Snapshots, backups and restore testing
Know the difference between a snapshot and a backup, design for RPO/RTO, and prove backups by restoring them.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 45 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 1 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Explain why a snapshot isn't a backup
- Apply the 3-2-1 rule and explain immutable/offsite copies
- Define RPO and RTO and calculate worst-case data loss
- Distinguish 'job succeeded' from 'restore proven'
Course outline
- 1.Snapshots, backups and restore testsVideo · 2 min
- 2.Backups you can actually restoreLesson · 18 min
- 3.Designing a backup scheduleLesson · 16 min
- 4.Running a restore under pressureLesson · 15 min
- 5.Snapshots, backups and restore testing: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 21 questions
- 6.Snapshots, backups and restore testing: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 7.The quarterly restore test failsScenario
- 8.Final exam7 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- 3-2-1 backup rule
- RPO and RTO definitions
- NIST SP 800-34 Rev. 1: Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems
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