Free CompTIA Cloud+ High Availability and Recovery Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A financial application requires that database transactions are written to both a primary and a secondary database in different availability zones simultaneously. A transaction is only considered complete after it is successfully committed to both locations to ensure zero data loss in case of a failure. Which type of replication does this scenario describe?
- Asynchronous replication
- Snapshot replication
- Log shipping
- Synchronous replication (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Synchronous replication
Synchronous replication writes data to both the primary and secondary storage locations at the same time. The operation is not considered complete until the write is acknowledged by both locations, which guarantees that the data is identical and up-to-date. This method achieves a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of zero but can introduce latency. [11, 28]
Question 2: In a high-availability cluster configuration, two servers are set up to provide redundancy for a critical application. One server actively handles all requests, while the other remains in standby mode, ready to take over only if the primary server fails. What is this configuration called?
- Active-active cluster
- Active-passive cluster (Correct answer)
- Horizontal scaling
- Round-robin load balancing
Correct answer: Active-passive cluster
An active-passive cluster involves one node that is operational (active) and one node that is on standby (passive). The passive node only takes over the workload if the active node fails. This is a common configuration for failover and disaster recovery. [1, 4, 16]
Question 3: Which of the following cloud architecture principles is MOST directly aimed at achieving fault tolerance by eliminating single points of failure?
- Implementing vertical scaling on a single large instance
- Deploying redundant components across multiple availability zones (Correct answer)
- Caching static content at a single edge location
- Consolidating all application data onto a single, large storage volume
Correct answer: Deploying redundant components across multiple availability zones
Fault tolerance is the ability of a system to continue operating without interruption when one or more components fail. Deploying redundant resources, such as virtual machines or databases, across multiple, physically isolated availability zones ensures that the failure of a single zone does not cause a complete service outage. [5, 12, 19]
Question 4: A cloud administrator is configuring high availability for a web application where users log in and perform a series of actions. The application requires that once a user starts a session, all subsequent requests from that user are sent to the same backend server. Which load balancer configuration must be enabled to meet this requirement?
- Round-robin routing
- Health check monitoring
- Session persistence (Correct answer)
- Geo-proximity routing
Correct answer: Session persistence
Session persistence, also known as sticky sessions, is a load balancer feature that directs all requests from a single client to the same backend server for the duration of a session. This is critical for stateful applications that store session-specific data on the server. [2, 29, 31]
Question 5: An organization wants a cost-effective disaster recovery strategy in the cloud. The plan involves continuously replicating data to a secondary region and maintaining a minimal version of the core infrastructure, such as a small database instance and a single web server. In a disaster, this minimal environment will be scaled up to full production capacity to take over the workload. What is this DR strategy called?
- Multi-Site Active-Active
- Backup and Restore
- Warm Standby
- Pilot Light (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Pilot Light
The Pilot Light strategy involves keeping a minimal version of the environment running in the cloud, which contains only the most critical core components. In the event of a disaster, this 'pilot light' can be quickly scaled up to a full production environment. It offers a balance between cost and recovery time, being faster than backup and restore but cheaper than warm standby. [6, 7, 9, 15]
Question 6: A company has determined that for a specific application, the maximum tolerable data loss is 15 minutes and the maximum tolerable downtime is 4 hours. Which disaster recovery solution BEST aligns with these RPO and RTO requirements in a cost-effective manner?
- Asynchronous replication to a warm standby site (Correct answer)
- Daily backups to a cold site
- Synchronous replication to a hot site
- A geographically redundant active-active configuration
Correct answer: Asynchronous replication to a warm standby site
An RPO of 15 minutes and an RTO of 4 hours can be met effectively by a warm standby site. Asynchronous replication, where data is copied periodically, can easily meet a 15-minute RPO. [21] A warm standby site, which has a scaled-down but functional environment always running, can be scaled up to handle the production load within the 4-hour RTO. [22, 24] Daily backups (24-hour RPO) and synchronous replication (near-zero RPO/RTO but very expensive) do not fit the requirements as cost-effectively.
Free CompTIA Cloud+ High Availability and Recovery Questions and Answers
A financial application requires that database transactions are written to both a primary and a secondary database in different availability zones simultaneously.
A transaction is only considered complete after it is successfully committed to both locations to ensure zero data loss in case of a failure.
Which type of replication does this scenario describe?