Definition
Within the Polarbackup service, data deduplication is an internal process designed to identify duplicate copies of files during the data backup procedure. This functionality operates between the machine(s) hosting the Polarbackup application and the Polarbackup servers, effectively detecting duplicated files.
How Polarbackup’s Deduplication Works
Polarbackup’s deduplication mechanism recognizes previously uploaded files within your Polarbackup account. Consequently, the Polarbackup desktop application avoids re-uploading them (despite displaying the “Uploading…” status), thus conserving bandwidth. Instead, it transmits flags to the servers to replicate the files in the cloud and associate them with the account.
Deduplication Use Cases
Case A. When transferring files to a new machine and initiating a new backup after they have been backed up to your Polarbackup account on another machine.
Case B. After reinstalling the OS on your machine subsequent to using the Polarbackup application for cloud backup.
Case C. When backing up data from multiple machines to a single Polarbackup account.
Case D. In cases where the same file is duplicated locally across multiple directories included in the backup.
Case E. When initiating a fresh backup on your current machine, including the same files as in previous backups.
Case F. When migrating data from an old drive to a new one.
Benefits of Polarbackup’s Deduplication
The primary advantage is the conservation of Internet bandwidth during the upload process.
The Polarbackup deduplication mechanism does not reduce storage capacity requirements, as the replicated data in the cloud counts towards your Cloud Storage quota.