A systems administrator needs to validate last night's full backup. The production Windows file server must stay online, so the admin attaches an unused secondary volume and plans to restore the backup onto that volume while the original data remains in place. Users will compare files on the restored copy with those on the live share before any cut-over. Which restore method best meets this requirement?
Side-by-side restore creates a duplicate copy of the selected data on the same host but in a different storage location, allowing administrators to verify or compare the restored data while the original set stays online.
Overwrite restore would replace the live data, causing downtime. Alternate-location-path restore redirects the data to another system or UNC path, which is unnecessary when the goal is to keep everything on the same server. Bare-metal (or in-place) restore rebuilds an entire system image onto blank hardware and is overkill for a simple validation test.