Extent-based backups integrate extent or chunk based technology to speed up backup operations. Extent based backups break down a file into small independent extents, that leads to potentially quicker backups and more resiliency to network disruptions. Extent based backups are helpful if the backup content consists of files that are large in size that may cause the available data streams to remain idle.
The size of an extent depends on the size of the file. A large file is split into small extents and each extent is backed up independently. For example, if a 1 GB file is split into 4 MB size small extents, then 256 extents will be backed up independently.
Extent based backups are automatically applied for files with size greater than or equal to 1 GB.
For more information, see Optimized Backups Using Extent-Based Technology.
For client computers that are on Feature Release 11.24 and older, you must enable extent-based backups using an additional setting. For more information, see Enabling Optimized Backups On Older Subclients.
Benefits
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Faster backups
Large files are backed up using multiple streams that increases the speed of backups.
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Efficient Backups
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During network disruption, a backup job resumes from the last committed extent when the backup job was interrupted.