In enterprise storage, how does a "Copy-on-Write" (CoW) snapshot differ from a traditional backup?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 2, i.e., it only stores pointers to data blocks until those blocks are modified.
A Copy-on-Write (CoW) snapshot does NOT immediately duplicate all data. Instead:
- It initially stores references (pointers) to existing data blocks
- When data is modified, only the changed blocks are copied and stored separately
- This makes snapshots fast and storage-efficient
Traditional backups, on the other hand, often copy all data completely and take more time and space.