The first full backup is performed as a manual backup, and largely occurs in file-by-file copying from source to the backup store. It is more efficient than to HFS+, but differences could be less than 10%.
sparse file
Sparse bundles, sparse files, and sparse matrices explained in a nutshell, and how a sparse bundle could have a band which is a sparse file containing a sparse matrix.
Adds support for reporting whether a file is a sparse file, or has been cloned, in Big Sur.
New version searches for sparse files and clones, reporting their individual sizes and totals for the folder or volume examined.
Can APFS really store more on disk using sparse files and clones? Is there such a thing as a free lunch, or do these tricks have a cost?
APFS can ‘clone’ files when copying or duplicating them within the same volume. But how can you tell whether any given file is a clone?
If there’s one thing we’re learning about APFS, it’s that file sizes are flexible. That means that free […]
Mac OS X has come a long way in the last 20 years, and APFS has just had its 4th birthday. But has this brought the changes we expected?
How to bring a Time Machine backup to its knees: get it to back up a sparse file to an HFS+ disk. It’ll take forever and run you out of free space.
Looking in more detail at newer tricks used by APFS on the data of files: sparse files, which can squeeze vast empty files almost to nothing; file clones; and compression, opening up in Big Sur.
The Eclectic Light Company 