A systems administrator is responsible for a file server that operates 24/7 and hosts several large, actively used database files. The current backup solution consistently fails to back up these specific files, with logs indicating "file in use" or "access denied" errors. Which of the following backup methods should the administrator implement to ensure these files are backed up reliably without taking the server offline?
The correct answer is to use an open file backup method. Open file backups are designed to handle files that are actively in use by applications. This is typically accomplished using a snapshot technology, such as the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) in Windows, which creates a point-in-time image of the volume. This allows the backup software to access and copy a consistent version of the files without being blocked by file locks, ensuring a reliable backup of a server that must remain online.
A differential backup only copies data that has changed since the last full backup; it does not inherently solve the problem of files being locked or in use. A system-state backup is specifically for backing up operating system components, such as the registry and boot files, not for general user or application data like database files. An archive backup refers to the long-term storage of data that is no longer in active use, which is not relevant to this scenario.