TrueImage Incremental Backups

I am looking for some information on backup strategies. A White Papers might be helpful.

In particular, I have two questions:

1. How many incremental backups are wise to create before starting over again?

2. If you create an incremental backup via a Scheduled Task where no original full backup exists, is the first "incremental" file effectively the same as if it was created as a full backup?

The reason I am asking these questions is that I am in the process of setting up a procedure whereby there is a nightly backup created. Then at some interval (determined by the answer to question 1) I have a script that moves and renames the entire backup set to an Archive.

The next run of the incremental backup starts over again--thus my question 2.

I am doing it this way because it is simple and automatic, yet will create generational sets of archival backups.

 

For question 2... in my case it appears to make a full image. So I'm proceding under the assumption that there is no difference. I'd like someone else to confirm though as well.

If you don't mind, I'd like to add one additional question...

If you delete all your incremental images but keep the full image, will the next incremental pick up all the changes since the first full image was taken? In otherwords re-sync with the way things are? I'd like to do this to save disk space (i.e. if I decide I don't need files that are deleted I can delete the incrementals and start over without having to re-image the whole disk).

 

Hello --

1. I believe that the best strategy is to do full backups weekly.

2. Yes, if you create an incremental without full backup - it will create a full backup.

3. Yes, if you delete all the incrementals, you can do an incremental to the full image and it will indeed pick up all the changes made since that full back-up was created.

Thank you.