220-1102 Operational Procedures Practice Question
A critical server experiences a hard drive failure, causing downtime. The technician has a compatible spare drive and can replace it immediately. According to change management best practices for emergency situations, what should the technician do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers think all changes require formal approval before implementation, but CompTIA tests the understanding that emergency changes allow immediate action to restore service, with documentation and approval happening afterward.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Replace the drive immediately and document the change afterward
In emergency situations where a critical server has failed and a compatible spare is available, change management best practices allow for immediate implementation of the change to restore service, with documentation completed afterward. This is because the primary goal is to minimize downtime and restore operations, and the formal approval process would introduce unacceptable delay. The technician should replace the drive immediately and then document the change, including the reason for the emergency, the actions taken, and any deviations from standard procedures.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Replace the drive immediately and document the change afterward
Why this is correct
In a critical server failure, availability trumps standard change management, so a technician must immediately replace the failed drive to restore service or initiate RAID rebuild. Hot-swap capable storage allows the swap without powering down, and after stabilizing the system, the technician documents the change and submits it for post-incident CAB approval.
- ✗
Submit a change request and wait for CAB approval before replacing the drive
Why it's wrong here
Submitting a change request and waiting for CAB approval before replacing a failed drive can extend an outage for hours or even days, breaching the server's SLA. Standard change management applies to planned, low-urgency work, whereas a critical drive failure constitutes an emergency change, which by definition permits immediate action followed by retrospective approval. The technician should not postpone a repair whose outcome is well understood and reversible.
- ✗
Replace the drive only if authorized by the direct manager
Why it's wrong here
Requiring direct manager authorization before swapping a failed drive adds an informal approval step that standard change management does not mandate. Emergency change procedures are usually predefined, specifying that authorized technical staff may take immediate remediation actions and inform management afterward. Therefore, waiting for the manager's sign-off could needlessly prolong downtime and is not a properly documented control.
- ✗
Escalate to the vendor for warranty replacement
Why it's wrong here
Vendor warranty replacement is a procurement function, not an emergency recovery step, and waiting for the vendor may take days. A technician should first restore service with an available spare drive, leveraging hot-swap RAID, then initiate a warranty RMA for the failed component. Escalating before any local repair needlessly extends downtime and ignores the criticality of immediate data-path restoration.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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