A network administrator must restore a critical database server following a storage array failure on Thursday at 14:00. The existing backup policy executes a full backup every Sunday at midnight and cumulative differential backups every night at 23:00 from Monday through Saturday. Which of the following procedures requires the minimum number of restore steps to recover the database to its state as of Wednesday night?
- Restore the Sunday full backup first, and then apply only the Wednesday differential backup.Answer
- BRestore the Sunday full backup, followed sequentially by the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday backups.
- CRestore only the Wednesday differential backup directly to the target storage array.
- DRestore the Wednesday differential backup first, and then overlay the Sunday full backup.
Answer
Restoring the Sunday full backup first, followed by applying only the Wednesday differential backup.
Because differential backups capture all modified data since the last full backup without resetting the archive bit, each differential image is cumulative. To restore the system to Wednesday's state, only the initial Sunday full backup and the Wednesday differential backup need to be restored, requiring just two operations.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Differential Backup Restoration Sequence