ISC2 CC Practice Question: Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, and Incident Response
Which type of recovery site is pre-configured with hardware and software, but does not have live data, typically requiring days to become operational?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is confusing warm and cold sites — candidates pick cold because 'no live data' sounds cold, but cold sites also lack hardware and software, while warm sites have them pre-installed.
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
✓
Warm site
A warm site is a recovery facility that is pre-configured with hardware, software, and network connectivity but lacks live, up-to-date data, so it typically takes days to become fully operational after data restoration and configuration. This matches the question's description exactly. Warm sites balance cost and recovery speed between cold and hot sites.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Warm site
Why this is correct
A warm site ships with installed hardware and software but lacks replicated live data, so it needs days of configuration and data restoration before production use. That places it between a cold site and a hot site.
- ✗
Cloud-based recovery
Why it's wrong here
Cloud-based recovery provisions infrastructure on demand, so hardware and software are not pre-configured on standby; recovery time depends on provisioning and data restore. It suits organisations wanting to avoid owning a secondary data centre, not the fixed pre-staged model described.
- ✗
Cold site
Why it's wrong here
A cold site provides only space, power and connectivity, with no pre-installed hardware or software, so it takes weeks rather than days. It is tempting as the cheapest option, and would be correct where the organisation can tolerate prolonged downtime and will supply its own equipment.
- ✗
Hot site
Why it's wrong here
A hot site already holds live, synchronised data and mirrored systems, so it can take over within hours, not days. It is tempting because it is the most resilient recovery option, and would be correct where near-zero RTO and RPO are mandated and budget permits.
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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.