NovaBACKUP is backup software for Windows that copies files and complete system states to local drives, network storage and the cloud. It is sold as a subscription in two main agents: NovaBACKUP PC for Windows 11 and 10 workstations and laptops, and NovaBACKUP Server for Windows Server, Hyper-V and SQL Server. A fully functional trial is available, and each PC license includes NovaBACKUP Cloud storage.
How a backup job is built
Everything in NovaBACKUP starts from a backup job, which answers three questions: what to copy, where to put it and when to run. On the Backup tab, the user ticks files, folders or plugins in a tree view and can exclude items the job should skip. The “Backup to” button links the job to a destination. The user must first define that destination as a device on the Device tab.
Several jobs can exist side by side, such as a daily job for active documents and a monthly one for archives. Schedules can run hourly, daily, weekly or monthly, and a holiday schedule can pause or adjust runs on days off.
Incremental-forever file backup
File backups in NovaBACKUP use an incremental-forever scheme. The first run creates a full seed backup; every later run copies only the files or blocks that changed. When old increments pass the retention limit, NovaBACKUP rolls those changes into the seed instead of starting a new full backup.
Retention is set per job. Local backups keep 30 days of history by default and cloud copies in a hybrid job keep 60 days. The user can change both values. The initial seed is never deleted, even when it is older than the retention period. Compression is on by default and usually reduces backup size by roughly a tenth to a quarter.
Destinations and hybrid jobs
NovaBACKUP can write to internal disks, external hard drives, NAS devices and RDX cartridges. For offsite copies it supports NovaBACKUP Cloud and any S3-compatible storage service.
A hybrid backup sends one job to a local device first and then to a cloud device, on the same schedule. The two copies have separate retention settings. A user can, for example, keep a short history on a USB drive and a longer one in the cloud. Hybrid options appear only when the job’s main destination is a local backup device.
Disaster Recovery and system restore
For full-system protection, the user enables Disaster Recovery in the Backup tab of a job. NovaBACKUP then includes the operating system, drivers, settings, partitions and boot configuration, even if the rest of the job excludes other data. System backups are file-based and follow the same incremental-forever scheme as file backups. Each increment holds what is needed to rebuild the system. Before each run, NovaBACKUP checks that the existing system backup is still recoverable and copies again anything missing from storage.
To recover a failed or replaced PC, the user boots from recovery media. They then pull the system backup onto the same or new hardware, including directly from the cloud. The user can also restore a local or cloud system backup as a Hyper-V virtual machine from the client. The VM can start right away, which is useful for test restores, for working through an outage or for moving a physical machine into a VM.
Restoring files and folders
The Restore tab lists backups by job and date. The user picks the backup, selects the files or folders inside it, and opens the restore settings to choose between the original location and an alternate folder. By default, NovaBACKUP restores to the original location and overwrites the existing files.
Large restores can run as several parallel streams. The user sets the stream count, raising it for faster recovery from the cloud or a slow NAS or lowering it to save bandwidth. If a machine has been reinstalled and its backups no longer appear, the user can import the backup records from the local or cloud device.
Encryption and alerts
Backups can be encrypted with AES at 128, 192 or 256 bits, or with Blowfish. Encryption covers data in transit and at rest on every destination.
The agent’s dashboard shows the status of each backup and restore job, with logs for details. Past jobs can be filtered by status, date and type. NovaBACKUP can send email notifications after every job or only when something fails. It also offers daily, weekly or monthly summary reports.
PC and Server editions
NovaBACKUP PC and NovaBACKUP Server share file backup, Disaster Recovery, hybrid jobs, retention, encryption and email notifications. The differences lie in what they can protect:
| Function | NovaBACKUP PC | NovaBACKUP Server |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 and 10 | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Server | No | Yes |
| Hyper-V virtual machine backup | No | Yes |
| Microsoft SQL Server backup | No | Yes |
| Central management console | Optional | Optional |
The optional central management console is a web interface for configuring jobs and monitoring backups across several machines, including Disaster Recovery jobs. NovaBACKUP PC does not back up phones or tablets.
