I certainly don't have the entire scoop here, but I want to alert you to a few things that may surprise you.
1. Alternate Access Mappings cannot be restored after a config_DB corruption or a farm disaster
2. If you remove a server from a farm, you cannot restore it without restoring a FULL farm backup from scratch. To be more specific, you must reinstall a NEW farm, with a new configDB and central admin content DB, then restore. Otherwise, you can restore a Full backup until you are blue in the face, and that server and associated config will never come back. Even if you try to add a server back to a farm, some things never seem to work right again - Doc Conv, for example. Best practice here - NEVER remove a server from the farm unless you never intend to add it back.
3. You can't *directly* restore the configDB or Central Admin contentDB. For a complete restore, you must install a new farm, then restore the last full backup. The Full, Same restore appears to restore all other Web apps and associated databases with 'full fidelity', EXCEPT the configDB and Central Admin contentDB. Those 2 appear to be a merge of the old with the new.
Now you are stuck with the new configDB name, unless you deleted the original, corrupt configDB (that might be a good practice also). I am not sure what else persists from the *new* install, let me know if you find out some more items and I will add them here. Also, don't forget that SSL certs, assigned IP addresses, web.config changes, multiple host headers, etc. are not restored from the SharePoint backup either.
Point here - test, test, test, before you rely on your 'Full Farm' backup to get you back to normal admin life again. One more thing, don't put your resume on the SharePoint Server in case you can't get your farm back up and running <GRIN>
Ben Curry
Mindsharp