Which common backup strategies should a TA evaluate for safety and availability?

• A. Full, incremental, differential
• B. Mirroring, cloning, snapshotting
• C. Local backups only
• D. Backups without encryption

Answer: (A)

The key idea is balancing how much data you’re willing to potentially lose with how fast you can recover, which is shaped by the backup types you choose. A full backup copies everything, giving a complete restore base. Incremental backups capture only what changed since the last backup, making backups quick and storage-efficient, but requiring a chain of those increments to restore fully. Differential backups save all changes since the last full backup, so restoration needs just the most recent differential plus the last full, trading more storage and longer backup time for faster, simpler restores than a long chain of increments. Together, these three backup types are the standard set used to design reliable recovery plans because they provide a clear path to restore while managing backup windows and storage costs, aligning with safety and availability goals.

Other techniques like mirroring, cloning, and snapshotting can support quick failover or point-in-time copies, but they aren’t the typical layered backup strategy relied on for long-term safety and flexible restoration. Relying on local backups alone can be risky if the only copies are onsite, and backups without encryption undermine security, making the data vulnerable.