Practice Test Geeks(CSA) Certified System Administrator Practice Test
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Backup and Disaster Recovery Flashcards

7 cards from real CSA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Backup and Disaster Recovery flashcards as text

  1. What is the main purpose of conducting a tabletop exercise in disaster recovery planning?

    Answer: To walk key personnel through simulated disaster scenarios and validate the DR plan without system disruption

    A tabletop exercise is a discussion-based simulation that identifies gaps in DR procedures without impacting live systems.

  2. Which factor most directly determines how frequently full backups should be performed?

    Answer: The acceptable restore time balanced against backup storage cost and window duration

    Full backup frequency is a trade-off between how quickly restores must complete (requiring more frequent fulls) and the cost of storage and backup windows.

  3. A database administrator needs to restore a database to its state at exactly 10:47 AM after a logical corruption occurred at 11:15 AM. Which capability makes this possible?

    Answer: Point-in-time recovery using transaction logs

    Point-in-time recovery applies transaction logs from the last full backup up to the desired timestamp, restoring the database to that exact state.

  4. What distinguishes an 'image-based backup' from a traditional file-level backup?

    Answer: Image backups capture a sector-by-sector copy of the entire disk, including OS, applications, and data

    An image-based (or block-level) backup captures the entire disk contents, enabling full system restores including the OS and boot sector.

  5. Which metric measures the average time required to restore a failed system to normal operation?

    Answer: MTTR (Mean Time To Repair/Restore)

    MTTR measures the average time needed to restore a system after a failure, reflecting actual operational recovery efficiency.

  6. An organization uses a SAN-based snapshot for backup. After a storage array failure, they discover the snapshots were stored on the same array as the primary data. What backup principle was violated?

    Answer: The 3-2-1 rule requiring at least one copy on a separate medium

    The 3-2-1 rule requires at least one copy on different media; storing snapshots on the same array violates this fundamental redundancy principle.

  7. What is the purpose of a 'runbook' in disaster recovery?

    Answer: A documented step-by-step procedure guide that staff follow during a disaster recovery event

    A runbook provides detailed, sequential instructions so that any qualified administrator can execute recovery procedures accurately under stressful conditions.