CCSP Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design Practice Question
This CCSP practice question tests your understanding of cloud concepts, architecture and design. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 cloud architect is designing a disaster recovery (DR) solution for a critical application with a recovery time objective (RTO) of 30 minutes and a recovery point objective (RPO) of 5 minutes. The application runs on virtual machines in a private cloud. The architect is considering using a colocation facility as the DR site. Which replication method will meet the RPO requirement?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Periodic snapshots every 5 minutes
Option C is correct because periodic snapshots every 5 minutes align exactly with the RPO of 5 minutes, ensuring that at most 5 minutes of data is lost in a disaster. This method captures the VM state at the required interval without the complexity or latency constraints of synchronous replication, which is often impractical over long distances or limited bandwidth.
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.
✗
Synchronous replication
Why it's wrong here
May not be practical over distance and does not directly meet the RPO of 5 minutes; snapshots are simpler.
✗
Periodic snapshots every 15 minutes
Why it's wrong here
RPO of 15 minutes exceeds the required 5 minutes.
✓
Periodic snapshots every 5 minutes
Why this is correct
Correct: Provides RPO of 5 minutes if snapshots are taken every 5 minutes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Asynchronous replication with a delay of 10 minutes
Why it's wrong here
RPO of 10 minutes exceeds the required 5 minutes.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISC2 often tests the misconception that synchronous replication is always the best choice for low RPO, but the trap here is that RPO is not the only constraint—RTO and network latency must also be considered, and periodic snapshots can meet a 5-minute RPO without the performance penalties of synchronous replication over a WAN link.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Synchronous replication writes data to both primary and DR storage before acknowledging the write to the application, which introduces write latency proportional to round-trip time (RTT). For a colocation facility even 50 km away, RTT can be 1-2 ms, causing significant performance degradation for write-intensive workloads. Periodic snapshots, such as those using VMware vSphere snapshots or Hyper-V checkpoints, capture a point-in-time state but can impact VM performance during the snapshot commit phase; however, for a 5-minute interval, this overhead is manageable if the snapshot size is controlled.
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.
Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design — This question tests Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Periodic snapshots every 5 minutes — Option C is correct because periodic snapshots every 5 minutes align exactly with the RPO of 5 minutes, ensuring that at most 5 minutes of data is lost in a disaster. This method captures the VM state at the required interval without the complexity or latency constraints of synchronous replication, which is often impractical over long distances or limited bandwidth.
What should I do if I get this CCSP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This CCSP 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 CCSP exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.