I want to do a back-up of the entire NAS. Nothing erased. Just to be safe. Meaning, I want to make sure the back-up is what is on the NAS. So, what's best for that?
I'm not following you on 'nothing erased'. The backup will not erase your source files.
I do a differential overwrite. It copies new data that isn't on the nas, and it also overwrites existing files on the nas. For me, this isn't a concern. I don't need old copies of files.
If you need to maintain old backups of files on the nas, this option won't work for you.
These are the modes available, as listed in the TS3000 manual :
Backup Modes
The following types of backup jobs may be selected:
Type
Files included
Normal backup
All files in the source will be backed up to the destination.
Overwrite (incremental)
The first backup job runs like a normal backup. In subsequent backups, files added to the source as well as files deleted from the source are kept in the backup folder.
Overwrite (differential)
The first backup job runs like a normal backup. As each additional backup job runs, files are added to and deleted from the backup folder. The backup destination folder is always the same size as the backup source folder.
Management backup
Each time a backup is executed, management information is stored, and only files that have changed are copied or deleted. Data is retrieved from the previous backup file for files that were not changed. This is useful for making backups with limited space or for referencing status at a particular point in time (for use for data snapshot applications). The destination folder for a management backup should be a local folder on this TeraStation or on a USB drive attached to it. The destination folder will be set to read-only. Do not use folders from drives formatted with FAT.
You can specify how many backup versions to keep from 1–400, or select “Unlimited” to keep all backups until the drive is full. The backup destination folder should be on the same TeraStation that the backup job is configured from, or on an external USB drive attached to that TeraStation.