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CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701)Security ArchitectureMedium

An e-commerce platform designs its web tier for high availability using an N+1 redundancy model. Each server can handle 250 concurrent sessions, and the platform must support a peak load of 1,000 concurrent sessions. How many servers should be deployed?

  1. A5
  2. B8
  3. C4
  4. D6
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Correct answer: A. 5

N is calculated as the load divided by per-server capacity: 1,000 / 250 = 4 servers needed to handle peak load. N+1 redundancy adds one additional server for failover, resulting in 4 + 1 = 5 total servers.

Why the other options are wrong

  • B. This doubles the required capacity, far exceeding N+1 redundancy.
  • C. This is N only, without the redundant unit required by N+1.
  • D. This would be N+2, providing more redundancy than N+1 requires.

N+1 Redundancy

A fault-tolerance design where one extra unit of capacity (N+1) is provisioned beyond the minimum required (N) to handle a component failure without service disruption.

  • N = required capacity units to meet load
  • N+1 adds exactly one spare unit
  • Contrasts with 2N (full duplicate) redundancy

Memory trick: Need four to run, keep five to be safe.

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