CompTIA Server+ (SK0-005)Security and Disaster RecoveryMedium
A server administrator is implementing a new backup strategy for a critical application that generates a large volume of data daily. The goal is to minimize the backup window while ensuring that a full restore can be performed with the fewest possible backup sets. A weekly full backup is performed on Sunday. Which backup type should be used for Monday through Saturday to achieve this balance?
- AIncremental Backup
- BSnapshot Backup
- CDifferential Backup
- DFull Backup
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Differential Backup
A differential backup copies all data that has changed since the last full backup. This results in a larger backup size than incremental but significantly fewer backup sets needed for restoration (full + last differential), balancing backup window and restore complexity.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Incremental backups copy only changes since the last backup (full or incremental), resulting in the smallest daily backup window but requiring all incremental backups for a full restore.
- B. Snapshot backups capture the state of a system at a point in time, but are not a primary backup strategy for daily data changes in this context.
- D. Full backups every day would maximize the backup window, contrary to the goal.
Differential Backup
A backup type that copies all data that has changed since the last full backup.
- Faster restore than incremental.
- Larger daily backups than incremental.
- Requires only the last full and the latest differential for full restore.
Memory trick: Backups: Full, Differential, Incremental, each has its pace.