What term describes a system that tracks and manages changes to configuration files over time, enabling rollback to earlier versions?

What term describes a system that tracks and manages changes to configuration files over time, enabling rollback to earlier versions?

• A. Differential Backup
• B. Version Control
• C. Full Backup
• D. Incremental Backup

Answer: (B)

Version control systems are designed to track edits to files across time. Each change is saved as a commit with details about what changed, who made the change, and when. This history lets you see exactly how a configuration evolved, compare different versions, and, crucially, roll back to a previous state if a new change causes issues. It also supports branching for testing changes without affecting the main configuration and tagging for stable releases, which makes handling configurations safer and more auditable. Backups—whether full, incremental, or differential—focus on copying data to recover from loss. They don’t inherently provide the granular, per-file history, collaboration, or easy rollback to a specific prior state that version control offers. For managing configuration files and ensuring you can revert to known-good configurations, version control is the appropriate approach.

Version control systems are designed to track edits to files across time. Each change is saved as a commit with details about what changed, who made the change, and when. This history lets you see exactly how a configuration evolved, compare different versions, and, crucially, roll back to a previous state if a new change causes issues. It also supports branching for testing changes without affecting the main configuration and tagging for stable releases, which makes handling configurations safer and more auditable.

Backups—whether full, incremental, or differential—focus on copying data to recover from loss. They don’t inherently provide the granular, per-file history, collaboration, or easy rollback to a specific prior state that version control offers. For managing configuration files and ensuring you can revert to known-good configurations, version control is the appropriate approach.