Contrast hot, warm, and cold backups in terms of readiness to restore.

• A. Hot backups are immediately usable; warm require some restoration steps; cold backups require full restore.
• B. Warm backups require full restore; hot are immediate; cold require steps.
• C. Cold backups are immediately usable; hot require steps; warm never usable.
• D. Warm backups are immediately usable; hot and cold require more steps.

Answer: (C)

Hot backups (online backups) are kept in a state that is ready to run, so the system can be brought back online with minimal downtime and immediate usability. Warm backups are prepared but not fully online; they require some restoration steps to make services available, such as mounting data, applying logs, or starting necessary components. Cold backups are stored offline and require a full restore process, including provisioning hardware and reconstructing the environment, before service can resume. The description that matches this progression—hot backups usable immediately, warm backups needing restoration steps, cold backups needing a full restore—is the correct one.