Backup Rotation Schemes for A+
Short answer
- Rotation schemes define which media or backups are reused and when. GFS provides short-term (daily), medium-term (weekly), and long-term (monthly) restore points. - Purpose: avoid overwriting all backups while keeping manageable media counts and retention windows.
Why it appears on the exam
- Given retention requirements, ask which GFS configuration meets the need for 12 monthly restore points. - choose rotation scheme to minimize chance of overwritten critical weekly backups while conserving storage.
Key concepts
Concept 1
Required terms
Grandfather-Father-Son (GFS): A common rotation scheme that uses daily (son), weekly (father), and monthly (grandfather) backups to provide multiple restore points. Grandfather-Father-Son (GFS): daily/weekly/monthly retention pattern. Recognition cue: three-tier naming and retention. Common confusion: not a media type but a retention schedule.
Example
Office uses GFS: keep daily (son) tapes for five days, weekly (father) for four weeks, monthly (grandfather) for 12 months. This gives multiple restore horizons.
Concept 2
How Backup Rotation Schemes works
- Rotation schemes define which media or backups are reused and when. GFS provides short-term (daily), medium-term (weekly), and long-term (monthly) restore points. - Purpose: avoid overwriting all backups while keeping manageable media counts and retention windows.
Example
Simple rotation: use multiple external drives in a round-robin for onsite daily backups, and swap one drive offsite weekly for added redundancy.
Concept 3
Common confusion
- Treating GFS as prescriptive counts rather than a pattern; counts should be adapted to organizational needs and storage capability. - Mixing rotation scheme discussion with chosen media type; teach rotation independent of media (tape, disk, cloud) at this level.
Example
Office uses GFS: keep daily (son) tapes for five days, weekly (father) for four weeks, monthly (grandfather) for 12 months. This gives multiple restore horizons.
Concept 4
Core 2 (220-1202) question cues
Given retention requirements, ask which GFS configuration meets the need for 12 monthly restore points; choose rotation scheme to minimize chance of overwritten critical weekly backups while conserving storage.
Example
Simple rotation: use multiple external drives in a round-robin for onsite daily backups, and swap one drive offsite weekly for added redundancy.
Sample questions
Select an answer to reveal the explanation. For tracked practice and weak-area review, use the Cultiv8 app.
Q1.A technician is troubleshooting this situation: Office uses GFS: keep daily (son) tapes for five days, weekly (father) for four weeks, monthly (grandfather) for 12 months. This gives multiple restore horizons. What should they identify?
Q2.For this A+ objective, the scenario says: Simple rotation: use multiple external drives in a round-robin for onsite daily backups, and swap one drive offsite weekly for added redundancy. What is the best match?
Q3.A support scenario about Backup Rotation Schemes feels similar to a nearby topic. What is the safest way to choose an answer?
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