SY0-701 Question 236
Single answerTesting: Tabletop exercises , Fail over , Simulation , Parallel processingA healthcare organization wants to validate its disaster recovery plan for the electronic medical records (EMR) system. Leadership is concerned that any test must not interrupt patient care or modify production data. The security manager wants the team to verify that the backup site can process live workloads while the primary site remains online, so results can be compared before any real cutover decision is made. Which testing method best meets these requirements?
- A
Tabletop exercise
- B
Failover test
- C
Simulation
- D
Parallel processing
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The key phrase in the scenario is that the backup site must process live workloads while the primary site remains online so that results can be compared before a real cutover. That is the defining characteristic of parallel processing. In business continuity and disaster recovery testing, tabletop exercises are discussion-based, simulations emulate events without necessarily processing real production work, failover testing validates switching to the alternate environment, and parallel processing runs both environments simultaneously to confirm readiness with minimal operational disruption. This distinction is consistent with common disaster recovery and contingency planning practices described in frameworks such as NIST SP 800-34 Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems, which differentiates test types by realism, operational impact, and validation depth.
- A. Incorrect.
A tabletop exercise is discussion-based and useful for walking through roles, communications, and decision-making during an incident. However, it does not validate that the backup site can actually process live workloads or that system outputs can be compared side by side. Someone might choose this because it is low risk and non-disruptive, but it is too conceptual for the stated requirement.
- B. Incorrect.
A failover test validates that operations can move from the primary environment to the alternate environment. While valuable for disaster recovery, it typically involves switching production services or intentionally triggering the move to the secondary site. That creates more operational risk than the scenario allows, and it does not emphasize running both environments concurrently for comparison before cutover.
- C. Incorrect.
A simulation test attempts to imitate a disruptive event or incident response scenario in a controlled way. It is more realistic than a tabletop exercise, but it still does not specifically require the backup site to process live workloads in tandem with the primary system. A candidate might pick this because it sounds hands-on, but it does not best match the side-by-side processing requirement.
- D. Correct.
Parallel processing is correct because both the primary and backup environments run at the same time, allowing the organization to compare outputs and validate that the alternate site can handle real workloads without immediately disrupting production. This aligns with the requirement to keep patient care unaffected while confirming the recovery environment is operational.