To answer this question properly, it would be necessary to know the specific user needs. So let’s look at both the scenarios in which a backup solution can be of great value.
As the name suggests, the backup works at the file-level; meaning you are protecting individual files, folders and application data. This is the most common type of backup and is generally faster to carry out. It allows the user to simply select the files and folders, and schedule them to backup periodically. File-level backups are better suited to restore smaller amounts of data. However, you will not be able to recover your entire systems following a server crash or some other form of disaster.
Learn more about IDrive File-level BackupDisk image backups are a more comprehensive type of backup. It creates an ‘image’ of your hard disk, which includes your entire operating system, including files, programs, and configurations.
IDrive® BMR - An onsite bare-metal disaster recovery with VMware backup, virtualization, cloud backup and NAS backup. Image-based backup and snapshot-restore capability combined with cloud replication provides effective disaster recovery.
IDrive Disk Clone - Create drive or system image backup of your system drives on the cloud or locally. Restore the system to its initial state or perform restore on a dissimilar hardware.
File-level backup and recovery are best suited for personal laptops, tablets and mobile workforce, as there are no complex system configurations involved. With the periodically scheduled file-level backups, you can make sure your critical files, folders and application data are easily accessible and allow for quicker restores.
When it comes to complex computer systems and virtual machines, disk image backup would be an ideal solution to consider. Image backup solutions that allow you to transfer the changes since the last full disaster recovery backup, create a secondary offsite repository and perform bare-metal restore are especially useful. Businesses can recover multiple systems in one-go, virtualize their physical machines and hence reduce downtime.