Restore a file, a folder and a machine, and record how long each took

short · 60 min · Objective 4.3

Task

Perform the three restore tests, verify each by opening what came back, and record the durations. The durations are the deliverable: a recovery time nobody has measured is a number somebody wrote down, and the whole-machine test is the only one that produces a real figure.

Steps

  1. Record your own position against the rule in lab/321/position.csv with header number,requirement,how_you_meet_it,gap covering three copies, two media and one off site.
  2. Restore a single file to an alternative location, open it, and record the result in lab/321/tests.csv with header test,duration_min,verified_by,succeeded.
  3. Restore a folder to an alternative location, confirm structure and permissions, and add the row.
  4. Restore a whole machine to a fresh guest, start it, sign in, and add the row. Record what was needed that you did not expect in lab/321/surprises.md.
  5. Write lab/321/objectives.md giving your recovery point and recovery time in plain words -- how much work you would lose and how long you would be without it -- with the measurement that supports the second.

Verify

awk -F, 'NR>1 && NF>=4 {n++} END {print n" requirement(s) assessed"}' lab/321/position.csv
awk -F, 'NR>1 && $4=="" {n++} END {print n" requirement(s) with no gap recorded"}' lab/321/position.csv
awk -F, 'NR>1 && NF>=4 {n++} END {print n" restore test(s)"}' lab/321/tests.csv
awk -F, 'NR>1 && $3!="" {n++} END {print n" test(s) verified by opening something"}' lab/321/tests.csv
grep -Ec '^[-*0-9]' lab/321/surprises.md
grep -Ec '[0-9]' lab/321/objectives.md

Three requirements assessed, three restore tests all verified by opening what came back, and recovery figures containing actual numbers. A restore recorded as succeeded with nothing opened is a progress bar that reached the end.

Notes

The surprises file is where the value is. Encryption keys, a missing licence, drivers for different hardware, credentials that were only on the dead machine -- every one of those is invisible until the whole-machine test.

This is an independent study companion for CompTIA A+ Core 2 220-1202 and is not produced by or endorsed by CompTIA.