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CISA Practice Question: A multinational organization operates a critical…
A multinational organization operates a critical ERP system on a virtualized infrastructure across two data centers (primary and DR). The primary data center is located in Region A, and the DR site in Region B, 500 km away. The ERP database is 2 TB and changes at an average rate of 10 MB per second. The organization uses synchronous replication between the two sites over a dedicated 10 Gbps WAN link. During a recent disaster simulation, the IT team observed that the replication link experienced 15 ms latency, causing the primary database to slow down significantly under peak load, ultimately missing the defined RTO of 4 hours for full failover. The business has an RPO of 15 minutes. The CISO asks the IS auditor to recommend a solution that balances cost and performance while meeting both RTO and RPO. Which of the following is the BEST course of action?
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
✓
Change replication to asynchronous mode and implement continuous data protection (CDP) to meet the 15-minute RPO.
Synchronous replication over long distance introduces latency that degrades primary performance. Changing to asynchronous replication with continuous data protection (CDP) can meet the 15-minute RPO without impacting the primary site. Upgrading bandwidth does not reduce latency; backup-to-disk with hourly logs may not meet RPO due to potential data loss; reducing RPO changes the business requirement unacceptably.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Change replication to asynchronous mode and implement continuous data protection (CDP) to meet the 15-minute RPO.
Why this is correct
Correct: Asynchronous replication eliminates performance impact, and CDP provides point-in-time recovery within RPO.
- ✗
Reduce the RPO to 30 minutes and perform snapshots every 30 minutes on the primary site.
Why it's wrong here
Changing RPO alters business requirement without solving the replication issue.
- ✗
Upgrade the WAN link to 40 Gbps to reduce latency and improve replication throughput.
Why it's wrong here
Bandwidth upgrade does not reduce propagation latency; 15 ms is distance-limited.
- ✗
Implement a backup-to-disk solution with daily full backups and hourly transaction log backups to the DR site.
Why it's wrong here
Hourly backups may not meet a 15-minute RPO, and full daily backups require longer recovery.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CISA exam.