When should a differential backup ideally be conducted?

A differential backup should ideally be conducted after a full backup. This is because a differential backup captures all changes made to the data since the last full backup, allowing for a more efficient recovery process. By performing differential backups in this manner, you ensure that the data being backed up is consistent with the last full state, which simplifies restoration if needed.

When a full backup is completed, it creates a baseline and any subsequent differential backups will only include data that has changed since that baseline. This way, if you need to restore your data, you will only need the last full backup and the latest differential backup, making the restoration process more straightforward and quicker compared to other strategies, such as incremental backups.