The correct choice is an active-active data center arrangement for high availability and disaster recovery. This configuration keeps multiple geographically dispersed data centers fully operational and serving traffic simultaneously, so if one site fails, the load is instantly redistributed to the remaining active sites, ensuring near-zero downtime and no data loss. On the CompTIA Project+ PK0-005 exam, this question tests your understanding of infrastructure design trade-offs; a common trap is confusing active-active with active-passive, where the passive site sits idle until failure, which introduces recovery delays. Remember the memory tip: “Both sites are always on, so you’re never alone”—active-active means all sites share the load, making it ideal for meeting stringent recovery time and recovery point objectives.
PK0-005 Practice Question: Basics of IT Infrastructure and IT Project Management
This PK0-005 practice question tests your understanding of basics of it infrastructure and it project management. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A project manager is selecting a data center for a new application that requires high availability and disaster recovery. Which type of data center arrangement is most appropriate?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Active-active
An active-active data center arrangement is most appropriate for high availability and disaster recovery because it distributes application traffic across multiple geographically dispersed data centers, all of which are actively serving requests. If one site fails, traffic is seamlessly redirected to the remaining active sites, ensuring near-zero downtime and no data loss. This configuration supports automatic failover and load balancing, which are critical for meeting stringent recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO).
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Active-active
Why this is correct
Active-active allows multiple sites to handle traffic simultaneously, providing high availability and disaster recovery.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Single site
Why it's wrong here
Single site offers no redundancy, making it unsuitable for high availability and disaster recovery.
✗
Active-passive
Why it's wrong here
Active-passive provides failover but does not ensure continuous availability as traffic must switch over.
✗
Colocation
Why it's wrong here
Colocation only provides space, power, and cooling; it does not inherently offer redundancy or failover.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that active-passive is sufficient for high availability, but candidates overlook that active-passive introduces failover latency and potential data loss, whereas active-active provides continuous service with no manual intervention.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In an active-active setup, global server load balancing (GSLB) using DNS-based or anycast routing distributes requests across sites, often with health checks to detect failures. Under the hood, session persistence and data synchronization (e.g., using synchronous replication or distributed databases like Cassandra) ensure that all sites have consistent state. A real-world scenario is a financial trading platform where even milliseconds of downtime can cause significant loss, so active-active with sub-second failover is mandatory.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the PK0-005 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Basics of IT Infrastructure and IT Project Management — This question tests Basics of IT Infrastructure and IT Project Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Active-active — An active-active data center arrangement is most appropriate for high availability and disaster recovery because it distributes application traffic across multiple geographically dispersed data centers, all of which are actively serving requests. If one site fails, traffic is seamlessly redirected to the remaining active sites, ensuring near-zero downtime and no data loss. This configuration supports automatic failover and load balancing, which are critical for meeting stringent recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO).
What should I do if I get this PK0-005 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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