SQL Server snapshot backup is accomplished in cooperation with third-party hardware or software vendors, or both. These vendors use SQL Server 2005 features that are designed for this purpose. The underlying backup technology creates an instantaneous copy of the data that is being backed up. The instantaneous copying is typically accomplished by splitting a mirrored set of disks or by creating a copy of a disk block when it is written. This preserves the original. At restore time, the original is made available immediately and synchronization of the underlying disks occurs in the background. This results in almost instantaneous restore operations.

Only the following types of backups can be snapshot backups:

Full backups

Partial backups

File backups

Differential database backups

If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something

jdshabat (12/18/2008)

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Yes, this is another wonderful trick question that we'll have to deal with in everyday life as a DBA.
Perhaps, in some countries, where there are 100 million Oracle DBAs and 120 million SQL DBAs, then people have to trick each other to see who really knows his/her stuff, as everyone is a DBA looking for a job and employers have to ask really tough questions.

How many more questions are we going to see like this? It helps no one.

It helped me, in the sense that I was reminded that you can't take a backup of a snapshot