iSACA Cybersecurity Fundamentals Certification Practice Exam

Which of the following would best describe the speed of a full backup restoration compared to other types?

1. Fastest compared to incremental backups

2. Fastest compared to differential backups

3. Slowest among all backup options

4. Moderate speed compared to incremental and differential

The correct answer is: Slowest among all backup options

A full backup restoration is characterized as the slowest among all backup options because it requires the entire dataset to be restored from the backup media. This process entails reading and copying all data files back to the original location, which can be time-consuming, especially for large datasets. In contrast, incremental backups only restore the data that has changed since the last backup, which means that the restoration process is significantly faster but may require multiple backup sets to complete the process. Similarly, differential backups restore data changed since the last full backup, requiring less time than a full restoration since they involve fewer files. The nature of a full backup means that while it provides a complete snapshot of the data at a specific point in time, its inability to streamline the process relative to incrementals or differentials makes it the slowest option for restoration purposes. This emphasizes the balance between data recovery speed and the completeness of the backup.