The process of replacing a file with a pointer when an identical file is found in more than one location on the host, is which of the following?

Single instance storage (SIS) identifies identical files across a volume and replaces redundant copies with pointers to a single, authoritative copy, thereby saving storage space. This method is often used in backup and archiving systems to reduce storage consumption by eliminating duplicate data blocks or files.

Post-process deduplication performs data deduplication after the data has been written to storage, which describes the timing of the process, not the specific mechanism of replacing files with pointers.

Inline deduplication performs data deduplication as data is being written to storage, which, like post-process deduplication, describes the timing and not the specific method of file replacement with pointers.

Appliance based deduplication refers to the implementation method (using a dedicated hardware appliance) rather than the specific technical process of how duplicate files are handled and replaced with pointers.