The answer is an active-active high availability architecture behind a load balancer. This configuration is correct because it distributes traffic across multiple application servers simultaneously; if one server fails, the load balancer automatically reroutes requests to the remaining healthy servers, ensuring the order service continues without interruption. On the Security+ SY0-701 exam, this concept tests your understanding of fault tolerance and redundancy, often appearing in scenario-based questions where you must choose between active-active and active-passive setups. A common trap is assuming active-passive is always sufficient, but that requires manual failover or a separate heartbeat mechanism, whereas active-active provides seamless continuity. For a quick memory tip, think “active-active, always available” — both servers are live and sharing the load, so no single point of failure stops the service.
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.
Exhibit
Order service topology:
Internet -> Load balancer -> App Server A
Internet -> Load balancer -> App Server B
Database -> Single instance in AZ1
Application servers are stateless.
Requirement: service must continue if one app server goes down, with no manual failover steps.
Based on the exhibit, which architecture best meets the goal of keeping the order service running if one application server fails?
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.
Order service topology:
Internet -> Load balancer -> App Server A
Internet -> Load balancer -> App Server B
Database -> Single instance in AZ1
Application servers are stateless.
Requirement: service must continue if one app server goes down, with no manual failover steps.
A
Use one active server with a warm standby server that is started manually during outages.
Why wrong: A warm standby can recover service, but manual activation delays failover and reduces availability.
B
Run the application servers active-active behind the load balancer.
Active-active design keeps service available because surviving servers continue handling traffic automatically.
C
Store the application binaries on RAID 1 disks to prevent service interruption.
Why wrong: RAID helps with storage resilience, but it does not provide application-server redundancy by itself.
D
Take nightly backups of the application servers and restore them after a failure.
Why wrong: Backups help recovery after loss, but they do not provide continuous service when a server fails.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Run the application servers active-active behind the load balancer.
Option B is correct because an active-active architecture behind a load balancer ensures that if one application server fails, the load balancer automatically redirects traffic to the remaining healthy server(s). This provides high availability and fault tolerance without manual intervention, keeping the order service running continuously.
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.
✗
Use one active server with a warm standby server that is started manually during outages.
Why it's wrong here
A warm standby can recover service, but manual activation delays failover and reduces availability.
✓
Run the application servers active-active behind the load balancer.
Why this is correct
Active-active design keeps service available because surviving servers continue handling traffic automatically.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Store the application binaries on RAID 1 disks to prevent service interruption.
Why it's wrong here
RAID helps with storage resilience, but it does not provide application-server redundancy by itself.
✗
Take nightly backups of the application servers and restore them after a failure.
Why it's wrong here
Backups help recovery after loss, but they do not provide continuous service when a server fails.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse data redundancy (RAID 1) with server-level fault tolerance, or they mistake backup strategies (nightly backups) for high-availability solutions, failing to recognize that only active-active or active-passive clustering with automatic failover meets the requirement of uninterrupted service during a server failure.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In an active-active configuration, the load balancer (e.g., HAProxy, NGINX, or an F5 LTM) uses health checks (such as HTTP GET requests to a /health endpoint) to monitor each application server. If a server fails to respond within a configured timeout (e.g., 5 seconds) or returns a non-200 status, the load balancer removes it from the pool and distributes traffic only to the remaining servers. This failover is typically sub-second and transparent to clients, provided session persistence (sticky sessions) is not required or is handled via a shared session store like Redis.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SY0-701 question in full detail.
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: Run the application servers active-active behind the load balancer. — Option B is correct because an active-active architecture behind a load balancer ensures that if one application server fails, the load balancer automatically redirects traffic to the remaining healthy server(s). This provides high availability and fault tolerance without manual intervention, keeping the order service running continuously.
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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These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Based on the exhibit, which change best reduces the blast radius if a user workstation is compromised?
medium
A.Add more allow rules from VLAN 10 to VLAN 30 for SMB and RDP so restore jobs stay flexible.
B.Move the backup server into the user VLAN to avoid routing and ACL complexity.
✓ C.Remove direct user access to the backup VLAN and allow only the dedicated backup path.
D.Increase the DHCP lease time so backup jobs run less often during business hours.
Why C: Option C is correct because removing direct user access to the backup VLAN and allowing only the dedicated backup path enforces network segmentation, which limits lateral movement. If a workstation in VLAN 10 is compromised, an attacker cannot pivot directly to the backup server in VLAN 30, reducing the blast radius. This aligns with the principle of least privilege and defense-in-depth for backup infrastructure.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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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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