CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701)Security ArchitectureMedium
A retail company's primary data center processes 20,000 transactions per hour. Management determines that after a disaster, the alternate site must be operational within 12 hours, but partially configured servers and periodically updated data are acceptable at that site to reduce ongoing costs. Which type of recovery site best fits this requirement?
- ACold site
- BHot site
- CWarm site
- DMobile site
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Warm site
A warm site has some hardware and partially synchronized data already in place, allowing recovery within hours rather than days, but at lower cost than a hot site that mirrors production in real time.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. A cold site has no pre-installed equipment and would take days or weeks to bring online, missing the 12-hour target.
- B. A hot site would provide near-instant failover with fully synchronized data, exceeding the stated cost tolerance.
- D. A mobile site is a transportable facility, not the standard classification matching this scenario's requirements.
Warm Site
A backup facility with some hardware and software pre-installed and data updated periodically, offering a middle ground between hot and cold sites.
- Recovery typically hours to a day
- Cheaper than hot site, faster than cold site
- Data may be somewhat stale at failover time
Memory trick: Hot=instant, Warm=hours, Cold=days.