Backup and restore in GCP - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the main purpose of backup in cloud infrastructure?

Backup is to create copies of data or system states to protect against data loss or corruption, allowing recovery if something goes wrong.

beginner

Name a common GCP service used for backing up virtual machine disks.

Google Cloud Compute Engine Snapshots are used to back up persistent disks attached to virtual machines.

intermediate

What is the difference between incremental and full backups?

A full backup copies all data every time. An incremental backup copies only data changed since the last backup, saving time and storage.

beginner

How does Google Cloud Storage help in backup and restore?

Google Cloud Storage provides durable, scalable storage to save backup files securely and retrieve them when needed for restore.

intermediate

Why is it important to test restore procedures regularly?

Testing restores ensures backups are valid and recovery works, preventing surprises during actual failures.

Which GCP service is best suited for backing up database snapshots?

A Cloud Functions

B Cloud SQL automated backups

C Cloud Pub/Sub

D Cloud Run

Cloud SQL automated backups create consistent backups of managed databases for restore.

What type of backup copies only data changed since the last backup?

A Incremental backup

B Differential backup

C Full backup

D Snapshot backup

Incremental backups copy only changes since the last backup, saving space and time.

Where should you store backups for best durability in GCP?

A Local VM disk

B Compute Engine instance memory

C Cloud Storage buckets

D Cloud DNS

Cloud Storage buckets provide durable, redundant storage ideal for backups.

What is a snapshot in GCP Compute Engine?

A A live copy of a VM instance

B A database export

C A network configuration backup

D A backup of a persistent disk at a point in time

Snapshots capture the state of a persistent disk at a specific time for backup or restore.

Why should backups be stored in a different location than the original data?

A To protect against site failures or disasters

B To improve network speed

C To increase data duplication

D To reduce storage costs

Storing backups separately protects data if the original site is damaged or lost.

Explain the key steps involved in backing up and restoring a virtual machine in GCP.

Think about how you save and recover your computer files but in the cloud.

Describe why regular testing of backup restore processes is critical in cloud infrastructure.

Imagine practicing a fire drill to be ready for a real fire.