ISC2 CC Business Continuity, DR & Incident Response Practice Question
Exhibit
ERROR 2023-10-16 03:00:00 Replication failed: checksum mismatch on table 'orders' between primary (hash: a1b2c3) and standby (hash: d4e5f6) WARN 2023-10-16 03:00:01 Automatic recovery initiated ERROR 2023-10-16 03:15:00 Replication failed: checksum mismatch again
Refer to the exhibit. A DBA is investigating a replication issue. What should be the FIRST action?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates may jump to corrective actions like reseeding or failover without first diagnosing the root cause, which is a common mistake in troubleshooting questions.
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
✓
Verify data integrity on primary
When investigating a replication issue, the first step should be to verify data integrity on the primary database. This ensures that the source data is consistent and not corrupted, which could be the root cause of replication failures. Checking the primary helps determine whether the issue is with the data itself or with the replication process.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Restore table from backup
Why it's wrong here
Restoring the table discards the current replica state before the cause of the replication failure is identified, potentially destroying evidence and re-triggering the fault. It is tempting as a fast recovery step, and would be correct only after diagnosis confirms data corruption requiring restoration.
- ✓
Verify data integrity on primary
Why this is correct
Before altering replication configuration, confirm the primary's data is intact. If corruption exists on the source, resynchronising replicas propagates bad data. Verifying integrity establishes whether the fault lies in the primary or the replication channel.
- ✗
Reseed replication
Why it's wrong here
Reseeding rebuilds the subscriber snapshot, which destroys the current replication state before the cause is known and can worsen divergence. It is tempting because reseeding is the standard fix once replication is confirmed broken beyond repair, which is the right scenario for it.
- ✗
Fail over to standby
Why it's wrong here
Failing over to standby is a disruptive recovery step, not diagnosis; it discards the primary's state before the replication fault is identified, potentially destroying evidence. It is tempting because failover restores service quickly when the primary is genuinely unrecoverable, which is the right scenario for it.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.