IT Disaster Recovery and Resilience Flashcards

What is the difference between a 'warm site' and a 'hot site' in IT disaster recovery?

Answer: A hot site is fully equipped and operational, ready for immediate failover; a warm site has equipment that must be configured and loaded before use

A hot site is a fully equipped, live alternate facility that can be activated within minutes to hours with minimal configuration. A warm site has hardware and connectivity in place but requires configuration, software installation, and data loading before becoming operational—typically taking hours to days.

Which IT resilience concept involves maintaining duplicate systems that operate simultaneously so that failure of one component has no impact on service availability?

Answer: High availability (HA) architecture

High availability (HA) architecture uses redundant, simultaneously operating components so that failure of any single element is automatically absorbed by other components without service interruption—eliminating single points of failure.

What is 'replication lag' and why is it significant for IT disaster recovery?

Answer: The time gap between when data is written to the primary system and when it appears in the replica

Replication lag is the time delay between data being written to the primary system and appearing in the replication target. It directly determines the potential data loss (RPO exposure) if the primary system fails during the lag period.

Which of the following BEST describes the concept of 'Defense in Depth' in IT resilience?

Answer: Employing multiple layers of security and resilience controls so that failure of one layer does not compromise the entire system

Defense in Depth applies multiple layers of controls so that a single failure cannot compromise the entire system—each layer provides protection that compensates for weaknesses in adjacent layers.

During IT disaster recovery, what is the significance of the 'failback' process?

Answer: Failing back refers to the process of returning operations from the recovery environment to the restored primary environment after the incident is resolved

Failback is the process of transitioning operations back from the recovery (alternate) environment to the restored primary environment after the primary has been repaired and validated—completing the full recovery cycle.

What is meant by 'Recovery Point Actual (RPA)' versus 'Recovery Point Objective (RPO)'?

Answer: RPO is the target data loss tolerance; RPA is the actual data loss achieved during a specific recovery event

RPO is the target—the maximum data loss the business can tolerate. RPA is the actual data loss that occurred during a specific recovery event. Comparing RPA to RPO measures whether the DR solution actually met its objectives.