Performing the Right Backup Type for Disaster Recovery Exercise

D.

In this scenario, the administrator needs to perform a backup of all servers for a disaster recovery exercise at a cold site. The type of backup to be performed would depend on the specific requirements of the backup and restore process, as well as the available resources and time constraints.

Here are the four types of backups listed and an explanation of each one:

A. Snapshot: A snapshot backup takes a "snapshot" of the system's state at a specific point in time. This type of backup is typically used in virtualized environments and takes a copy of the virtual machine's disk and memory state. It is quick to perform and does not require the backup of data that has not changed since the last snapshot.

B. Incremental: An incremental backup takes a copy of only the data that has changed since the last backup. This type of backup is efficient in terms of storage space and backup time, but it can be time-consuming to restore, as it requires the restoration of multiple backup sets.

C. Differential: A differential backup takes a copy of all data that has changed since the last full backup. This type of backup is faster to restore than an incremental backup, as it only requires the restoration of the last full backup and the last differential backup.

D. Full: A full backup takes a complete copy of all data on the system being backed up. This type of backup requires the most storage space and backup time, but it is the easiest and quickest to restore, as it only requires the restoration of a single backup set.

Given the scenario presented, a full backup would be the best choice for the administrator to perform. A full backup ensures that all data is backed up and can be quickly restored if necessary. Additionally, since this is a disaster recovery exercise, the time and resources required to perform the backup are likely to be available.