Migration tracking tools help monitor and manage changes to the database schema and data during migration. They provide visibility into the migration process, allowing teams to track changes, identify issues, and ensure the integrity and consistency of the database throughout the migration.

Sharding involves horizontally partitioning data across multiple databases or servers. It's an effective strategy for managing large datasets by distributing the load across multiple resources, thus enabling incremental migration without overwhelming a single database.

Incremental approach involves migrating parts of the database in small increments without causing downtime. This allows for continuous availability of the system while the migration is in progress, making it suitable for large databases where downtime must be minimized.

Schema migration specifically refers to the process of migrating the structure of a database from an old schema to a new one, ensuring data consistency and integrity while transitioning to a new design.

Entity Framework's backward compatibility ensures a smooth migration path to new versions by allowing existing applications to continue functioning without major modifications. It reduces the impact of breaking changes by maintaining compatibility with previous versions, making option 1 the correct choice.

Unit tests play a crucial role in identifying potential issues that may arise due to breaking changes in Entity Framework updates. They help validate the behavior of the application and ensure that existing functionality remains intact. While ensuring backward compatibility is important, it is the unit tests that actively identify and address issues, making option 2 the correct choice.

The Entity Framework feature that allows for the identification of potential breaking changes in queries is query diagnostics. Query diagnostics provide insights into the performance and behavior of queries, helping developers identify any issues or inefficiencies.

When Entity Framework introduces breaking changes, deprecated features are functionalities that are marked for removal in future releases. EF typically provides guidance on alternative approaches to replace these deprecated features, ensuring developers can migrate their code smoothly. Understanding how EF handles deprecated features is crucial for maintaining code compatibility and adopting newer versions effectively.

When evaluating the impact of breaking changes on a data model, it's essential to consider the impact on existing queries. Breaking changes may affect how queries are constructed or executed, potentially leading to errors or performance issues. Therefore, option 1 is the correct choice as it addresses a critical aspect of assessing the impact of such changes.

An application should be tested for breaking changes following an Entity Framework version update by executing existing test suites. This ensures that any regressions or issues introduced by the update are caught early in the testing process.

Knowing the version and scope of an Entity Framework update helps in understanding the implications and adapting the project accordingly, especially in complex scenarios where various dependencies are involved.

Change tracking in Entity Framework enables monitoring of changes to entities, ensuring data consistency and integrity. It's especially crucial in large-scale applications where tracking changes is complex.