What is: “Binary Patch”?
Binary patch technology compares a modified file to its original counterpart, and extracts the differences between the two files into a third file, which we call a “delta file”.
This “delta file” is compressed into what is known as a “Patch”. The patch file is often 85% to 99.9% smaller than the original file.
As such, Binary Patching significantly reduces the time (and corresponding use of system resources [i.e.: bandwidth]) required to complete the backup.
Binary Patch is "Totally Transparent Technology"
You might never notice, but ABACUS tracks (and lets you control) both how many times the delta file should be generated, and how large the delta file can grow, before another full backup of the original file is performed again.
Likewise, when you need to restore a file, just select the file and/or directory, and choose the archived, date-stamped version you require, and ABACUS does the rest.
Binary Patching is not new. Originally developed by software vendors as a way of keeping their commercial application downloads updated, it is used today by virtually every major software shop in the world.
Binary Patch Statistics
The table below shows the effects (and benefits) of Binary Patching on various types of data. For each file category, we backed up an original file, and then made modifications to each. The results speak for themselves.
|
File Type
|
Orig.
Size
(MB)
|
Modification
|
New File Size (MB)
|
Delta Size
(MB)
|
Savings % (Time)
|
|
BMP (8-bit)
|
307.5
|
Added text to center of image
|
308.2
|
2.6
|
99.15%
|
|
BMP (8-bit)
|
308.2
|
Added text to background of image
|
308.2
|
7.9
|
97.45%
|
|
PSD File
|
515.4
|
Added new layer and added text to new layer
|
524.7
|
4.5
|
99.15%
|
|
Plain Text
|
37.1
|
Added text to beginning, middle and end of file
|
39.1
|
1.3
|
96.72%
|
|
QuickBooks
|
1,265.7
|
Paid 4 bills and added 2 invoices
|
1,301.5
|
8.1
|
99.38%
|
|
MS Word
|
431.6
|
Inserted clip art (35K); moved and added text
|
495.6
|
52.1
|
89.48%
|
|
MS Word
|
431.6
|
Copied text from middle and pasted at end
|
448.5
|
13.6
|
90.60%
|
|
MS Excel
|
108.5
|
Inserted new worksheet; created basic calculation and added 3D Bar-Graph
|
114.1
|
5.9
|
94.82%
|
|
MS Access
|
1,802.2
|
Added 3 new records
|
1,802.2
|
5.7
|
99.68%
|