SY0-701 Question 243
Single answerContinuity of operationsA regional healthcare provider is updating its continuity of operations plan after a ransomware incident made its primary data center unavailable for several days. Leadership states that the patient scheduling system must be restored within 4 hours of an outage, but they can tolerate losing up to 15 minutes of appointment data. Which solution BEST meets these requirements?
- A
Implement nightly full backups to tape and store the tapes in an offsite vault
- B
Deploy a warm site with replicated scheduling data updated at 15-minute intervals
- C
Build a cold site with pre-racked equipment and restore the latest weekly backup when needed
- D
Use manual paper scheduling procedures until the primary data center is rebuilt
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The key to this question is matching the solution to the required recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO). The scenario requires the system to be restored within 4 hours and limits acceptable data loss to 15 minutes. A warm site is designed for relatively rapid restoration compared with a cold site, and 15-minute replication supports the stated RPO. In continuity of operations and disaster recovery planning, organizations commonly use business impact analysis (BIA) results to define RTOs and RPOs, then select controls and alternate processing capabilities that meet those targets. This aligns with established best practices from sources such as NIST contingency planning guidance, which emphasizes selecting recovery strategies based on mission requirements, recovery priorities, and tolerable downtime/data loss.
- A. Incorrect.
This does not meet the stated recovery objectives. Nightly backups to tape may be useful for long-term retention and disaster recovery, but restoring from tape is typically too slow to reliably achieve a 4-hour recovery time objective (RTO). In addition, nightly backups would allow up to many hours of data loss, which exceeds the 15-minute recovery point objective (RPO). A common misconception is that any offsite backup automatically satisfies continuity needs, but backup alone is not the same as operational readiness.
- B. Correct.
This is the best answer because a warm site provides partially prepared infrastructure that can be brought online faster than a cold site, making a 4-hour RTO realistic in many environments. Replicating scheduling data every 15 minutes aligns with the 15-minute RPO by limiting potential data loss to the maximum tolerated window. This choice directly maps the business requirements to continuity controls, which is a key expectation in continuity of operations planning.
- C. Incorrect.
A cold site is the least prepared alternate site type and usually requires significant time to install, configure, and restore systems before operations can resume. Even with equipment pre-racked, restoring from a weekly backup would almost certainly violate both the 4-hour RTO and the 15-minute RPO. Candidates may choose this option because it sounds cost-effective, but it does not satisfy the recovery targets in the scenario.
- D. Incorrect.
Manual workarounds can be part of a continuity plan for short-term essential operations, but this option does not restore the scheduling system itself within 4 hours and does not address the 15-minute data loss limit. It may reduce business disruption temporarily, but it is not the best technical solution for meeting the stated continuity objectives.