Restoring SharePoint Using SharePoint Central Administration

Backups done using the Central Administration tool generate the XML Manifest and files with .BAK extensions. In case of a restore situation, both XML Manifest and files with .BAK extensions will be required. SharePoint administrators can restore these backups onto the same environment or on entirely new environment; for example, User Acceptance Test (UAT) environment or Development environment.

Similarly, in case of a catastrophic failure, hardware, or the entire farm, SharePoint administrators can rebuild the environment and then restore the SharePoint 2010 farm.