- A
Add a second application server behind a load balancer.
This is the best answer because it adds redundancy and allows traffic to continue flowing if one application server goes down. A load balancer can route users to the healthy server, which improves availability without requiring a much more expensive architecture. For a simple portal, this is a practical fault-tolerance upgrade that reduces the impact of a single server failure.
- B
Schedule nightly backups to a different storage account.
Why wrong: Backups are important for recovery, but they do not keep the portal online during a server failure.
- C
Buy a larger server with more CPU and memory.
Why wrong: More capacity improves performance, but it still leaves a single point of failure.
- D
Move the portal to a different subnet without changing the servers.
Why wrong: A different subnet does not add redundancy or protect against server outage.
SY0-701 Security Architecture Practice Question
This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of security architecture. 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 customer portal must continue operating if one application server fails. The business wants a simple, cost-conscious design that improves availability. What is the best approach?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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
Add a second application server behind a load balancer.
Adding a second application server behind a load balancer creates an active-passive or active-active cluster that provides redundancy. If one server fails, the load balancer automatically redirects traffic to the healthy server, ensuring continuous operation. This design is cost-conscious because it uses commodity servers rather than expensive vertical scaling, and it directly improves availability by eliminating the single point of failure.
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.
- ✓
Add a second application server behind a load balancer.
Why this is correct
This is the best answer because it adds redundancy and allows traffic to continue flowing if one application server goes down. A load balancer can route users to the healthy server, which improves availability without requiring a much more expensive architecture. For a simple portal, this is a practical fault-tolerance upgrade that reduces the impact of a single server failure.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Schedule nightly backups to a different storage account.
Why it's wrong here
Backups are important for recovery, but they do not keep the portal online during a server failure.
- ✗
Buy a larger server with more CPU and memory.
Why it's wrong here
More capacity improves performance, but it still leaves a single point of failure.
- ✗
Move the portal to a different subnet without changing the servers.
Why it's wrong here
A different subnet does not add redundancy or protect against server outage.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse data protection (backups) with high availability (redundancy), or they think vertical scaling (bigger server) is a simpler solution, but the exam specifically tests the concept of eliminating a single point of failure through horizontal scaling and load balancing.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A load balancer typically uses health checks (e.g., HTTP GET requests to a /health endpoint) to monitor server status. If a server fails to respond within a configurable timeout (often 5–10 seconds), the load balancer removes it from the pool and distributes traffic only to healthy servers. This mechanism relies on protocols like TCP or HTTP and can be implemented with hardware (e.g., F5) or software (e.g., HAProxy, Nginx). In a real-world scenario, session persistence (sticky sessions) must be considered to avoid breaking user sessions when traffic is redirected.
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 security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SY0-701 question test?
Security Architecture — This question tests Security Architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Add a second application server behind a load balancer. — Adding a second application server behind a load balancer creates an active-passive or active-active cluster that provides redundancy. If one server fails, the load balancer automatically redirects traffic to the healthy server, ensuring continuous operation. This design is cost-conscious because it uses commodity servers rather than expensive vertical scaling, and it directly improves availability by eliminating the single point of failure.
What should I do if I get this SY0-701 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This SY0-701 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SY0-701 exam.
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