Switching From Tape to Cloud Backup for Disaster Availability

SY0-601 By islever Editorial Last updated

Short answer

C Cloud backup keeps a copy offsite that is reachable over the network, so the data stays available after a disaster destroys the local tape library and servers.

Question

A systems administrator is considering switching from tape backup to an alternative backup solution that would allow data to be readily available in the event of a disaster. Which of the following backup types should the administrator implement?
  1. Copy
  2. Incremental
  3. Cloud Correct Answer
  4. Disk
  5. Storage area network

Key Takeaways

Read readily available in the event of a disaster as an offsite requirement: an on-premises copy shares the fate of the production systems, while a cloud copy is still reachable after the primary site is lost.

The administrator wants an alternative to tape that keeps data reachable after a disaster. Cloud backup stores the copy offsite at a provider and makes it retrievable over the network, while disk and SAN stay in the same facility as the systems they protect, and copy or incremental describe what is captured rather than where it lives.

Common mistake: Picking disk or SAN because a local restore finishes faster than a tape restore. Restore speed is irrelevant when the backup media sits in the same building the disaster destroyed, and a SAN is a storage architecture rather than a backup destination.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Cloud backup places the restore copy in an offsite location run by a provider, so the data survives a disaster that destroys the primary site and the local backup hardware. The copy is retrieved over the network, which satisfies the requirement that the data be readily available instead of being shipped in and mounted the way tape media must be. Tape is itself an offsite medium in many shops, but restoring from it means locating and loading cartridges, which is the exact delay the administrator wants to remove.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Copy and incremental are backup methods describing how much changed data is captured, not where the backup is stored, so neither answers a question about replacing tape as a medium. Disk backup is fast, but a local disk array fails the disaster requirement because it normally sits in the same facility as the systems it protects. A storage area network is block storage for production workloads, is also on-premises, and provides no geographic separation from the disaster.

Community Comment Notes

Most commenters land on cloud for the right reason: everything else on the list can be taken out by the same disaster. Several defend disk because a local restore is quicker, which is true but misses the availability wording in the stem. A minority reads the question as multiple-answer and picks cloud plus SAN; the stem asks for one backup type, and SAN is not a backup medium.

Official Reference

These links open the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

When a stem pairs disaster with readily available, first separate on-premises media from offsite media, then discard any option that names a backup method such as full, copy, incremental, or differential instead of a storage location.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is a SAN not a valid replacement for a tape backup system?

A SAN provides block storage for production systems and sits in the same data center, so it offers no geographic separation; backups can be written to it, but that copy is still on-premises.

Does moving to cloud backup remove the need for full, incremental, or differential jobs?

No. Cloud describes where the copy is stored, while full, incremental, and differential describe how much data each job captures, so a cloud backup still needs a schedule and retention.

More SY0-601 FAQ →

Community Votes

C
76%
D
24%

76% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 13 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 13

  1. qwes333 👍 4 Answered C
    Guys, just a suggestion by someone is working on that. If the question state "Tape", you must know that they mentions as a "secondary" copy because tape are used at 99% for this kind of job. Disk is the first method and where the first copy of the backup goes. Cloud is the right one.
  2. CaNe2o1 👍 3 Answered C
    Have to choose Cloud on this one. Everything else can be affected by the disaster.
  3. Yomzie 👍 2
    If you've ever had your SAN impacted by a disaster, then you'd know that disk storage is not disaster-proof. I'd go with option C (cloud) to guarantee hassle-free recovery from unmitigated disaster.
  4. ArunRavilla 👍 2
    Of course C is the most optimum when it comes to back up. But a direct alternative to tape backup would be Disk backup. So I would choose .
  5. Benrosan 👍 2 Answered C
    Cloud, no question. SAN can very much be impacted by a disaster.
Show 8 more comments
  1. Hs1208 👍 2 Answered D
    implementing a disk-based backup solution is a suitable choice.
  2. wolekraft 👍 2
    Cloud backup is efficient, scalable and reliable
  3. ganymede 👍 1 Answered D
    D. Disk I think cloud and Disk are both correct. But I'm going with disk only because the question specifically mention moving away from TAPE to something else. Disk does in fact provider faster (more readily available) restore times compared to Tape. If an organization was using Tape backups it seems more likely they'd go from Tape to disk rather than from tape to cloud. But is DO think that cloud is also correct. Cloud backups solutions can in fact provide for readily available restores that can be fairly fast depending on your backups solution and internet speed.
  4. klinkklonk 👍 1 Answered D
    DISK Just because it's more readily available. The cloud storage might be warm or cold, which would take longer to retrieve. Dumb question though, as per usual.
  5. gr23 👍 1
    Re-read the question. This is a muliple answer question. "Which of the following backup type"S" should the administrator implement?" The answer is C and E
  6. licks0re 👍 1 Answered C
    "be readily available in the event of a disaster" If you have backups on disks in your dc and your dc is flooded... C-cloud
  7. Jared77 👍 1 Answered C
    I agree with the answer is cloud is more secure than disk.
  8. TM78 👍 2 Answered C
    C. Cloud

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