single day at the office.

How to Upload to Web-site Changed Files

It is important to upload to web-site changed files, to garner quality site traffic. There are easy ways of doing this as well.

Maintaining a web-site is hard work. The success of a web-site does not come from merely its successful launch. This is because for a web-site to garner a lot of profit from its customers, constant updates have to be made. Now, being the webmaster, you might think to yourself that it is very easy to constantly update your web-site with new material. Yes, this may be easy during the first few weeks, and even months, since its successful launch. However, you never know when you might find the concept of maintaining it quite burdensome on your part already. Perhaps you might be busy with other things, or you just might lose your interest on your web-site. Nevertheless, the fact still remains that it is important to update your web-site regularly and vigilantly. Here then are some easy methods for you to upload to web-site changed files that you have updated over time.

A very effective method that you can try is to use a publishing program. There are a lot of publishing programs that you can try in the market today. Yet, the important thing to remember here is to go for the program that has features that suit your needs best. For your own convenience, you might want to try a program that allows you to connect to your own web-site live. With this feature, you can then make drafts of the pages you want to modify and update. Once you are done with the editing, the changed files can then be published onto the site easily. But if you still need to obtain second opinions regarding the changes you have made, then you can save these changes onto a temporary page for the meantime. Once you get approval for the changes, these can then be published.

Aside from the features of the program, you also have to consult your own computer skills when it comes to web-site maintenance. Let us face it: not all computer users come with the same package or set of computer skills. Some may be savvy enough to use publishing programs that come with very advanced features for web-site enhancement. Others, however, might be better off using the most basic of these publishing programs. Yes, these skills can indeed be learned over time. But you still have to be realistic here, for you always have to start somewhere, so it would be better to start with the basics.

Once you do find that appropriate program, the next thing to do is to develop your very own maintenance schedule. Determine the most convenient time for you to do these updates and file modifications. More importantly, you should stick with this maintenance schedule.

So, what kinds of updates are ideal to make? Let us say you have an events list on your web-site. The events that have already passed should be deleted, while the new ones should be updated. The recommended schedule for this kind of file change is actually on a weekly basis. Old news articles should be deleted or replaced with new ones. Photos, graphics, and images that grab the attention of your viewers should also be updated regularly. Once you upload to web-site changed files and more, you just might notice significant improvement in terms of site traffic already.