CISSP Security Operations Practice Question
A company is selecting a disaster recovery site for critical applications that must be restored within 4 hours with minimal data loss. Which site type best meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse 'warm site' with 'hot site' because both have pre-installed hardware, but warm sites lack real-time data replication and automated failover, making them unsuitable for RTOs under 4 hours with minimal data loss.
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
✓
Hot site
A hot site is fully configured with hardware, software, network connectivity, and real-time data replication, enabling recovery within minutes to hours and minimal data loss. This matches the requirement of restoring critical applications within 4 hours with minimal data loss, as hot sites maintain near-synchronous or synchronous replication (e.g., using synchronous replication over Fibre Channel or iSCSI with RPOs in seconds).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Hot site
Why this is correct
A hot site is a fully equipped, mirrored facility with identical hardware, software, and network connectivity to the primary data center. It maintains real-time or near real-time data synchronization, enabling immediate failover and operational resumption within minutes to a few hours. This capability is essential for critical systems requiring a very low Recovery Time Objective (RTO), such as the 4-hour RTO implied for critical company systems, making it the most suitable choice.
- ✗
Cold site
Why it's wrong here
A cold site is a basic facility providing only space, power, and environmental controls, completely lacking hardware, software, or network infrastructure. Activating a cold site involves significant lead time for equipment procurement, installation, and configuration, typically requiring days or even weeks to become operational. This extensive setup period makes it entirely unsuitable for critical systems with a stringent 4-hour Recovery Time Objective (RTO).
- ✗
Reciprocal agreement
Why it's wrong here
A reciprocal agreement relies on mutual aid between organisations, but it cannot guarantee the 4-hour recovery time objective because the partner’s infrastructure may be unavailable or overloaded when needed. This arrangement also risks significant data loss, as there is no dedicated, pre-configured capacity to synchronise data continuously. It is tempting because it appears cost-free, and it would be correct for non-critical systems where extended downtime and some data loss are acceptable.
- ✗
Warm site
Why it's wrong here
A warm site contains some essential hardware, such as servers and networking equipment, but it is not fully configured or continuously updated with production data. While it offers a faster recovery than a cold site, it still necessitates significant time for software installation, data restoration, and full system configuration. This process often takes many hours, potentially exceeding a strict 4-hour Recovery Time Objective (RTO), making it inadequate for the most critical systems.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISSP 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 CISSP exam.