220-1102 Question 515
Single answerRemote backup applicationsA small accounting firm uses a cloud-based remote backup application on employees' laptops. Several users report that their backups have not completed for the past week when working from home. You verify that the internet connections are working and that users can access email and web applications. The backup console shows repeated failures because the backup jobs exceed the users' available upload bandwidth during business hours. Management wants backups to complete reliably without requiring users to bring laptops into the office, and they do not want large impacts on daytime productivity. Which action should the technician take FIRST?
- A
Configure the remote backup application to run incremental backups on a scheduled basis outside business hours and enable bandwidth throttling if available
- B
Replace the remote backup application with a local file synchronization tool that copies user data to a USB drive each week
- C
Disable encryption in the remote backup application so the uploads complete faster over home internet connections
- D
Increase the amount of data selected for backup so the application can create a more complete full backup each day
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best answer is to configure incremental backups to run on a schedule outside business hours and use bandwidth throttling if the product supports it. In real environments, remote backup applications must balance data protection with limited WAN bandwidth, especially for home users. Incremental backups are a common best practice because they reduce the size of recurring backup jobs by copying only changed data after the initial baseline. Scheduling backups for evenings or overnight further reduces interference with normal work. Many enterprise and small-business backup products also include throttling or QoS-style controls to prevent backup traffic from saturating the user's connection. These practices are consistent with vendor documentation and general backup guidance from Microsoft, cloud backup vendors, and standard IT operational best practices: protect data with encryption, automate backup schedules, minimize backup windows, and validate that jobs complete successfully through centralized monitoring.
- A. Correct.
This is the best first action. Remote backup applications commonly support scheduled backups, incremental backup jobs, and bandwidth throttling. Incremental backups reduce the amount of data transferred after the initial backup by sending only changed data, which is well suited to limited home upload bandwidth. Scheduling the jobs outside business hours also minimizes user impact, and throttling helps prevent backups from consuming all available bandwidth if users remain active. This aligns with standard backup best practices for remote endpoints.
- B. Incorrect.
This is incorrect because it does not meet the stated requirement for reliable remote backups without bringing systems into the office. A local file synchronization process to USB media is not a remote backup solution, depends on user action, and creates additional risks such as lost or damaged media. It also does not provide the centralized management and automated off-site protection expected from a remote backup application.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect and unsafe. Disabling encryption to improve performance would weaken data protection, which is especially inappropriate for an accounting firm handling sensitive financial information. Remote backup solutions are expected to protect data in transit and at rest. Performance problems should be addressed through scheduling, throttling, and reducing backup volume, not by removing security controls.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect because increasing the amount of data in each backup would worsen the bandwidth problem. Full daily backups consume far more upload capacity than incremental or differential methods and are much less practical for users on limited home internet connections. This choice reflects a misunderstanding of how backup scope affects transfer time and network usage.